Landscape Artist of the Year - Season 10 Episode 9 - Winner's Film
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00:002,000 artists from across the UK and Ireland applied for our 10th series of Landscape Artist
00:20of the Year.
00:23With just 48 spots up for grabs in the famous pods.
00:29Each week, eight new artists were presented with a truly spectacular view.
00:35From the rugged mountains of Snowdonia.
00:38This is possibly one of the most daunting landscapes in Britain.
00:42To world-famous historic palaces.
00:45I'll be struggling with the windows and all those panes of glass, but there is some lovely
00:50colour in that garden.
00:52And jaw-dropping feats of Victorian engineering.
00:56Have I painted a bridge before?
00:57No, I haven't.
00:58But there's a first for everything.
01:01Awaiting the winner was a £10,000 commission for London's Courtauld Gallery, to paint
01:06a landscape of southern France, inspired by some of the greats of art history.
01:12Monet, Cezanne and Van Gogh.
01:17As always, watching the artists every brushstroke were our three art world aficionados.
01:23Kate Bryan.
01:25I'm going to leave you to have an existential landscape crisis in your pod.
01:28You won't be the first.
01:30Kathleen Soriano.
01:32The thing that's really winding me up is this sort of giant lollipop in the middle.
01:36What's going on?
01:37And Taishan Shirenberg.
01:39So mountains, lake, Bob's your uncle.
01:42The best painting ever, yeah.
01:44At each heat, we welcomed a further 50 artists.
01:47Yes, it's the Landscape Artist Wildcards.
01:52You're in a cult?
01:54Well, you could say that, no.
01:55You're having some sort of breakdown?
01:59Are you both left-handed?
02:00No, just me.
02:02Just you, OK, yeah.
02:03In this special episode, we look back at the highlights of this series.
02:07It's the very best of Landscape Artist of the Year.
02:13As a painter, would you touch this view with a barge pole?
02:16Very good.
02:17I'd jump on a boat and get out of here.
02:24Mm.
02:31To mark 10 years of Landscape Artist of the Year,
02:34we took the artists to some truly amazing locations.
02:38I got to launch the series from a boat on the Thames.
02:42Ah, this really is the only way to travel.
02:45And it's how generations of kings, queens, princes and noblemen
02:49have arrived at the Palace of Hampton Court.
02:52Then we moved on to Wales.
02:54Today, we're at the foot of the magnificent Arwitha,
02:58or Mount Snowdon.
02:59Yes, it's that big one over there.
03:02Before heading to Bristol.
03:04Today, we're looking out over Isambard Kingdom Brunel's
03:08spectacular Clifton Suspension Bridge.
03:11And finally, back to London and the waterways of St Pancras Basin.
03:15Can they do it?
03:16Yes, they can now.
03:18It's a brand-new episode of Landscape Artist of the Year.
03:33Once the artists have settled into their pods...
03:37Oh, no.
03:39Failed at the first part. I can't even put the apron on.
03:44..it's time for me to launch the challenge.
03:47Artists, I hope you're ready to barock and roll.
03:51Your four hours starts now.
04:12It's all kind of very dramatic.
04:14The bridge took 30-plus years to build
04:17and we've got four hours to draw it.
04:22The artists gain their place in the competition
04:24with a submitted landscape,
04:25which they bring along to display in their pods.
04:32You like drama, don't you? Yeah, yeah.
04:34And mood, I can tell from your submission mark.
04:37What we really liked was the way in which you used that sort of
04:39rusty orange to highlight and pick up across the painting.
04:43I mean, in a way, if we had a beautiful blue sky day,
04:45you'd be complaining. Oh, I'd be hopeless.
04:46I'd just give up on that and just make it a night-time scene anyway.
04:49Why have you got to make it a night-time scene?
04:51Have we not given you enough?
04:52I will often take a daylight scene and just make it into night, you know.
04:56I thought, well, actually, it's getting very moody now,
04:58you know, all these clouds hugging the tops of the mountains.
05:01So I thought, well, let's go for a night scene.
05:04OK.
05:14Hello, Claire. Hi.
05:16It's a very good-looking start. You've gone big.
05:18Yeah, it's a big painting, but I used big brushes.
05:20I'm thinking about your submission, of course.
05:22This is a very dramatic scene. Yes.
05:24Something's going to happen. Yes. It's kind of portentous.
05:27I was interested in that suggestion of the sun is shining,
05:30but there's trouble ahead. There's trouble ahead.
05:33OK, and so you're going to try and imbue this picture
05:35with that same kind of bloated narrative?
05:37I think so. The way the clouds are coming through. Yeah.
05:39Can you set it to be sunny? It's always my preference. OK.
05:41I will.
05:55You've chosen a very complex and wide view. Yes.
06:01Yes, I may regret that.
06:02But I'm trying to just sort of get things broadly in the right places,
06:05but I'm obviously cutting out large chunks of what we can see.
06:09I mean, I look at this view and I think,
06:11it's impossible to get your head round,
06:12but actually you've done that by just picking the pieces you want to paint.
06:17Yes. I think just trying to get a sense of this panorama
06:22that sits in front of us without it looking too straight-lining.
06:27Yeah. Let's talk about your submission.
06:29It's quite the opposite of today.
06:32It's completely the opposite of today. It's full of paint,
06:34it's full of colour. Yes.
06:35Are you able to work in a different mode?
06:37I'll find the colour and I'll find some contrast in it.
06:40Yeah.
07:02I love the fact that you've turned sideways
07:03and you're giving us this fantastic slice,
07:05so we're really getting to see the guessworks.
07:07From what you've done, with the lack of information at this stage,
07:09particularly in this colour palette,
07:11it feels like it could kind of be a whistler's view.
07:13Yeah. Well, I'm trying to convey the industrial aspect of the site,
07:17so, yeah, dark and moody. Dark and moody.
07:19Yeah. I mean, there was something very moody about your submission
07:22that we're really taken with.
07:23You know, there were obviously contemporary signs within it,
07:25but the feeling was something that transported us to a different era.
07:29I suppose we might anticipate a bit of the same thing than today
07:32if you're interested in the historic elements.
07:34Yeah. Yeah, hopefully.
07:35So, I'm hoping to add a bit of texture and a bit of drama.
07:40So, what about the sky? You've left a big space for it.
07:42Yeah, no, it's all to play for with the sky.
07:44I don't know what it's going to do.
07:46OK, still some decisions to make.
07:48Yeah, still plenty of decisions. Yeah.
07:54With the competition in the pods well under way,
07:57it's time for possibly my favourite bit of the show,
08:00the arrival of our magnificent Landscape Artist of the Year,
08:04Wild Cards.
08:11I am all set for today.
08:13I've got my pastels, two flasks, lunch nibbles.
08:18I've got my easel with the leg that falls off.
08:21Hopefully it's not going to blow over,
08:22because if it blows over, the leg will fall off.
08:29I've got my wife with me today. She's got the umbrella ready.
08:32Trying to get as much done as I can under the umbrella
08:35before I can put the watercolour on.
08:41Sarah, OK, don't tell me, you're getting married?
08:45No. You're shy?
08:47I'm definitely not shy.
08:49You're in a cult?
08:51Well, you could say that, no.
08:53You're having some sort of breakdown?
08:55We've suffered terribly with midges.
08:57Oh, it's midges. Now you've mentioned them,
09:00I've started to feel itchy.
09:07Do you paint outside a lot?
09:08Nope.
09:09Do you paint landscapes?
09:11No.
09:13Do you paint in groups?
09:15No. Just by myself in my kitchen.
09:18Oh, you have painted before, then?
09:20Yeah. I do portraits, usually.
09:22Well, why don't I just stand there and you can paint me?
09:24Yeah, we can add you right here under this tree, with the sheet.
09:28What am I doing with the sheet? Don't answer that question.
09:35Ah, the wild cards. Always a joy.
09:39Back at the pods, it's all more serious, of course,
09:41particularly as the artists reach the end of their first hour.
09:46I'm enjoying today, but it is quite tense
09:49because I'm not used to doing an urban scene,
09:52and also just, like, loads of distractions,
09:54normally it's just, like, me and my dog.
09:57I've gone for a really ambitious composition,
10:01so everything could go wrong at this stage. Everything.
10:10My stated aim at the beginning was to give that end of the bridge
10:14a bit of weight.
10:15It's still got a way to go yet,
10:17and plenty of opportunity for me to do something horrendous to it.
10:22One of my greatest pleasures hosting Landscape Artist of the Year
10:25is getting to discuss the artistic ins and outs of our stunning locations
10:29with the devastatingly...
10:31..sadistic...
10:33..and...
10:35..dismayful...
10:37..and...
10:39..ridiculous...
10:41..and...
10:43..and...
10:45..and...
10:47..and...
10:49devastatingly handsome Tyshan Shirenberg.
10:54Nice view, isn't it?
10:55I mean, it's just got everything you want.
10:56We've got a bit of water, we've got a mountain,
10:58we've got a steam train every now and again,
11:01got a village, a church, woods, fields, sheep.
11:06Castle.
11:06Slate mine.
11:08What more do you want?
11:09Easy to paint?
11:10Oh, yes.
11:11Yeah, a bit of greens, bish, bosh, bash.
11:13I don't think you can go wrong.
11:14I'm sorry.
11:15I mean, you'd have to be...
11:17You'd have to be me.
11:18To get it wrong.
11:19I'll mark this up.
11:20Yeah.
11:29Spectacular, isn't it?
11:31It is fantastic.
11:32Yeah.
11:33I mean, and a lot of it has to do with sort of angles.
11:35We're sort of looking up at a bridge
11:37and there's a kind of abyss.
11:38It's just beautiful.
11:39And this sort of wall of green that's facing us.
11:43It's a really steep drop, isn't it, down to the Avon?
11:46I mean, it's fantastic.
11:47There is a problem, of course.
11:48It's very wide.
11:52Who built it?
11:52The person with the best name of any name ever
11:55that ever existed.
11:56Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
11:59I mean, with a middle name like Kingdom,
12:02you're set to do great things.
12:04Oh, yeah.
12:08Got a light.
12:19How do you capture the scale of it?
12:21I mean, as a scar, it goes in and the sun is moving.
12:25Yeah.
12:26So that is constantly changing.
12:28It's an absence almost as well, isn't it?
12:30It's a gap, it's a hole.
12:31Yeah.
12:32It is very difficult to do.
12:35Yeah.
12:38Oh, the, the haunting sound of the train.
12:40Of the train.
12:41It's rather beautiful.
12:48That's a lot of windows.
12:50I mean, that's a lot of windows.
12:52I don't think we've been in a landscape
12:54which has so much repetition in it.
12:55So yes, a lot of windows, a lot of rectangular windows,
12:58a lot of round windows.
12:59Yeah.
13:00A lot of conical topiary,
13:03a lot of repetition in the garden.
13:05So it's a lot of stuff.
13:07Yeah.
13:08And my heart bleeds for our artists, as usual.
13:11So, a nice place to live, good place to visit.
13:14Nightmare to paint, surely.
13:16Do you know what one of the artists said to me?
13:18What?
13:19He looked at my face.
13:20He looked at my face.
13:21And he said,
13:22I'm not a nice guy,
13:23that I look like an
13:40He looked forlornly across at this view and he said,
13:43Ty must have had a reason to put us here.
13:46Don't say it! He did! I'm not saying which one. Oh, my God!
13:49So, what's your reason?
13:51Well, there's a lot to pick from.
13:53It's just too much, isn't it?
13:55Yes. You've got to make decisions early on before you get embroiled in it.
13:59If they pull it off, it's going to be amazing.
14:02It will be. I mean, I think we may have a few fraught artists, though,
14:06before we get to that point. Yes.
14:08We may need to set up a helpline.
14:10From the pub? Yes, from the pub.
14:15Naturally, our artists embrace these views with gusto,
14:18with no shortage of imaginative approaches to capturing the landscape.
14:24Hi, Molly. Oh, hello.
14:26This is so radical. Yeah.
14:28I don't think I've ever sat this direction before. I know.
14:31I started facing that way and now I'm engraving backwards,
14:35looking at the mirror.
14:37If I just engraved the view looking out,
14:39the print would be backwards from what it is in real life.
14:42Yeah, it's slightly disorientating.
14:44No, it's good. I like it. It keeps the public on their toes,
14:47wondering what on earth you're doing.
14:49I think what we loved about your submission was that it really felt
14:52like you understood the distance in the hills,
14:54the way that the light fell on the water,
14:56that in, like, 2.5 inches squared.
14:58Would it be easier if you were working bigger?
15:00I think it's a challenge working small because you want it to have impact.
15:03So, yeah, I've got to make it punchy.
15:08MUSIC CONTINUES
15:16Morning, Bach. Morning.
15:17What did you find out on your walk this morning?
15:19The story today is that we're at a very ornate place
15:22with a lot of history.
15:23Presumably, when you're looking for stories,
15:25you're looking for something a bit grittier like you had in your submission.
15:28It felt like you'd grabbed bits of the scene
15:30and collaged it together in a more creative way to add tension.
15:33Are you going to be doing that today?
15:35I'm planning on doing something similar to that,
15:37but I do want to interpret the people
15:39and include them as part of the landscape.
15:42Who knows? Could be a mess. I'll try my best.
15:45I didn't mean for that to rhyme.
15:47MUSIC CONTINUES
16:00Ben, hello. Hi, Tony.
16:02On this sweltering day in Hampton Court.
16:04I was just looking at how you set up your painting today.
16:07You're avoiding any built-up area, really.
16:09Well, I have decided to tackle the palace, partially.
16:13I didn't see that. Yeah, I don't want to just ignore it.
16:17I think it's important that I show that I can do something that isn't organic.
16:21OK. Ben, we loved your submission.
16:24It is very weird.
16:26And I must say, the way you put paint down is very idiosyncratic,
16:30but it's intriguing. Yeah.
16:31You're almost putting down paint to confuse us a bit, aren't you?
16:34A little bit, yeah. I like to abstract the landscape enough.
16:37I mean, I like to just go for it.
16:49Sarah, this is already a very luscious-looking painting.
16:53Luscious. Luscious is gorgeous.
16:56And I just love the way that the alcohol is doing
16:59these fascinating things with, you know, kind of an ice-skating rink.
17:02It just sits on the surface.
17:04So you've obviously had to learn what the paint will do,
17:06how it will pull, the saturation, the opacity.
17:09Yeah, it's taken a little while.
17:11I knew the first time I ever used it that the possibilities were endless,
17:14but it didn't do what I wanted it to do.
17:16It didn't even come close to doing what I wanted it to do.
17:19And is it the same process for your submission?
17:21It's marvellous. It feels like a kind of enchanted magic forest or something.
17:25Yeah, it was a little bit more give and take on that one.
17:28And it took a while to make it sort of work.
17:31Well, it's lovely. It's a fascinating process.
17:33So abstract, and then you pull back and you completely understand it.
17:38And when it comes to weird and wonderful techniques,
17:41it's often the wild cards who end up stealing the show.
17:44What are you painting with?
17:46I'm painting with oils.
17:48I've also got some soil here.
17:50You've got just some soil from around here?
17:52Just some soil from around here, yeah, with some linseed oil in it.
17:54And how does it behave itself when you mix it?
17:56I've never done it before. You've never done it before?
17:58Never done it before. You like to live by the seat of your pants.
18:00Absolutely. I see that. Yeah.
18:08I'm fascinated to see what you're working with.
18:10Is this, like, packaging from your house you've bought?
18:13No, it's a couple of books from the skips at Hampton Court Palace.
18:16So everyone else comes to Hampton Court Palace
18:18for a very kind of genteel, touristy day out,
18:20and you kind of went straight away bin diving?
18:22I got someone else to bin dive. Very good.
18:24Very Marcel Duchamp.
18:34This is good.
18:36I'm OK at pencil work. Yeah.
18:38But I've never been able to paint,
18:40so I decided I needed a partner who could paint.
18:43I see. I can paint.
18:45You can paint. You can't. Right, OK.
18:47I splash the colour on. Colour everywhere.
18:51Very good, yeah.
18:53It's quite loose with the three strokes. Flowers. Yeah, yeah.
18:56And do you two argue much about the painting?
18:58I'm trying to concentrate. Sorry.
19:00Excuse me. You can go now. OK.
19:08And no matter how much trouble we go to
19:10to give our wildcards a spectacular view to paint,
19:13there's always one.
19:15So, Chris, there are 50 wildcards,
19:17and 49 of them are looking that way.
19:20What's wrong with the bridge?
19:22It's just getting a bit crowded that way, really. Right.
19:24So I thought, well, I'll have a go doing something completely different.
19:27Yeah? He doesn't like to follow the crowd.
19:29Yeah, I can see that. He likes to walk your own path. Indeed.
19:39Are you having a nice day, Stephen?
19:41If anyone asks for me, tell them you haven't seen me.
19:44OK. Would you like to paint?
19:46I can't paint. Don't tell anybody.
19:48Do you know I host a painting show?
19:50I've seen you. Yeah.
19:54While I relax with the wildcards,
19:56over in the pods, the pressure's on.
20:01I've been trying to sort out this garden, which is immaculate,
20:05but mine looks a bit swirly.
20:07I just hope I can bring it together
20:10so it doesn't just look like lots of marks on a page.
20:19I've moved onto my board now,
20:21and what I'm doing at the moment is looking at the shapes
20:24within the quarry.
20:26You know, these mad triangular shapes.
20:28I'm just going quite cautiously.
20:30I do not want to dive into this and overcook it.
20:39I've decided I'm going to start another one.
20:42I'm like, oh, for heaven's sake, I'm going down in flames on TV.
20:48LAUGHTER
21:01Here on Landscape Artist of the Year,
21:03we're used to embracing the vagaries of the British summer,
21:07and this series was no exception.
21:09It's hard working conditions.
21:12But I always try to keep everyone's spirits up.
21:17I think as long as it doesn't rain, I think we're going to be all right.
21:20I'm just... Yes, it's just starting, isn't it?
21:24Let's hope that the south of France brings us sunlight,
21:29warmth, heat, colour.
21:32Don't stop.
21:34Don't stop.
21:36Cue montage of Landscape Artist of the Year, rainy edition.
21:40Are we allowed to finish early today?
21:47MUSIC CONTINUES
22:02This plein air lark isn't for the faint-hearted.
22:05When the rain finally stops and the sun comes out,
22:08there are even more problems to deal with.
22:12I just realised you are using acrylics,
22:14and it's only been about three seconds.
22:16I think I've probably used about £200 worth of paint
22:19just from drying it out. Oh, right.
22:25I'm struggling.
22:27You know, it just dries so quick.
22:30I've taken two prints,
22:32but as soon as I put the watercolour on here, it dries out.
22:36So that's what's interesting about working outdoors, obviously,
22:39why not many people do it.
22:42Fortunately, our artists always look on the bright side.
22:47Chris, you seem to have really got into it.
22:49I mean, you make it look very beautiful, really.
22:52That was the challenge, I think, trying to make something that,
22:55I guess you could say, is quite ugly, to make it pretty.
22:58Could you paint me?
23:00That was not as a challenge.
23:02That's a step too far.
23:04I mean, you're good, but you're not that good.
23:11With the stresses and strains of being in a pod,
23:14it's nice to see many of our artists bringing along friends and family
23:17for a bit of moral support.
23:19Wave, guys!
23:29Hello!
23:31Hi!
23:33Aw, look at the biggest guy.
23:36Just looking beautiful.
23:40Love you. Love you.
23:42Bye, Kate.
23:49And Till, he's got his own pod.
23:51I know. I mean, look at that.
23:53Is his relationship to art, you know, does he work at it like you...?
23:57No. I wish I had less of my struggle and more of his...
24:01His laissez-faire attitude. Exactly.
24:04But not all the support is quite so welcome.
24:08Stop with this. Yeah.
24:10You're running out of time. No, I know.
24:12I'm just... Just leave me alone.
24:20Towards the end of each heat, it's time for the judges
24:23to select their favourite wildcard artwork from the day.
24:27Congratulations, you are a wildcard winner today.
24:31APPLAUSE
24:33LAUGHTER
24:37APPLAUSE
24:43It's you! You're our wildcard winner!
24:46APPLAUSE
24:50Just one of the wildcard winners is chosen to take part
24:53in the semi-final, and this year it was Rose Dufton.
24:57Yeah, that doesn't look too bad.
24:59I think we all agreed that you're a rather marvellous painter.
25:02Really?
25:04And I didn't get to talk to you, I...
25:06You're being a bit indecisive.
25:10I am feeling shocked, very happy,
25:14and, like, it's not real.
25:16Am I allowed to say I'm going to have a big glass of wine?
25:19Oh, yeah.
25:21OK, it might be a bottle of wine.
25:23LAUGHTER
25:33Back in the pods, as the end of the competition approaches,
25:37the judges and I always like to check in with the artists
25:40with a few final words of encouragement.
25:43Hello, Tim. Hello.
25:45Are you finished? That's the last paintbrush
25:47with the last bit of white on it.
25:53Yeah. And that's it?
25:55Are you good at knowing when to stop? No.
25:57No? So how come today you suddenly worked it out?
26:00I finally worked it out with all of these lovely people around me.
26:03Oh, you've been listening to the judges?
26:06That's a slippery slope, Tim, when you start doing that.
26:18What's happening here?
26:20I'm finally going to stick them down onto a piece of board.
26:23I just did a quick switcheroo with them.
26:25And this works? I think so.
26:27If I can find a way of getting a touch of pink in that,
26:30then that will be job done. Hang on a minute.
26:32You're suggesting once this is down, you're going to go back?
26:35Yeah, I'll tweak it. How long have I got?
26:3711 minutes. Oh, well, that's all right.
26:39I can do it in 11 minutes.
26:41Oh, ****!
26:45Beth, we're running out of time. Yes, we are.
26:48I see quite a lot of unfilled space. It will get there.
26:51I'm just going to throw some clouds and some sky and some water.
26:56Right. You know, half the painting.
26:59I just need to just do that.
27:12Artists, you have five minutes left. Five minutes.
27:16Oh. It's exciting.
27:22Fiddling. Fiddling around at the end.
27:26I'll probably make a mess of it. I should leave it alone.
27:33It's hotting up now.
27:34I've got to finalise it so it's a finished piece rather than a study.
27:37I've seen what everyone else is producing
27:39and I'm starting to feel like I've got to properly kick this over the line.
27:46What I'm doing now is putting as much detail as I can without overworking.
27:51Two or three marks might be too much.
28:01So I'm feeling a bit panicked just because there's a lot to resolve
28:04in a very short space of time.
28:06I'm struggling with making the water look like water at the moment.
28:09So, yeah, panicking.
28:11Right.
28:42Artists, your time is up.
28:44Please stop what you're doing and step away from your artworks.
28:55What a day.
28:58I feel like it's taken years off my life.
29:00I haven't got my hair up.
29:12Watching our artists every move throughout the day
29:15are our magnificent judges,
29:17who after ten years find themselves in total agreement
29:21about absolutely everything.
29:23So Chris has given us a portrait form, one tower.
29:27What I would say is that he needs to look a little bit harder
29:30because there's something about the shape of the tower that he's not quite got
29:33that feels a bit lightweight to me.
29:35I think it's interesting because I sort of think the opposite.
29:38I quite like the fact that Chris doesn't really worry himself too much
29:41about the perspective and the geometry.
29:48Cathy, where's the other painting?
29:50I wanted the other painting.
29:52Interesting.
29:53Did you tell her to do that?
30:02Hash was kind of a pleasure to watch.
30:04I think it's almost, for me, a painting in two halves.
30:07I really like the top half with this kind of deconstructed foliage
30:10and the houses nestled in there.
30:12And then the bottom half, it just sort of lacks the same tension.
30:16That's going to work really well, then, because I would like the bottom half.
30:19Okay, well, great.
30:20I find that top half, it's almost like it's a postcard,
30:23whereas the bottom, for me, feels more painterly.
30:28I've got problems with Tim's work.
30:30Oh, really?
30:31I know you like it a lot.
30:32I do.
30:33I love the abstraction of it, I suppose.
30:35That lovely sweep of the water, you can sort of skim a stone across,
30:38and I think it's lovely and fresh.
30:46Sarah's given us a kind of otherworldly version of today.
30:50The pyramids, great!
30:52It's such a clever, inventive thing.
30:54She was actually painting from life at some point.
30:56Maybe it's a painting of what this place will look like in 200 years.
30:59Yeah, the question, will you walk on a floating bridge in 200 years?
31:03With a lilac sky, yeah.
31:06Ah, they always get there in the end.
31:12Only one artist from each heat can go through to the semi-final,
31:16and I get the pleasure of announcing the winner.
31:19The artist going through to the semi-final is...
31:29..Ben McGregor.
31:32Oh, my God.
31:35Ben made such a great decision early on,
31:37and he was fascinated by this garden,
31:39and he really showed it to us in this exaggerated way,
31:42through these shapes and forms.
31:44And really, it was a masterclass in being able to say,
31:46this is what interests me, and I'll make it interesting to you too.
31:50Claire Rose.
31:55We love courageous artists,
31:58and today we gave our artists this enormous mountain to paint,
32:03and Claire went, I can do that.
32:06Ciaran Guckian.
32:11Ciaran's got a really strong grasp
32:14of what makes a really good landscape painting.
32:18He's got a really delicate touch, he's really good at composition,
32:22and he looks really, really hard.
32:26Susan Isaac.
32:29What a brilliant discovery Susan is.
32:32This place is full of history,
32:35and Susan was able to capture that without getting caught in detail.
32:42Sarah Stoker.
32:48Sarah's just such an interesting character.
32:50She creates these really magical, fantastical spaces
32:54that are weighty with sort of meaning and feeling.
32:59Molly Lemon.
33:05I think the thing that's so distinctive about Molly
33:07is that she really is able to capture the energy, the character,
33:11the distance, the perspective of a place this big.
33:25This year's semi-final was held at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard,
33:30where our artists were lined up in front of Victorian warship HMS Warrior.
33:35Taking part were the winners of each heat
33:38and the overall winner of the wildcard competition.
33:45Attention, artists.
33:47You have four hours to complete your landscapes,
33:50and your time starts now.
33:54MUSIC PLAYS
33:56MUSIC CONTINUES
33:59MUSIC CONTINUES
34:24Artists, you have five minutes left!
34:27Please hurry up.
34:34Oh, my God.
34:37I hope I've done enough.
34:44Well, it's a beautiful, sunny day.
34:46We're by the water and we're thinking,
34:48like, we're sending the artists out to France.
34:50We might be encountering such weather as this,
34:53and you've got to think about what kind of artist
34:55would be able to do justice to that.
34:57Not just following the Impressionists' footsteps,
34:59but actually do something really original with landscape painting.
35:04According to the rules of Landscape Artist of the Year,
35:07only three of you can go forward to this year's final.
35:12The first artist the judges have selected to compete in the final is...
35:20..Ben McGregor.
35:22APPLAUSE
35:29The second artist is...
35:34..Ciaran Guckian.
35:36APPLAUSE
35:42The third artist joining us at the final is...
35:48..Susan Isaac.
35:50APPLAUSE
35:57I'm absolutely astonished to be a finalist.
36:00I was really not expecting to hear my name called out then.
36:06It's been a massive confidence boost.
36:08I hadn't dared to think I would get this far,
36:11so it's absolutely delightful.
36:21For our 10th anniversary final,
36:23we had something very special in store for our three remaining artists.
36:27Yes, it's possibly the most iconic location in the UK.
36:31Stonehenge.
36:36Wow, look at that.
36:38That's incredible. That's amazing.
36:40That's cool, isn't it? Look at it.
36:42It potentially looks easy, but I don't think it is.
36:45No, so make something of it. Yeah.
36:47Artists, your time starts now.
37:17MUSIC CONTINUES
37:19MUSIC CONTINUES
37:44The final judging saw the artists' depictions of Stonehenge
37:48alongside a commission piece they'd painted in their own time.
37:52The first thing I noticed when we put them all together
37:54is how they're all keen to show us that they can work on a bigger scale.
37:57Mm, yeah.
37:58Susan applies a lot of paint.
38:00Do you think that would become predictable after a while?
38:03They're two very different paintings.
38:05Yes, the way the paint goes on the palette,
38:07to a certain extent, a lot of use of black, are very similar,
38:10but that sort of distant light is very different to the stones today,
38:14which are sort of obdurate, they are old, they are ancient.
38:17So it's a very different feel she gets from this very narrow language.
38:21I think Susan has found her style,
38:23and actually I don't think she should be marked down
38:26because it's so particular.
38:28You know, we can recognise a van Gogh.
38:30That doesn't mean it's a bad thing.
38:33Ben seems to be interested in surfaces, grass, water.
38:37He seems to really enjoy getting involved with that.
38:40You know, it's very easy with an artist like Ben
38:43that he descends into an obsession with the patterns,
38:46but the pattern is very, very secondary here.
38:48It doesn't overwhelm, and that's a really hard balance.
38:51But the wonderful thing about the painting today
38:53is that it's truly ancient.
38:55You can feel the texture of those stones,
38:57even though it looks very, very modern.
38:59Today's painting has more of a graphic quality,
39:02but I actually admire him for doing that
39:04because he's showing us that he's got a different reference point.
39:07There's nothing graphic in the commission.
39:09So, Kieran, does the thought of sending someone
39:11who uses such a limited palette to the south of France,
39:14does that come into your minds?
39:16It does in a way, but I don't think it's that we're looking for an artist
39:18to be so literal as to be an Impressionist in the south of France.
39:21And this colour palette that he uses
39:24creates these sort of quite intense scenes.
39:27Kieran uses the language that is traditional.
39:31He paints green leaves and they're drawn in the right way,
39:33but then he does something with it,
39:35and it is the narrative he finds.
39:37It is the weird framing.
39:38It's a painting of Stonehenge,
39:40but nobody recognised it as Stonehenge.
39:42He's doing different things,
39:44and it makes the whole endeavour feel very contemporary.
39:48Mmm.
39:50Tough, tough, tough.
39:52I mean, how exciting to have three such brilliant artists,
39:54but also what a nightmare if you're one of the judges,
39:57which apparently we are.
40:04Susan, Ben, Kieran,
40:06thank you for all your hard work this summer.
40:08It's been an absolute joy watching you all
40:10progress through the competition.
40:12You are all wonderfully talented artists,
40:16but the judges have made their final decision.
40:20The winner of Landscape Artist of the Year is...
40:34..Ben McGregor.
40:36CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
40:41I just...
40:43I don't know what did just happen.
40:45I just can't believe it.
40:47I'm in absolute shock.
40:50So pleased for you.
40:52Oh, thanks, darling.
40:56What a great day, but what a terribly difficult decision.
40:59So difficult.
41:00I think the calibre of artists in this competition now
41:02and this sort of ten-year anniversary,
41:04I mean, yeah, it was really, really challenging.
41:08And I think they've each got a distinct language.
41:10I would say that I think Ben has a slightly broader range
41:13with his language.
41:14I mean, he's a dream artist to send to the South of France.
41:16And what's nice, it's about light, but it's about texture.
41:18I've never seen an artist deal with landscape
41:20in a textural way before.
41:21I think that's really new,
41:22so I think very excited about seeing what he's going to do.
41:25And I sort of feel like a lot of it is to do with the show,
41:29because, you know, he came to Landscape Paintings
41:31through the show, and I'm just...
41:32I'm really excited at the idea of seeing one of his works
41:34hanging in the Courtauld Gallery.
41:36I think it's really going to stop you in your tracks, you know,
41:39because it's going to be in amongst
41:41those Impressionist paintings on the top floor.
41:43I'm going to feel really proud.
41:45Yeah, me too.
41:48I'm pretty obsessed with Impressionism.
41:50You know, I've spent hours just staring at Van Goghs and Cezannes,
41:55and so, for me, having a piece hanging in the Courtauld Gallery
41:58is about as prestigious as you could possibly get.
42:02I've always really, really tried to be, you know,
42:05the best possible painter I can be.
42:07There's been a lot of hard work and a lot of sort of self-doubt,
42:11so to have all that kind of validated is priceless.
42:22One month later, Ben travelled to the south of France,
42:25following in the footsteps of Monet, Cezanne and Van Gogh
42:29to research his winning commission for the Courtauld Gallery.
42:50The final painting was unveiled in front of an audience
42:53of invited guests, museum curators and our very own judges.
42:58Are you all right? Are you feeling good?
43:00Yeah, I'm apprehensive, but excited.
43:03Well, shall we put you out of your misery?
43:05Go for it. Right, here we go.
43:07I mean, there's a Van Gogh self-portrait with a bandaged ear.
43:11I know. It's just over there.
43:13It's how I feel. Right.
43:16OK. I mean, they're taking two Renoirs down.
43:21Get on with it. Get on with it.
43:23All right, here we go.
43:28Ah!
43:39Benistain chooses authentic way of painting,
43:42but somehow, by osmosis, he's managed to absorb just enough,
43:46just the right amount of influence from these artists
43:50to create a work that I think will sit on these walls
43:55very confidently and will sort of encourage a lot of conversation
44:00about what landscape is today.
44:03So I think he's done us proud.
44:06If you'd like to find out more about taking part in the competition
44:10or the work of the selected artists,
44:12go to our website, skyartsartistoftheyear.tv.
44:25.
44:30.
44:35.
44:40.
44:45.
44:55.
45:00.