PAY 2024 ep.2
Category
🦄
CreativityTranscript
00:00Hello, today's artists are a fun bunch. Their self-portraits show off their wild side, from
00:22ice-cold showers to naked dancing. Welcome to a Thrills and Spills episode of Portrait
00:29Artist of the Year. In the last heat, it was Paul Lee's ability to bring insight and sensitivity
00:36to his portrait of actor Saskia Reeves that dazzled the judges. It's just surreal, I can't
00:42believe I've got through to the semi-final. So who will be the second artist to earn their
00:46place in the semi-final?
01:01Flexing their artistic muscles in today's heat are...
01:06Tussi Dunstall, an art teacher from Weymouth.
01:09Freelance artist and property developer Shyam Ramsey.
01:14London-based artist, dancer and model Issue One.
01:18Pierce Rhodes, a Dublin-based life model and art teacher.
01:22And Georgie Huxley, a professional artist living in East London.
01:26I'm quite slow, but I'm hoping the adrenaline of today will speed me up and that I will
01:30have a finished portrait to turn around to and sit on.
01:34Also competing are...
01:36Artist and musician Mick McNicholas from Berkshire.
01:40Sam's in Hennessy, a Warwickshire-based property developer.
01:44Art and design teacher Lizzie Little, who lives in Glasgow.
01:48And Oxfordshire-based professional artist Polly Pincott.
01:52I'm as prepared as I can be, I think. I've been practising and I've been trying to get
01:56a bit of a game plan going, but whether that all goes out the window today is another question.
02:02They're all in the running to win a £10,000 commission to paint multi-award winning broadcaster
02:07Lorraine Kelly for the Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh.
02:12Deciding which artist will go through to the semi-final are the judges.
02:17Artist Taishan Shirenberg, curator Kathleen Soriano and art historian Kate Bryan.
02:29What better way to start the morning than with a bowl of sugary cereal?
02:33Yeah, I mean, it doesn't have much nutritional value, but it's got great artistic value.
02:38I almost missed the portrait and that's quite a lovely discovery, that playing with our perception.
02:43Shouldn't that face be wider? You know, either it should be...
02:47Or it should be...
02:48Oh, I see what you mean. Sort of making the head expand slightly more.
02:51It's more natural, yeah.
02:52Artistic licence.
02:55Let's move on to another prop that steals the show.
02:58I think the face is beautifully painted and the hand holding the camera is so delicate.
03:02A lot of artists say they don't like that full face view
03:06and this artist has done it really, really well.
03:09I just love the energy.
03:10I love the way the artist has really been able to get all of these different depths
03:13and contours and shapes and components together just through using one pencil.
03:18Sometimes you can go down a whole wall without seeing a hand.
03:22Here's another one.
03:23It's really charming. Absolutely perfect.
03:25Spackmang in the middle, nothing behind it. It's just great.
03:29Often if you rest on your hand, that's the side you lean to.
03:32Leaning away from the hand.
03:33Yeah, you're right.
03:34My God, the spoon, the hand, real detective, the spoon.
03:37Don't worry about that, I'm all over it.
03:42I can't believe he's got away with the right-hand side of the cheek
03:45being totally undone like that.
03:47This has a freshness to it, I think, because it feels like a study.
03:51This one isn't a study.
03:53Someone's showing off about painting water.
03:55And when you look at the different tones in the skin across the face,
03:59it's really quite varied and quite sophisticated.
04:04I just love the consistency of the mark-making,
04:06like to have everything operating on this horizontal plane.
04:09Yeah, we get artists at work and what you guys don't know
04:12is a lot of thinking goes on as well.
04:14A lot of suffering and thinking.
04:16AKA reading the paper.
04:19And I just love the contemplative nature of it.
04:24This feels really realistic and believable, but it's pretty limited.
04:27If it wasn't for those plants,
04:28we'd be existing in a pretty grey and bay universe.
04:32Really sensitively observed.
04:35And here's a figure adorned with props.
04:37It feels very contemporary.
04:39This is an artist who's using a painting language
04:42that she's found herself and that feels very fresh.
04:51Artists, your sitter is an actress
04:54who has flipped the script in performances of Julius Caesar and Hamlet.
05:00On screen, she's entertained audiences in The Good Wife
05:03and Apple TV's Criminal Record.
05:05Please welcome Cush Jumbo!
05:08CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
05:21Hello. Have a seat. OK.
05:25Welcome. Hi, thanks.
05:27You're getting your portrait painted. I am.
05:30Do you know where it's going to go?
05:31I'm hoping to have something to give to my son. He's five.
05:34Yeah, I don't know, something for his toilet, I suppose.
05:36Right. Yeah.
05:38Tell me about the object you've brought with you.
05:40It's a complete works of Shakespeare that was given to me by my mum.
05:42So how are you going to find today? Have you got a plan?
05:45I mean, I'm really excited to sit down for so long,
05:47cos I don't usually get to do that very much.
05:50I think you're all going to have a great day. Enjoy. Bye.
05:55Your sitter is a singer who has been spreading the sounds
05:59of Senegal across the globe.
06:01He played an essential part in the creation of the soaring soundtrack
06:05for Wakanda in Marvel's Black Panther films.
06:08Please welcome singer and humanitarian, Barbara Marle!
06:12CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
06:19Hiya. How are you? Nice to meet you.
06:21Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.
06:23Hello. Hello. How are you? Good.
06:25Have a seat. Thank you.
06:27Barbara, fantastic outfit. Oh, thank you very much.
06:31Have you sat for a portrait before?
06:33No. No? I'm so excited. Good, excellent.
06:36Tell us a bit about the object you've brought with you today.
06:39I bring the guitar, cos that's my best friend
06:42in all the instruments of music that I'm playing.
06:45Well, artists, you have a fascinating sitter. Yeah.
06:48I'll leave you to get on.
06:54Your sitter today knows how to hit the right note.
06:58She's a classical singer.
07:00Pope Francis described her as having the voice of an angel,
07:03and he's infallible.
07:05Please welcome the celestial, Carly Powley!
07:09CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
07:19Hi.
07:24Hello. Welcome.
07:27Look at that. Mate, you look incredible.
07:30And I have to say, I don't think we've ever had a more misleading prop.
07:33LAUGHTER
07:35My Northern Ireland shirt takes me back to an unforgettable moment
07:39in Windsor Park, when it was Northern Ireland versus Italy.
07:43I'm half Italian, and I was asked to sing both national anthems.
07:47Right. Any chance of us hearing a little bit of something?
07:51Why not? Yeah?
07:53I'll sing a little bit of Non ti scordar di me,
07:56which means Do Not Forget Me.
07:58SINGS IN ITALIAN
08:22Wow!
08:29So, artists, that's your job.
08:31LAUGHTER
08:33The gown, the woman, the shirt, the voice.
08:37I'll leave you to it.
08:43Artists, four hours divided by three sitters
08:47equals nine masterpieces.
08:49I'm not a mathematician.
08:51Your time starts now.
08:56Are you able to, like, maybe a little bit up?
08:58Just maybe, yeah. Perfect, perfect.
09:00Can I have your head slightly more to the right, maybe?
09:03Sure. Is that comfortable? I'm fine.
09:05It's a corset, so you can't really move too far in it anyway.
09:18MUSIC CONTINUES
09:38Maybe you never want me to look away, I don't have to look at you.
09:41No, I think I like the connection,
09:43cos I feel like you're a really warm, soft person.
09:46But equally, there's so much strength in there... Yeah.
09:49..that I really want to try and get both those sides of you.
09:51That would be ideal.
10:02My initial thoughts of Kush are excitement.
10:05She's just brilliant.
10:07She's so warm and open
10:09and she's got a really lovely aura about her.
10:12Visually, obviously, she's amazing.
10:14I think that goes without saying.
10:16Can I pay her to say that?
10:18Yeah, pay me later.
10:21Full-time artist Polly Pincott chose to work
10:24from a slightly overexposed image for her self-portrait.
10:27She liked how the inclusion of the camera
10:30diverted focus from her face.
10:33Polly, there's already a terrific likeness
10:35just in this drawing that you've made.
10:37Do you normally get a likeness this early?
10:39If I use the bridge, I tend to get a better likeness.
10:41Once the paint goes down, it's a completely different story.
10:44I'd usually be going in with a bit more bravado.
10:46I'm just scared of putting paint down and losing the likeness.
10:49And what are your strategies, then, for keeping the likeness?
10:52Just stepping back a lot, referring to the picture and to Kush as well.
10:55I feel like I can close my eyes and I can see her.
10:58You're burned into her brain. You are.
11:01So, in my composition, I have gone for kind of a half-body
11:05with quite a bit of the dress showing.
11:07I was just going to do head and shoulders,
11:09but you can't say no to that.
11:14Georgie Huxley is a professional artist
11:16who was inspired to create a playful portrait
11:19celebrating the mundanity of her breakfast.
11:22It's the first time I've done a self-portrait,
11:24so I'm really looking forward to it.
11:27Georgie, the dress is there.
11:29What issues is that going to create in terms of time?
11:32I am quite slow, but I'm hoping that I can kind of keep it loose
11:35and make quite fast progress.
11:37Good.
11:38I want to wait and see with the background.
11:40I love the idea of the screen,
11:42and I would love to kind of get that in somehow,
11:45but it's kind of a later decision.
11:47We'll see.
11:48So, I'm going to start with the background.
11:50I'm going to start with the background.
11:53I'm going to start with the background.
11:55I love the idea of the screen
11:57and I'm going to try to get that in somehow,
12:00but it's kind of a later decision.
12:02We'll see.
12:04You've got very small feet.
12:06I do have very tiny feet!
12:08Them poking out is...
12:09Sorry, I don't mean... I just noticed.
12:11How small are they?
12:12They are size one.
12:13size one?
12:14Yeah.
12:15My man says I have just toes on the end of my legs.
12:17So, Cinderella vibes going on here.
12:19I think the Cinderella vibes are here.
12:21Barber is amazing, I love his skin tone, it gives me a range of colour palette with complexity.
12:28I love the hair texture as well.
12:30I've done some practices within the four hour time limit, but I just want to make sure I
12:35can do something that the judges are looking for.
12:38Shyam Ramsey lives in London.
12:40His self-portrait is all about emotion and shows him taking a cold shower, which he finds
12:46both physically and mentally therapeutic.
12:50He gave us quite a realist painting, but it was so painterly as well.
12:54I like a style where it combines both hyper-realism and abstract, because I feel like that's how
12:58you depict emotion from someone.
13:00I mean, one of the things in your self-portrait was the variation of tonalities and light
13:04in the skin.
13:05Here at this early stage, some of the areas it looks sophisticated, but some it looks
13:10sort of like I'm seeing the underneath of it.
13:12Is that something that you're going to build on over the day?
13:14I'm looking to build up some of it, but then I'm going to leave some as well.
13:18What do you think?
13:19Do you think I should...?
13:20I'm not going to say anything, because if I get it wrong and then you don't go through,
13:24you'll be chasing me around this circle, telling me off.
13:36The composition I have, it's quite a nice, structured pose.
13:39It fell into it quite naturally.
13:40I definitely prefer drawing from life.
13:42It's kind of developing in the stages that I usually draw in.
13:45Maybe it's a little slow, but I'm OK with it.
13:49Pierce Rhodes works as both an art teacher and a life model.
13:53Choosing a pose that conveyed movement, his self-portrait is an exploration in the capabilities
13:59of graphite pencil.
14:02So Pierce, from satanic dancing to princess, maybe they inhabit the same world, or the
14:08same fairy tale.
14:09Yeah, I could see that.
14:11However, the way you've tackled the subject matter in terms of mark-making, there's a
14:16lot of putting on and taking off.
14:19I think everything needs to have a relationship throughout.
14:21So if I change something here, I can start then noticing how it changes, what it looks
14:25like in a different side of the paper.
14:27I like the format and I like the presence of Carlos, so well done.
14:30Thanks very much.
14:39The artists are one hour into their four-hour portrait challenge.
14:44To be honest, I'm scared.
14:46I'm scared of making the wrong marks, but I've just got to take it as it comes and see
14:50what happens.
14:57I am nervous.
14:58It's one of those situations where you can start to add more and lose that likeness.
15:02So I want to build up paint quite slowly in the hope that she still remains there, like
15:06her essence.
15:07Carly has really nice structure on her face, so I have to really develop that.
15:10Like where the light is landing on her cheeks and her forehead and her chin, I have to be
15:14a bit careful about the shape of that light to really represent her.
15:28The artists are into their second hour creating portraits of classical saints,
15:32and musician Baba Mal.
15:45Are you awake still?
15:46Oh, a little bit tired, but it's OK.
15:49Are you comfortable?
15:50I am, for now.
15:52Yeah.
15:53Have you had a look at them, or are you waiting till the end?
15:55Not really.
15:56I'm going to have a look.
15:57I'm going to have a look.
15:58I'm going to have a look.
15:59I'm going to have a look.
16:00Are you waiting till the end?
16:01Not really.
16:02I wanted to get the surprise at the end to see what's going to come up.
16:07Good.
16:09Lizzy Little works as a teacher in Glasgow.
16:13Her self-portrait took 10 hours and shows her sitting in her studio in quiet reflection.
16:20Lizzy, one of the things I noticed in your self-portrait was in the bottom right-hand
16:23corner, you had a sort of shorthand.
16:25Yes, I tend to choose a side of the face to have heavier details, and then they kind of
16:29drift off and melt off into the background.
16:31And I've not quite decided where I want that to be.
16:33And Baba is a sitter.
16:35Are there any sort of tricky elements about him?
16:37I would just say maybe the different patterns on the shirt that I kind of want to incorporate.
16:42But my risk as well is I don't want to overwork it.
16:52Ishi, do you usually work this quickly?
16:54Yes.
16:55Usually, my friends are my sitters, and I don't want to keep them uncomfortably still
17:00for too long.
17:01Right.
17:02So for the sake of your friendships, you learn to paint very quickly.
17:04Yeah.
17:06Ishu Wan is a professional artist.
17:10She chose the highly saturated colours in her self-portrait to reflect her bold style
17:15and personality.
17:18I see you're working directly from life.
17:20How are you seeing Kush in terms of colouration?
17:22I see a lot of crazy colours on her face too, I think, in my self-portrait.
17:27A lot of crazy colours on your face, apparently.
17:30Yeah, I hope so.
17:31I've got a lot of makeup on.
17:33And so what are you seeing now, then?
17:34Obviously, we've got a very intense red set that's coming in immediately.
17:38I've done the background, weirdly, first, because I want to remind myself that this
17:44figure is in a very red space.
17:47Yeah.
17:48So you can't wait till later to put the background in, because the background is informing the
17:52way you're seeing the face.
18:03I didn't trust myself today with nerves, so I've decided to use a grid.
18:07I was hoping to be a bit quicker on than this, but I'm going to block in with a load of paint
18:12and then go back in with the detail.
18:15Tamsin Hennessy lives and works in Warwickshire.
18:18This is her first self-portrait, which was created in oils on canvas
18:23and took 12 hours to produce.
18:27You've got a dog portrait through past the judges.
18:30Not many people do that.
18:31Really?
18:32Yeah, they're normally allergic to pet portraits.
18:34I was trying to hide from myself.
18:36Is that what it was?
18:37Look at the dog.
18:38It was.
18:39You've got a very beautiful sitter.
18:41That can sometimes be a problem, can't it?
18:43Yes.
18:44When I first saw her, I was like, oh, no.
18:46Yeah, well, do you want something really craggy?
18:48Yes.
18:49Someone 106 years old.
18:50100%.
18:51She's absolutely stunning.
18:52I did want to get all the dressing, but I struggle with a four-hour time window,
18:56so I'm sticking with head and shoulders, I think.
18:59Right.
19:00Each sitter has brought with them something meaningful,
19:03which the artists can choose to include or not.
19:07Tell me about your object.
19:09This is a complete works of Shakespeare.
19:11A complete works of Shakespeare that my mum gave to me when I was eight or nine,
19:19and this was her study copy of Shakespeare at secondary school.
19:22Oh, that's wonderful.
19:23So, yes, this book has been used for many things.
19:25It's held windows open at uni.
19:27It's made tables straight.
19:29So it's always travelled with you?
19:31Yes.
19:32I kind of coveted this book,
19:33so I think I saw something that had probably very fake gold in red,
19:37and I thought that looks like a bougie book for a bougie child,
19:40so I think I...
19:41And a bougie career.
19:42And a bougie career, yeah.
19:49Carly, I think there's such a brilliantly clever juxtaposition between all of this
19:54incredibly operatic, beautiful, refined regal and this.
19:58A few years ago, I was asked to perform in Windsor Park in Northern Ireland,
20:04so I went out in this beautiful blue azzurro cloak
20:07and sung the Italian national anthem,
20:10and then there was a special reveal,
20:12and I was in the full Northern Ireland kit.
20:15And I think it's so extraordinary
20:16because it's your particular heritage is woven throughout all of that as well,
20:20and I think that makes it incredibly personal and special.
20:22Great.
20:23Well, as you were, come on,
20:24Pierce is expecting you to sit from life.
20:26I've got my reference point, Pierce.
20:28I'll behave.
20:34Hi, Baba.
20:35You brought a very beautiful, precious object with you here today.
20:39Tell me a little bit about it.
20:52It's really important when you have this guitar
20:56just not to let it on its own.
20:58You have to play it.
20:59Yeah.
21:00You want to hear it?
21:01Yeah, I do, I do.
21:02I want to play a little something for you.
21:33Collide, you
21:35Ablai
21:38Ablai
21:41Ablai, Aliman
21:50Thank you so much.
21:51That's such an honour.
21:52No, no, no.
21:53That was so special.
22:02I'm a little bit anxious. I'm a little behind where I'd like to be. I very rarely do more
22:13than the head and a bit of shoulder, so I won't be including the object, sadly.
22:21Tussi Dunstall is an art teacher. Her self-portrait took three hours and was created in watercolour
22:27and gouache. She hopes that it highlights both her shy and good-humoured nature.
22:33You are a colourist, aren't you?
22:34Yes, I am a colourist.
22:36As you're painting now, are you looking to replicate the tones as they appear in Cush's face?
22:42I feel that I interpret the colours that I see, because her colours are very soft and
22:48the image has made it a bit harsher. So that's going to be the challenge, to capture her softness.
22:55I love the fact that you've got your whole studio here. I mean, how many pans of watercolour
22:59does an artist need?
23:00Well, not millions, because you tend to use the same colours again and again.
23:13I'm not trying to nail the eye or the nose, but I just really want to get them in the right place.
23:20At the moment, I haven't got any plans to include the guitar. It depends how desperate I get at the end.
23:27Mick McNicholas is a Berkshire-based musician and artist.
23:31He attributes his manic-looking grin in his self-portrait to feeling stir-crazy after the national lockdown.
23:39Mick, in your self-portrait, one side of the face was sort of smudged away.
23:43Here, it looks much more defined.
23:46The reason that the self-portrait was like that is because I was painting from life and
23:50I had to go and do something else, so I stopped. But I liked it.
23:54And you've got that sort of nobility of Barbara's head there.
23:57Do you feel like you've got the essence of him now?
23:59I think I'm happier with the drawing, but it's still a start, though, and I'm conscious
24:06of the fact that we're heading near to the second half of the day.
24:10But you're doing fine?
24:13Today's nine artists are coming to the halfway point of the four-hour challenge.
24:25I'm a little nervous.
24:28I'm not getting on as quickly as I wanted to, but in the next two hours, I'm going to
24:33completely cover the canvas and then focus on the detail.
24:45This stage is kind of the bit where I'm a bit nervous.
24:47I need to decide where and if I want to add some elements of tone to the background, just
24:53to start to create a greater context.
24:59I'm going more into the details now.
25:02I kind of want to include the text on the book, but instead of using the brush, I used
25:07one of my alien-shaped knife, which can create five lines in one stroke.
25:23It's the halfway point of the four-hour challenge for the artists and their sitters, musician
25:28Baba Mal, actress Kush Jumbo, and opera singer Carly Powley.
25:36How are you feeling?
25:37I'm good.
25:38I'm still poised.
25:39Is it therapeutic?
25:40Actually, it is.
25:41It's sort of like waiting for Christmas, because everybody can see what's going on, but I can't.
25:46Exactly.
25:47You're not just being watched by us.
25:48No pressure.
25:51So this morning, we had a wall bursting with personality.
25:53Has that translated into exciting art?
25:57I think it's translated into quite a few nerves.
26:00Carly's given us an incredibly strong look, the dress, the train, even the shirt.
26:05Is that what you want as an artist?
26:07I think the artists have to find their own Carly, and that's always the challenge that
26:11we're setting the artists.
26:12I think George has understood that red train is a great counterpoint, isn't it?
26:15So we want to get that in.
26:16So it's lovely that she's sitting on the left.
26:18The head is very small, but from a self-portrait, we know she can do tiny, tiny heads.
26:22Piers, who we first met in this underworld, naked dancing extravaganza, I mean, that couldn't
26:29be further from what he's having to portray today.
26:32I know he's struggled a little bit with the light on Carly.
26:35So he's been introducing it himself by rubbing out the dark lines in order to create that
26:41sense of light.
26:42But I do commend him for doing the whole figure.
26:45Tamsin was so nervous at the start.
26:47So she started to pull it round.
26:49The eyes had just gone in, so it started to make more sense, but I think she picked the
26:52right picture of Carly.
26:54There's a playful cheekiness that comes despite this poise and the persona, and that's what
26:59she's caught.
27:00Barbara says it's a very meditative experience.
27:03Is he a good sitter?
27:05He's a great sitter.
27:06He's sort of quite regal and strong, and he has the most beautiful suit on.
27:10It's absolutely stunning.
27:12It's odd.
27:13As you're talking about Barbara's sitting, I'm thinking he's sitting perfectly for somebody
27:18who wants to paint only from life.
27:19I think Mick made a really clever choice working on the rectangle to include Barbara down below
27:24the shoulders.
27:25We see a lot of head and shoulders cut off here.
27:27You just like the suit.
27:28You really want the suit in there.
27:29I love that suit.
27:30I love that suit.
27:31I think it's remarkable how quickly Sam's working.
27:34I mean, to get that level of finish, to have a correspondence to the submission in half
27:38a day is very impressive.
27:40And you really get the presence of the man and the mood.
27:43Lizzie's struggling with the lightness.
27:45Does Lizzie care about the lightness?
27:47I don't know.
27:48I don't feel she does.
27:49Right.
27:50I think she's an artist who uses what's in front of her to make an interesting drawing.
27:52Yeah.
27:53I think she hasn't chosen the right photo, Barbara, and that's the issue, actually.
27:56And it's a shame, because I love the way that she works.
27:59Cush has three women painters, and it really is a sisterhood over there.
28:03They spent ten minutes making sure everyone was happy.
28:06Yeah, it was lovely how she collaborated with her artists.
28:09She's a phenomenal presence, and I think that's come across in Ishu's painting, the whole figure.
28:14The paint is going on in such a way that it just needs some small adjustments.
28:18Polly's painting, I'm finding very moving.
28:20Is anyone else getting that?
28:21No, by the looks on your face.
28:22I'm finding Polly's painting so slow.
28:23I keep on going round, and every time I come round, it's still the same.
28:24Come on!
28:25That's because I'm standing in front of it crying all the time, and she can't get to it.
28:32Polly made an absolutely resplendent drawing.
28:35Now she's got to spend the rest of the day terrified that she's going to lose that.
28:39Tussie spent a long time on her drawing, and the paint's only just starting to go down.
28:43The drawing was to learn the face, and then the painting was supposed to have no drawing on it.
28:46Then the painting went wrong, so then she's gone back to the original drawing.
28:49The likeness isn't perfect, because it was really just a study.
28:53That said, I love the way that Kish's head feels so believable.
28:56What she really needs to do is just take herself out for a walk, and then come back and start again.
29:00She's fighting against this drawing that she's got.
29:03Do you mind taking all the artists out for a walk?
29:04Well, I mean, at the moment, I've booked in three artists to take a walk, and three to tell to bloody hurry up.
29:14I think I'm going to hang this portrait either in my living room,
29:18or I could be very self-indulgent, and it might go in my bedroom where all my dresses hang and everything.
29:26I went for a knit and some jeans, because there is barely a picture of me where I'm not in, like, a costume.
29:32I don't want to play a character when I'm being painted.
29:37For me, it's all connected, you know, the painting, the music.
29:41I'm very excited to see what's going to come up after these four hours.
29:49With those four hours nearly up, some artists have started including bolder elements,
29:54which could upset the balance of their portraits.
29:58Sam, I feel like I've caught you.
30:01The background is giving me a choice of colours to choose from,
30:04but also I don't want to overdo it as well.
30:06Yeah, because I guess what you've achieved in the head is so sensitive that you can't interrupt too much.
30:12Yeah, I don't want to ruin the hierarchy.
30:14What do you think I should do?
30:16Oh, I'm not allowed to say.
30:19Georgie, the face is so prominent at the moment,
30:21but that's going to shift so much when you put the full red in.
30:24Yeah, I'm slightly worried I've bitten off a bit more than I can chew.
30:27But I think I'm going to keep it quite loose and quite thin, so it's not too detracting.
30:31OK.
30:35I think I'm going to go with this one.
30:37I'm going to go with this one.
30:39I'm going to go with this one.
30:41I'm going to go with this one.
30:43I'm going to go with this one.
30:45I'm going to go with this one.
30:48Polly, how have you found today?
30:50I got too scared of making the wrong marks,
30:52so I basically wasn't doing much for quite a long time.
30:55I see.
30:56But, you know, you overthink it, and I wouldn't do that if I was at home,
30:59but hopefully it's something I'm half happy with at the end.
31:02It will suffice.
31:18I feel a little bit rushed.
31:20My plan went wrong, which is unusual, but I think I've pulled it back.
31:24I've got to do something with the background,
31:27but otherwise I think I'm on track.
31:36I'm trying to kind of get some really key things, particularly around the eyes.
31:40I feel like that's where the character, that's where the soul kind of comes out.
31:47I've got to work on everything, really.
31:49I've got the eyes, got to work on the nose, got to work on the highlights.
31:53Yeah, I've got quite a bit to do.
32:02The four-hour painting competition to portray opera singer Carly Powley,
32:07musician Baba Mal, and actress Kush Jumbo is almost complete.
32:13Ishu, what still needs doing?
32:16Am I at something with the tiniest brush I have?
32:19The tiniest brush you have, OK.
32:21Just make some contrast with the big brush stroke you've got.
32:30I'm thinking of adding the white ink drip similar to my submission,
32:34but I'm in a dilemma because I don't know whether to take the risk or not,
32:38the risk of overdoing something and the risk of underdoing it.
32:43I'm just kind of touching up the fabric now.
32:45I'm kind of trying to keep it fluid.
32:48I'm feeling stressed.
32:52Artists, you have five minutes left. Five minutes.
32:58I'm fiddling a little bit.
33:00I haven't completely finished the eyes,
33:02so hopefully I can do that in less than five minutes.
33:05At this stage, I'm just pushing values where I can,
33:08taking things out, but it's very slight.
33:17Artists, your time is up.
33:19Please put down your equipment and step away from your easels.
33:29Oh, my God, I feel like crying.
33:32Oh, my God, I feel like crying.
33:34It's been wonderful. Thank you.
33:37The anticipation is over for the sitters,
33:40who finally get to see their artist's work and choose one to take home.
33:45I feel like I'm on Blind Date.
33:48That makes me sillier. Which one's it going to be?
33:51Shall we do it? Yes, yes, yes.
33:53Artists, can I ask you please to turn your easels?
33:57Oh, my God.
34:00They're proper paintings!
34:03Cos from my perspective, it's just like a bit of this.
34:07It's amazing, isn't it? Isn't it?
34:09Well done. Yeah, let's go.
34:14I love my hair and all the colours in it and all the pieces of light.
34:18It's beautiful. Not I'm beautiful, that's not what I mean.
34:21You are. It's beautiful. Thank you.
34:24Holly.
34:31It's making me quite emotional. Oh!
34:35Oh, you're going to make me cry.
34:37That looks like the person that often reads to my kid at night-time,
34:41as well as all the other things I do.
34:44I've actually got more emotions, I've got closer to it,
34:47so I'll keep away from it. Stay back.
34:49I look like quite an important person there.
34:51You are an important person.
34:53Look at the little texture on my hair.
34:56My lashes look great, too. It's amazing.
34:58Right, Cush, you get to take one.
35:01It's too hard!
35:03They're all beautiful,
35:05but I think I have to go with the one that made me cry.
35:08Well done, Holly.
35:10Thank you very much.
35:12Thank you so much.
35:14Do you know where this piece of art is going to go?
35:16I have three houses in Dakar,
35:18so I would like to take all of them down there.
35:21LAUGHTER
35:23There's not a painting-per-house rule, unfortunately.
35:26So what's going to happen now?
35:28You're going to have to choose one, one only.
35:30Artists, can I ask you, please?
35:32Yes, of course.
35:34You're going to have to choose one artist,
35:36and you're going to have to choose one artist,
35:38and you're going to have to choose one artist,
35:40and you're going to have to choose one artist,
35:42and you're going to have to choose one artist.
35:44Artists, can I ask you, please, to turn your easels.
35:50Oh!
35:53Wow!
35:57They're all beautiful.
36:01Wow.
36:03You know, it makes me look like many of the members of my family,
36:06my dad, my mum especially.
36:08LAUGHTER
36:10expression in the face. You are very talented.
36:13Thank you so much. You're welcome.
36:16Oh, wow.
36:17Lizzie.
36:19It's really, really, really nice.
36:21I love black and white.
36:23It's really symbolic for me.
36:28Mick all the time, he was asking me,
36:30just turn and look at this side.
36:32I don't know what he was looking for.
36:35I think he wanted you to stay still, probably.
36:37Yeah.
36:38She's beautiful.
36:39I love it.
36:41Right, Baba, just get one to take away.
36:44I don't care how many houses you have.
36:47You know, in the market of Africa,
36:48you negotiate everything.
36:52Thank you, all of you.
36:53You have been an inspiration all day.
36:56But I'm going to choose this one.
36:58Thank you so much.
36:59Oh, Lizzie.
37:10Are we ready?
37:11Yeah?
37:12OK, artists, can I ask you, please, to turn your easels?
37:19Oh, wow.
37:22Oh, they are beautiful.
37:24And all so different.
37:26Good, isn't it?
37:27I feel quite speechless.
37:28Yeah.
37:29It's me looking back at myself.
37:31It's really quite amazing.
37:32Shall we have a closer look?
37:33Yeah, I'd love to.
37:34All right.
37:35I really would.
37:36Oh, what are you doing?
37:37Oh, I see, you're detaching.
37:38Look.
37:39Look at that.
37:40Do you see?
37:41Can I wear it?
37:42Any time.
37:45That's really beautiful.
37:47Congratulations.
37:48I can see the sheen on the dress.
37:50I can see the jewels sparkling.
37:52It's beautiful.
37:54It really is.
37:55Thanks very much.
37:57That's gorgeous.
37:58You made my eyes twinkle.
38:01There's a real kind of 1940s essence about this one.
38:06It's stunning.
38:08That's fantastic.
38:11I love that you can see the folds in the dress.
38:14It's a really, really special picture.
38:17Right, Carly.
38:18You get to take one home with you.
38:20It's a really hard decision.
38:23I'm going to go with Georgie.
38:26All right, Georgie.
38:27Thank you very much.
38:29While the artists enjoy some downtime,
38:32it's up to the judges to evaluate today's work.
38:36There are two things I really love about Yishu's painting.
38:38The way in which she uses the palette knife
38:40so subtly and so delicately
38:42to make these skinny little lines in the face
38:44and the way the jeans fall away in the bottom half.
38:53I'm going to go with Georgie.
38:56Man, Polly took a long time.
38:58She was just reluctant to put the paint down.
39:01It's still there, but only reluctantly.
39:04But she's got a powerful cush, hasn't she?
39:06You know, we always complain.
39:07They always overwork it.
39:08If only they'd just stopped.
39:09You know, this is, I think, the just stop bit.
39:11Yes.
39:14I so felt for Tussi earlier today,
39:16but I think she really pulled it back.
39:18This is a really beautiful picture.
39:20I love the treatment of the hair.
39:21I love the treatment of the face.
39:23It's an intoxicating image.
39:27I think Georgie made some very intelligent choices
39:29very early on.
39:30The way the red leads you in
39:31and then the eye leads you off
39:33is very beautifully done.
39:36Tamsin's got a great likeness.
39:37It's got a lovely presence and alertness to it.
39:40I love the positioning of Carly within it
39:42and the sort of dusty blue that she's picked up
39:44in the background is gorgeous.
39:48Pierce didn't give us much.
39:50Pierce didn't give us much in common
39:52with his submission.
39:53I love the way that he's caught the way
39:55that Carly was sitting
39:56and she really was sitting.
39:57For him particularly
39:58because he did all of this from life.
40:04Mick is one of those artists
40:05who just use the day to make a painting
40:07they want to make, really.
40:08We just happened to be here.
40:10It's interesting.
40:11His portrait wasn't a great likeness
40:12and this isn't a great likeness
40:13but it's a great presence.
40:16I think what's lovely about Lizzie's portrait
40:18is that you can kind of get lost
40:19in these independent parts of the drawing.
40:22I love the hair
40:23and the shadow
40:24of that little lock
40:25that's falling over the forehead
40:26that sits on it
40:27just really well observed.
40:31Shyam's Baba
40:32it's got a sort of
40:33rigid nobility to it.
40:35There's a sense of depth
40:36from that front light
40:37of that cheek
40:38across Baba's face.
40:40To get that working
40:41is just extraordinary.
40:43The way that he animates
40:44the background
40:45is really important
40:46to how we understand
40:47and how we feel about the picture.
40:49I think it was a hard day today.
40:50Yeah.
40:51I think there was a lot of artists
40:52who had a nervous energy.
40:54It's unusual to have a cluster
40:55of people getting so anxious.
40:58But not this artist.
40:59This artist went off
41:00at the starting gates.
41:02I like the likeness
41:03on this one.
41:04I like the attitude.
41:05This one on the other hand
41:06torturous to watch it
41:07come to life
41:08but we have to
41:09just look at the artwork
41:10and say,
41:11that's great.
41:12I'm glad we all agree then.
41:13So it's an interesting
41:14story, yeah.
41:19Artists,
41:20thank you for being
41:21so creative
41:22and producing
41:23such stunning portraits.
41:25The judges
41:26have now decided
41:27on a short list
41:28of three.
41:29The first artist
41:30is
41:34Ishu Wang.
41:41The second is
41:44Cheyenne Ramsey.
41:49And the third artist is
41:53Polly Pincott.
42:01I just had the best day.
42:02I felt quite emotional
42:03when Bala put my drawing
42:05and it's quite amazing
42:06to think that
42:07that's going to go
42:08all the way to Senegal
42:09as well.
42:12The first thing you notice
42:13when you look at
42:14all those six paintings
42:15is how similar
42:16in style
42:17each of the artists
42:19has been today
42:20to what they did before.
42:21Yeah, and I think
42:22that we've got
42:23three great artists.
42:24They were able
42:25to find an equivalence
42:26today to what
42:27happened in their submission.
42:28So, let's start
42:29with Ishu.
42:30It's a beautiful
42:31colour register.
42:32She brings
42:33tones together
42:34in a sharp
42:35way that cries
42:36for attention.
42:37This is shouty
42:38and loud
42:39but she knows
42:40how to make them
42:41work effectively
42:42together.
42:43I think it's quite
42:44unusual to be able
42:45to have these
42:46deep, strongly
42:47painted hues
42:48together.
42:49Lovely.
42:50I think Shyam's palette
42:51is quite interesting
42:52in its restrainedness.
42:53I mean, it's all
42:54greys and browns
42:55but what he's able
42:56to do in terms
42:57of detailing
42:58in terms of
42:59expression
43:00is kind of
43:01miraculous
43:02with just
43:03very few colours.
43:04So, obvious similarities
43:05in Shyam's
43:06background treatment?
43:07I think it's interesting
43:08because they
43:09could slightly
43:10be done by
43:11different artists
43:12if the backgrounds
43:13weren't unified.
43:14It makes me question
43:15whether Polly
43:16consistently likes
43:17the background
43:18that she's painting on.
43:19Today's painting
43:20breathes
43:21as a result
43:22of the grey coming through
43:23but I could do
43:24with a bit more finish
43:25funnily enough
43:26but her attitude
43:27as she's looking
43:28at us,
43:29watching her
43:30take a photograph
43:31and Kush's
43:32attitude towards us
43:33I mean, it's about
43:34that connection
43:35it works very well.
43:36So, is it fair
43:37to say that overall
43:38the portraits
43:39they've painted
43:40today
43:41have reinforced
43:42what you like
43:43about them
43:44as an artist
43:45rather than
43:46having a level
43:47of confidence?
43:48Yeah.
43:51Ishu,
43:52Shyam,
43:53Polly
43:54you've done so well
43:55to make it through
43:56to the shortlist
43:57but as you know
43:58only one artist
43:59can go through
44:00to the semi-final.
44:01That artist
44:02captured a
44:03profound likeness
44:04of their sitter
44:05and is
44:11Polly Pimcock.
44:22My whole body
44:23is shaking
44:24and I just
44:25can't believe
44:26that I've just
44:27been selected
44:28to go through.
44:29I'm just
44:30completely overwhelmed.
44:31I'm going to cry again.
44:32I feel like I'm
44:33going to cry.
44:34Today was
44:35an amazing experience.
44:36Everyone's work
44:37was amazing.
44:38Polly
44:39is amazing
44:40is beautiful
44:41likeness
44:42and colours
44:43and I learned a lot.
44:44Well done.
44:45I think Polly's
44:46portrait is
44:47very good at
44:48capturing the sitter
44:49and
44:50I really liked
44:51her eyes
44:52I really brought
44:53the painting to life.
44:54Next time
44:55less nerves.
44:56I know
44:57just get on with it.
44:58Polly's portrait
44:59packed a punch.
45:00She barely
45:01put any marks
45:02down
45:03and what she put down
45:04was so poignant
45:05it reduced
45:06Kush to tears.
45:07In the semi-final
45:08all Polly needs
45:09to work on
45:10is her nerves
45:11and getting more
45:12paint down
45:13because we know
45:15Polly's portrait
45:16had a
45:17subtlety
45:18and a beauty
45:19to it
45:20and if she can combine
45:21that with the
45:22emotional punch
45:23of today's portrait
45:24she's on to a winner.
45:25I'm feeling
45:26excited to do
45:27it again now
45:28actually.
45:29I'm not going to
45:30mess around so much
45:31hopefully I'll come in
45:32with a bit more
45:33confidence
45:34and just
45:35embrace the day.
45:36If you'd like to
45:37know more about
45:38the competition
45:39and the work
45:40of the artists
45:41featured
45:42please go to
45:43Sky Arts
45:44www.skyarts.co.uk
46:14www.skyarts.co.uk