Landscape Artist of the Year S09E04

hello and welcome to the harbor at ston Haven in abdin Shire where eight artists are lined up next to the fishing boats ready to cast their Nets it's a brand new episode of landscape artist of the year from 2,000 applications only 48 talented artists won a place in one of our six Heats in a nail biting competition taking us north south east and west through the country in sunshine wind it keeps blowing away and Rain the prize our artists are competing for is a £10,000 commission for the science museum to create an artwork celebrating the raw beauty of the ory islands and their key role in the sustainable energy Revolution but first they'll need to impress our three eminent judges Kathleen Sorano Kate Brian and Tai Shan sherberg I love the fact that you're very relaxed in this environment I look at that and I want to scream so enjoy and they'll be joined by 50 additional artists the landscape artist wildcards how much paint have you got on that palette you can do my bathroom without much pain if your peers that's fine so this week whose efforts will sink Without a Trace I'm feeling rushed I think the main thing is not to overwork it because I'm in danger always of doing that and who's in for a whale of a time I hope I've made Scotland proud I've definitely done Scotland colorful watch us make waves as we search for the next landscape artist of the year I was hoping you could give me some inspiration you want inspiration from me you really are in [Music] trouble [Music] angling for a good day at ston Haven Harbor are eight artists art teachers Daniel Roy sharles from Lancashire and Sophie par from chesher digital agency director James Leonard from South Wales and artist Andrew Baran from Cornwell who's working in charcoal just looking forward to meeting other artists seeing how everybody interprets the same scene everybody's different and I really enjoy that also taking part are electrician Tony Griffin from Glasgow Kieran Mian a cartoonist also from Glasgow Charlotte Cordon an illustrator from exitor and Baker Amy old from Newcastle upon time I got here quite late last night so I think the adrenaline's kind of running now so I'm wide awake ready to go all the artists were chosen on the strength of a submitted landscape which they've brought with them today and as they settle into their pods and unpack their materials they're contemplating the task ahead I just want to get into that zone headphones in and enjoy discovering what's going to happen on your canvas cuz you never quite know what it's going to be like artists you have 4 hours to complete your challenge as they say around here Lang may your Lum reek I mean they don't say it like that but you get the idea it means good luck your time starts now under a forboding sky our artist view from the concrete Harbor wall looks out across the water and mored boats beyond the keyside and beneath steep Cliffs lie rows of Fisherman's Cottages all bathed in today's flat silvery light at the moment I'm drawn to all those ladders coming down the key to the boats so I think that might be my main focus with lots of Reflections in the [Music] foreground it's a busy view we've got today I think that there's there's loads going on it's quite hard to pick there's a couple of houses kind of stacked on top of each other nestled into the hill over there which I quite [Music] like oh beautiful morning in Bonnie Scotland but it is quite still at the minute and it is quite monochrome almost it's quite gray I think it's a really hard view actually there isn't much middle ground and forr there's very little perspective and sense of distance so I think a lot of them are going to struggle with that and you know that famously in Scotland you get all types of weather in a single day you know are artists confident familiar with painting water how do they feel about Reflections have they braced themselves for the tide I mean this water's just going to disappear later they've got to make very good decisions this morning to really anchor them yeah and maybe take some photographs of the water you missed my P oh sorry faced with the changing View and constant movement on the water our first artist is diving straight in wonderful Reflections on the water I want to keep the reflection quite loose I want to try and get as much of that in before the tide changes Sophie par studied at chelham College of Art and is now head of Art and Design at a school in elmir Port in chesher her submission is of an overgrown Blackthorn hedge near her home that she watched become more and more unkempt during lockdown Sophie uh sorry to interrupt you were just getting going yeah it looks very beautiful but can you tell me what it is what are these things what have you decided on here so I'm sort of focusing on that wall and the ladders coming down and then the boat's Reflections so I want to try and get as much of that in before the weather changes and the reflections might disappear so let's talk about your submission this beautiful black thorn bush I mean I look at that like I look at this scene and think I want to scream it's just so complex but it's very beautiful and in its abstraction you always look for problems in a way I mean that is kind of a problem that needed solving yeah I think I need to challenge so if it seems too easy then I get a little bit bored you won't get bored [Music] today today I've chosen to use charcoal cuz this is my passion charcoal I really love it and I can just focus on the tones and just enjoy myself really originally from the West Midlands Andrew Baran has been drawing and painting Landscapes around Helston in Cornwall since moving there almost 30 years ago Andrew's submission is of a Cornish oak tree growing through the wall in a local field and shows how he uses different tones to produce an atmospheric take on the landscape so Andy I can see you're sticking with the same medium that your submission was in uh I do painting oils as well but I'm using charcoal so I don't have to worry about the color mixing I can just enjoy working with tones and and shapes and there are little bits of color here but in the main it is quite gray isn't it like monotone so do you feel like it's quite suited to your medium as well I think so yeah I've got some lovely darks I can see in the harbor walls and we got the lights reflecting from the sky and the the buildings and we got some nice blocky shapes which I've quite like tell me a little bit about your submission because we were so taken by the heroic Tree in Winter presumably yes late winter but we really really loved the strength of this so it was really impressive for a work in charcoal so thank you great for today oh thanks no pressure then our eight artists aren't the only ones handy with their paint brushes today setting up further along the harbor arm across from the pods are 50 landscape artists of all ages experience and techniques it's the landscape artist wildcards and they've traveled far and wide for a chance of a place in this year's semi-final I come from East Sussex I paint on the cookme Haven and today I'm in Stone Haven so it's one Haven to another Haven and I'm going to go hell for leather for it oh my God the view is just breathtaking I have to pin myself that I'm actually here it just feels kind of unreal really did one of you forget your canvas what's going on no we chose the biggest one we could possibly get you're both painting on it together yeah both at the same time it's like a dance routine hopefully we'll uh we'll still be best friends at the end of it Andy no one gets thrown into the haror [Music] exactly with the washed out Grays in today's weather our next artist is bringing out different tones to add atmosphere to the scene what I want to do is have quite L sky in the painting I think it's great and I think it's challenging trying to find the exact right gray for the sky growing up in barkshire illustrator Charlotte Cordon was encouraged by her Chinese grandmother to paint Charlotte's submission in oils was painted in a field in doddis kums Le in Devon capturing an oak tree in full sunlight it demonstrates Charlotte's impressionistic style morning Charlotte good morning what do you make of all this water yeah I love it but I'm going to make today about the Scottish sky and this Scottish landscape that's actually all around this town and then this very safe little bit of a harbor it's interesting that you really responded to the sky because you've given it a clear half of your painting already I'm going to stick with what I can see now cuz right now the clouds are exactly the sort of mood that I want to capture yeah and what about your submission it is a great painting and it looks like it has done in like the shortest possible amount of time was it that fast to paint yeah it was really fast in fact it never really got finished cuz my cat then got chased up the tree that I was painting and we had to get her back down and then I just thought well she looks kind of good as it is interesting maybe your cat is some sort of artistic Mentor that we really need to bring on the program so thank you very much Charlotte and Charlotte isn't the only one struggling with today's flat gray light our next artist is aiming to bring the scene to life with color and contrast my color palette today will probably be lots of Grays H maybe some Browns and greens there's an orange boat there and there's a lovely ambulance there which is bright daylow yellow so that would be nice if that stays there born in Glasgow electrician Tony Griffin plied his trade in Scotland and Canada for many years before pursuing a fine art degree at the Glasgow School of Art Tony's submission painted on holiday in andul luthia in Spain was completed in 10 hours and captures a sense of Rhythm and color moving through the landscape so Tony your submission lots of buildings lots of complication here we're in the harbor lots of buildings lots of complication does it feel feel easy it's very gray isn't it no it's very gray it's all very flat so uh I've got lots of gray paint very handy it's handy now T let's talk about your submission it's got this interesting sort of viewpoint where you're looking up at the town or the village it's bathed in sunlight yes it's slightly impressionistic I like a lot of color I like there a kind of Rhythm to it you know going from left to right that's what we're going to see here today in a sense it's going to be the rhythm of the shapes and that well look I'm looking forward to it with the first hour nearly up and the tide about to turn our artists need to get a move on I am still getting into the sky although I know I really need to start on the rest of the painting I'm starting to put some of the lines and the little details in without going too details I'm not at Panic stages yet the weather does concern me and the fact the tight is going out you know it is what it is we're all in the same boat excuse the [Music] pun at ston Haven Harbor in abedin Shire eight artists are tackling the changing weather in this Scottish Seaside scene but as stormy skies roll in one artist is imagining more tropical climbs my mom's from Nigeria and my dad's Scottish it might be a little bit of Nigerian color in today's Scottish landscape it'll be important that I put it into a painting today raised in southeast London Amy old attended the Royal drawing school before moving to the Northeast where she studied fine art at Newcastle University and now works in a bakery Amy submission in watercolor and acrylic is of a natural spring in Nigeria and took 2 days to complete in her signature bright colors Amy I love it already can I take it the colors are beautiful the sinuous lines of the water I mean what is it about you and water you seem to just love it um I think it's just the movement of it it's just never the same it's fluid it's very fluid and I was really really worried about you this morning cuz I was thinking there isn't nearly as much color as we have in your wonderful submission which takes me to hot countries hot colors hot colors cool country cool colors here how does that what would you say to someone who said well that doesn't look like what we're looking at cuz the colors are all wrong I just feel it's just how I felt in the moment well it promises to be something really really interesting [Music] exciting despite the panoramic view of ston Haven Harbor our next artist has chosen to zoom zoom in I suppose the kind of artist I try and be is someone who's who captures a moment rather than specifically just a landscape I'm probably not going to go too wide I think that there's so much here I think that I'll probably take maybe about half of it in James Leonard lives in the South Wales Village of ruse where he's technical director of a digital agency James's submission a nighttime scene of his son at a Christmas fair was painted in oils in 6 hours and shows off his loose undone style James we've given you an awful lot of information we've got the harbor the boats the cottages and the hills above and actually you're really are taking the slice in front of you and trying to get it all in yeah I really liked these two houses nestled into the hills there and how those Hills kind of really lift up after the water so I was kind of going to try and jerks toose that with this boat down here and try and balance it between the to so you're trying to get this beautiful sort of art yeah exactly yeah yeah kind of take the eye up through the canvas so talk to me about your submission sure it's it's again got a lot of information in it but you've dialed it down yeah I quite like finding like a moment sunrise or like a nocturn or something like that and try and capture something happening yeah well James you're making me feel very relaxed youve got everything under [Music] control so something I've learned today yes Stone Haven it was the birthplace M of the deep fried marsbar I've got two here for brunch it's brunch time isn't it come on you're really selling it to me this is one of those occasions when you actually want to seagull to come down and take your food I like it do you M thank you when looking out here there's lots of boys there lots of bladders and M and not only have our lovely painters got to deal with the boats and the reflections but it's a very gray day yeah so I think it might rain which could be interesting yeah the water's dropping in our little Harbor here so as soon there won't be any water so the whole thing is impossible that's the joy and the awfulness of PL air painting it's like a deep fried Mars Bar you don't really want to eat it you have [Music] to while I go in search of something to take away the taste of the marsbar our next artist is taking a stylized approach to the traditional Harbor View when I'm painting Landscapes I tend to go for the linear style and strong colors which I don't see in front of me there's something that I can see in stuff that other people might not be able to see East London born Kieran Mian took drawing classes at at the Glasgow School of Art as a child and went on to a career as a newspaper cartoonist his submission in acrylics is of his brother walking along a Country Lane in Stowell Hill in Somerset and took 30 hours to complete in his graphic illustrative style Kieran you've definitely got the sky I would say that sort of glowering lowered cloud with the trees and the water you've taken us to the Caribbean Maybe uh mind you know knowing that Scottish weather changes every 2 minutes we might even get there before the afternoon's out so Karen tell me what Drew you to that view in your submission well there's something kind of Otherworldly about the two trees and I included the figure for touch of poignancy and will you be looking for a poignant figure today do you think that will be the last thing well it's looking good thank you faced with so many elements to consider in today's landscape our final artist is brushing off any concerns about the complicated view my Styles sort of impressionistic I do like to capture some sort of atmospheric perspective I try and get the brush DRS done you know within a couple of hours so it tends to be quite loose Daniel Roy sharles from Preston studied illustration at the University of Central Lancashire and is now head of art at a local Secondary School his submission of Le Street in Edinburgh during December took 4 days to complete with distinctive marks capturing the rush of people and the reflection of lights on wet ground Daniel looking at submission I didn't realize that the way you put down the Mark is very idiosyncratic and very noticeable is the Brush Mark important no I do like to sort of see the brush marks at the end of the painting yeah include them and today this is a very moody palet you've chosen I know it's very gray here anyway is that your natural habitat yeah like that big group of buildings there it would just be a massive that sort of tone okay so something simplified with the tone and color right it will sit in the right place in space and I love the fact that you're very relaxed in this environment I I look at that and I want to scream so enjoy thank you further along the harbor arm the wild cards are also taking it all in their stride how much paint have you got on that palette a lot of paint did you trip and spill something by mistake I'm a go hard to go home person it's big brushes go hard to go home there like enough you could do my bathroom without much pain if your peers that's fine I love the way that you've sort of made this Harbor look so picturesque and so quaint and so well almost like Timeless I suppose that that's what the harbor is it's bits here that are ancient and then there's newer bits as well so yeah painting the whole story yeah how's it going all right yeah we got a tent I know is that ready for the rain that's it think it's coming isn't it stole it off the grand kids did you [Music] yeah back at the pods with the halfway mark of the competition of approaching impending rain may be the least of our artist's problems it's a complex subject matter the amount of boats trees houses water everything feeling apprehensive I've now just gone completely away from the water and trying to block out some color on the top cuz I've realized that I feel like time is getting on a little bit a little bit stressed we're coming up to the end of the second hour and I'm Keen to get going with the uh details and the boxs and stuff like I feel like I've not got started properly yet and I need to get a move [Music] on up near abedine in Scotland eight artists are hard at work capturing the complex and changing view of ston Haven Harbor oh and did you paint the boats upside down Sophie I painted them as I saw them as you saw them which happened to be upside down in the reflection you just don't like Sky do you what have you got against clouds sopie what have they ever done to you you got to you got to decide is it about the clouds or is it about the bats that's true Amy um there are like 100 votes in front of us there's no judgment implied I'm just curious like are you just like are they exiting the picture I think I'm just going to ignore them to be honest I know that's awful but up I've never painted a boat and I'm using the colors from them and I think that's going to be enough they are there in colored representation great she's never painted a boat she's not about to start now Purple Haze it's bit Jimmy Hendrick yours isn't it I like the color how's it going Tony well I don't know where to go from here I mean focus on things that are going to change you know with the light and the water and I was hoping you could give me some inspiration you want inspiration from me you really are in trouble with 2 hours left of the competition our artists are navigating their way as best they can but do our three judges think they're on the right course halfway through the day as our artists look across the water it's time to get your Reflections yeah there's more where that came from well I feel very boyed about that whole thing very good Tony has taken that gray scene and he's using quite a warm palet isn't he I think Tony's been really really clever because he's actually absorbed most of the Hill so he's got green verdant Lush color there's only a tiny bit of that white Tupperware sky that sits above and I love the sweep that he's given us this great sort of Panorama and the way that he's using this warmth when in actual fact it's quite flat and quite gray Sophie seems interested in the tangle of lines and the ladders and the fences I really admire Sophie for looking at something and saying oh that's a big kind of complex mess I'll paint that like everyone else is editing it out to make it quieter to reduce it to make it simpler and Sophie's really leaning into it it is all about reflection so in the reflection nothing's fixed so she's still feeling her way through and it's miraculously appearing this sort in the chaos the chaos is appearing and it makes sense it's rather magical James likes dramatic lighting he likes painting first thing in the morning or last thing at night that's not what he's got today I think the lack of an exaggerated light is tricky for that painting because it's all existing in the same register it looks a bit flat it's quite a straightforward composition in the sense that he sort of painted exactly what's in front of him I I think James has found the drama in identifying the curve the suite of the harbor wall actually which given that there isn't much foreground middle ground and certainly very little perspective and long distance in this view is quite effective Amy's brought some of her Nigerian Heritage color scheme I just love the way she puts the paint down the way that she can just find these interesting passages it's Sublime organic beautiful weird great she's done the top and the bottom but there's nothing in the middle and it is slightly worrying because while we might see a lot of promise and be excited about someone who works in a slightly different way she's got to give us something that's more complete Andrew's given us this very charmingly slightly melancholic piece of work at this stage I think it's a beautiful fragment at the moment Andrew's created this world I I don't know it feels Dutch it feels yes completely Dutch Golden Age Dutch van go it's like van go jurry yeah and it sort of takes you on this very strange Journey but it does live of The Emptiness it's that contrast and it's quite big given the level of detail and the tininess of the houses it's quite a large thing Daniel has given us something it's got dynamism hasn't it it's interesting the way he's painting it though because it's like being painted like a grenade it's all kind of coming from the middle outwards the way that he's putting paint down is interesting the composition seems interesting at the moment I don't know what tonal harmonies or color harmonies are going to be with the final painting because you're just not putting any of the skying so it's it's very unclear when he talks about it it seems he's got a plan I I can't see it when I look at that view that they have it's just a mass of stuff but Charlotte she's finding a way isn't she I think Charlotte's a real romantic she's given us a sort of wistful view of the harbor for me it feels a little bit it's not rich enough it's not finished enough she had a plan this morning she loved the sky and the sky was dramatic this morning and a you know quite meaty set of clouds so the picture hangs together but undone enough that you really will focus on what she wants kieran's given us a very pretty idea like Stone Haven that's not the Stone Haven that invented the deep fried marsbar Kieran sort of inhabits that place in between very sophisticated composition as we saw in his um submission and quite sort of simple straightforward unsophisticated drawing when it works it really works wonders I hope that Kieran can sort of navigate this picture this afternoon and try and deliver something a little bit unexpected you know sometimes one of the best things to do with a style that's so prescriptive is to just be a bit strange with it be an interesting afternoon keep an eye on the paintings we'll also keep an eye on the weather also mindful of the forecast the artists are adapting their techniques to the challenges of the changing view normally with charcoal you work from the back forward because of the tide I've worked on the water first and now I'm going into the buildings and I'm finishing off working on details that may have been uh rubbed out by myself by accident James hi how's it going the flat gray is really difficult to work with I'm kind of relying on the dark greens of the trees and the hills to give me a bit of contrast just break it down into just two values dark and light so by reducing everything to these two tones you get the really just the bare bones of a rhythm or a compositional sort of structure yeah yeah I'm hope you're having fun yeah yeah having [Music] fun ston Haven's natural Bay encircled by protective Cliffs was established as a thriving Fishing Harbor back in the early 17th century 1607 was the first recorded uh date when fishermen were based here and it expanded to become one of the largest fish based ports in the area the fish could actually end up anywhere in the country um it was exported down to edra and London predominantly in 1825 one of the most famous engineers years of the 19th century robertt Stevenson known principally for Designing ligh houses was commissioned by the town to construct a longlasting Stone Harbor and 500t Pier which dominates today's view the upgrade to the harbor was a big boost to the local economy it allowed more vessels to safely Mo against the key side and it's set the picture for the upcoming Industrial Revolution by the mid 20th century overfishing had depleted the once plentiful fish stock and ston Haven's primary economic Source completely disappeared the populace who were involved in the fishing up and down the Northeast would have felt it very deeply that the vast majority of the town's folk were out of work fishing boats were being sold up um Alternatives had to be found ston Haven adapted and Leisure and tourism are now the order of the day with numerous hotels and restaurants welcoming the thousands visiting Stevenson's Harbor each year from all over the world and our wild cards are also enjoying their not so sunny day out in ston Haven I've never painted a harbor scene before it's a challenging experience I don't want to go down the chocolate box ter well I think you're doing a great job of avoiding it I mean and part of that has to do with what you're painting on to I'd like to collage almost at random bits of scrap uh books and things and then introduce order into that kios okay I really admire the sort of patience that you've exhibited in making such a sweet work thank you I mean it's a real labor of love every single little brick of that Cottage yeah it's exhausting I'm happy it's nearly done this one I've included a seagull cuz I feel like it adds to the atmosphere of ston heaven but I also wanted to get a total feeling of the place I want to include the houses they're shaped different ways to kind of protect from the sea when the weather is Extreme so there something unique to the place [Music] too just as it's time for the judges to decide on a wild card winner the heaven [Music] open it's lovely lovely um but this is loveliest of all I think you are a winner today hello well done and Katie Kerr's Gray ston Haven scene highlighted with a warm wash of color is the judge's overall favorite your painting really sings and your mark making is just gorgeous so well done it feels amazing I just I never expected it and I thought what I was doing was terrible so I'm chuffed a bits I'm just I just can't believe it I might just go to the pub for a drink ktie from Edinburgh will enter a pool of wild card winners from all the Heats just one of whom will be chosen to compete in the semi-final though unlike the wild cards the Pod artists have protection from the rain One is using the downpour to his advantage as they move into the fourth and final hour I've included umbrellas and uh people scotting around uh to get out of the rain but I'm going to work on the trees again it's just a morphous blob where I need to separate them and give them a bit of depth probably going to try and neaten up some of the the drawing the details of the buls and just adding little things that I've forgot on about little hints of color like the the little orange boys and highlights on the tops of BS yeah I'm running out of theme I'm feeling rushed I think the main thing is not to overwork it because I'm in danger always of doing that and I think better to just be careful about every Market make don't get tense relax it'll be [Music] fine our eight artists are nearing the end of their Harborside landscape challenge at ston Haven in Scotland and despite the Heavy Rain the crowds have continued to pour in how you found it working with people very close behind you have you been it's been Ling you listening to the comments I'm afraid so yeah put you off or helped you no not put me off to put me in my place that's it Everyone's a Critic not cracking on I'm just slowing down take a minute to just see how it's working and not put the ambulance in that's turned up over there artists you have 5 minutes left I'm going to leave it not make such a mess that I can't then put right in the last few [Music] seconds I hope I've made Scotland proud I've definitely done Scot and [Music] colorful I'm done I'm done artists your time is up please put down your equipment and step away from your easel [Applause] as the artists relax the judges head inside out of the rain to narrow their selection to a short list of three so we've spent the day in the harbor and now we're here with all of these amazing artworks in this big old boat shed it's amazing isn't it I would never guess from all of these works that actually they were of the same place it was such a complicated day and none of them have really succumbed to the confusion like look at this amazing panoramic sweet that Tony's done I love the color register is very rich isn't it you know he gave us that lovely view right the way out of the other side of the canvas and I really like the way in which he's taken the bottom right hand side and the top right hand side triangles of the canvas to sort of mirror each other I admire Sophie's ambition it's a really difficult one to put off to give us just the reflections as the main subject matter I like the fact that I have to work hard to understand it have to work hard to read [Music] it there's a sense in James's painting of incompleteness I like his composition I like the fact that I feel that I'm low down the water I think James is beautifully finished I'd be scared if he did any more to it because there's an awful lot of information here you know he went for the hills and the Cottages the cars the boats you know the entire kind of busyness of today looking at Amy's painting of Stone Haven I want to be there it's making me look at Stone Haven in a new way and it's suggesting stories which I wasn't aware of we've landed in the Caribbean and it's hot and there's this beautiful movement in the water almost as if the waves are sort of rolling against the beach I love the imagination I didn't know that Andrew would be able to do this in the way that he has it's a really clever use of charcoal actually in the water because I believe it's water entirely and that's largely because of the Reflections at the top to have a a drawing where 3/4 of it is a sort of smudgy mess and for us to understand it as sheer water is quite remarkable and he's giving us incredible detail at the top it's just so evocative I love the way Daniel's painting sort of starts at this tiny dark blue in the center and then just sort of expands out and takes you right to the four edges in this star shape it gives it an energy and it gives it a sort of openness and I realize now that actually this technique of starting in the middle and building it out he's basically creating patterns within his own paint so although the sky is one color the brush marks all sit in different directions like a tapestry or something with Charlotte I said she was a romantic and I feel like I'm looking at an illustration from a Victorian novel set by the seaside that is static but then is slowly going to come to life in a film you know Charlotte's given us this big Moody sky and it's a beautiful sky and I think it's one of the most successful passages Kieran found us in a hawas side didn't he yeah and it's interesting that the way he's put the rain in that it's lighter in certain areas and darker in certain areas there's that sort of literalness but also sophistication that's a been able to bring that together very nicely I said halfway through the day that I really felt that Kieran needed to give us something different this afternoon and he did he found something and he was really really helped Along by the driving rain so gosh we've got a difficult task today yeah I usually have an idea um who my top three are I've got a top five I think this is a really really hard location that we gave them today we've got some absolutely fantastic works yeah artist thank you for all your Sterling work today the time has come to reveal which three of you the judges have selected for their short list the first artist is Tony Griffin the second artist on the short list is Amy [Music] old the third artist is Daniel Roy [Applause] sharles commiserations to the rest of you I hope you've all enjoyed the day we've enjoyed watching you work thank you very much cheers thank you a bit done enjoyed it I didn't think I was going to get this far it'd be lying if I said that I didn't want to win however honestly all the artists there have been absolutely amazing the judges now have the unenviable task of selecting their winner only one artist can go through to the semi final to help them they also consider the chosen artists submissions been interesting today with the weather coming and going the water disappearing from the harbor it's nice to set them challenges where the Landscaping is in a state of flux we can see from Tony's work this jumbles of geometric shapes yeah and both of them are these fantastic panoramas and then what he's done today and you really get the quality of the lights slight sort of moisture in the air it's just so beautifully composed yeah I was a bit worried when we got the submission up against Tony's painting today that they were both identical in format and positioning and actually Tony's painting of the Spanish Town has that kind of graphic Clarity to it whereas today's painting it's much more organic it's much more immediate and it's much more alive Amy brings those warm and Vivid colors to her work the colors are very heightened the paint application takes us to a different place alog together the way that everything almost looks like a tapestry or weaving I think it's really important that Amy as an artist is able to bring her own perspective which isn't just about Heritage it's also about emotion I can see that she's prepared to take risk sometimes actually kind of reworking over and over certain areas to almost stain her own painting with new paint and you see her doing that in the top right of the submission we were intrigued at half time as to how Daniel would tackle the sky which he hadn't started at that point it's quite an interesting style he's used you know he understands tone and color in a very traditional way he's a practice plan air painter and then you look at the choices he makes and what he leaves out and his submission the way the crowd work their way through each other that sort of snaking through and huddled and today he had a harbor full of boats and he's just used a hand to give us a feeling of the jumble of boats I didn't understand it at all halfway through and then I realized what he was doing was making these really interesting marks although the paint color is the same the marks all sit in opposing directions to one another so it gives this fantastic liveliness almost like a piece of fabric or something right well I've just realized that I've spent a whole day in a fishing town so there is a place available in the semi final who's going to fill [Music] it Tony Amy Daniel to get to this point is in itself a great achievement but only one of you will be coming with us to the semifinal the artist who the judges have selected is Tony [Applause] [Music] Griffin to be the winner of this heat is just phenomenal I'm tiny speechless I believe that I've never actually felt like that before other than the birth of my children I think it's just unbelievable I think Tony was really good at giving us a a true sense of ston Haven Harbor a real sense of place and a real feeling of the weather and although it sits on the traditional side it has something fresh and open and Lively to it that we really liked it was a complete work really I honestly don't know what I'll do differently for the Ser final but for now I'm just going to keep painting if I can make this my full-time job that is the Pinnacle that's what I want to do if you'd like to be a pod artist in next year's competition or want to find out more about the work of our featured artists visit our website Sky arts artist of the year .tv next time landscape Mania lands in Liverpool I'm painting in the Fab for George Paul Ringo and John as eight new artists tackle the city's iconic Waterfront and an Uninvited Guest just got here into a huge octopus in the way and I don't want to paint it at all so in our Octopus's Garden who will get lost in the undergrowth it gets messy from here on in and who will come up smelling of roses we're not going to worry we're going to paint seeking Redemption and a chance to extinguish the past catch a new episode of fire country every Wednesday over on Sky [Music] Witness the

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Id: n4D5SqPmZmc

Length: 45min 1sec (2701 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 01 2024