Odian Pintar Cabello Pero Deben Hacerlo Hoy | Portrait Artist of the Year UK

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:05]Many artists say the most difficult part of a portrait is the mouth. [music] But two of our competitors today have confessed that they hate painting hair.

[00:00:12]Others have got around that problem by the use of some flamboyant headwear.

[00:00:16]>> Well, all of today's sitters have got [music] hair, so they'd better get their act together.

[00:00:21]>> Quite right. Welcome to Portrait Artist of the Year 2019.

[00:00:27]Of the nine artists competing [music] today, five are amateurs.

[00:00:33]Rubertine Allen, Laxmi [music] Hussein, Amelia Webster, Henry Wheit.

[00:00:43][music] >> I've never done anything like this before. I've got thousands of butterflies [music] running around in my tummy in the most deliciously kind of glorious mad way.

[00:00:55]and four are professional.

[00:00:58]Anastasia [music] Shimshilly, Graeme Dudridge, John Gladhill, and Katherine McDermad.

[00:01:07]>> I asked if I could have two sets of glasses. One is for about there and one is for there just in case. So if I need stacks, I've got them.

[00:01:18]>> Today, our nine talented artists are taking on a daunting challenge. Facing a blank sheet of paper is always terrifying.

[00:01:26]>> Their task to complete a winning portrait of one of three mystery sitters.

[00:01:32]>> It's the pope.

[00:01:34]>> They'll have just 4 hours to finish.

[00:01:38]>> If I get into the zone, if I could finish in 2 hours, >> you better let get into the zone. Jo.

[00:01:42]>> And we'll be critiqued by our three passionate judges.

[00:01:46]Independent curator [music] Kathleen Soraniano, art historian Kate Brian, and award-winning artist Ty Shan Shiranburg.

[00:01:56]It's got a story to it. She's just about to go and fix some tanks, and she's just putting her hair off.

[00:02:02]>> There is a sensational prize at stake, a £10,000 commission to paint musical legend Sir Tom Jones for the National Museum of Wales.

[00:02:13]So, as the pressure mounts, >> I feel like everything [music] could go wrong within a heartbeat, really.

[00:02:18]>> Who's got what it takes to earn a place in the semifinal? Half the paints [music] on your face, your trousers.

[00:02:25]>> Yeah. Chuck it on.

[00:02:26]>> That's the technique I can understand.

[00:02:28]>> Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.

[00:02:29]>> From the chuck it on school of painting.

[00:02:31][music] >> [music] >> As the artists set up, the judges review the self-portraits that won them their places in today's heat.

[00:02:51]>> It's wall: o'lock. We have nine self-portraits painted by our nine artists. Today, [music] starting with this one, >> I like this sideways glance. We're looking at someone who's either just catching our eye or someone who's really, really studying their own reflection. It sits somewhere between the two.

[00:03:11]>> Now, dare I ask, what's going on here? A portrait of the artist as a young man. I think that's what's going on. The medium used a [music] sort of cutting and collaging with cloth and also painting, but then collaging that. It's very fresh and crude.

[00:03:29]It's just such a really compelling piece of drawing. I mean, you have to really really admire him for just quite the amount of lead that has gone into making this.

[00:03:38]>> I mean, there's an obsessiveness to the lead usage here. I mean, every window is drawn. There's no sort of vague stylization.

[00:03:47]>> Now, we have this very elegant homage to Marge Simpson. [laughter] >> It's incredible.

[00:03:53]>> Really heavy. I mean, that's a lot of paint. It's compelling but also feels very strange.

[00:03:59]>> She came out of the bathroom with the turban on, saw hers caught herself in the mirror, then painted this.

[00:04:04]>> Is she English? Because it does feel sort of very foreign.

[00:04:07]>> She's Russian. That makes a lot of sense.

[00:04:09]>> Fabulous.

[00:04:10]>> Russian from the bathroom. [laughter] >> The combination of colors are really impressive. [music] The only thing I find is that I'm drawn to the orange because it's such a solid body of color.

[00:04:24]She's conveyed in the way she's holding her head a lot about herself as well.

[00:04:31]>> Pierro, >> Pierro is the sad clown and I think him playing with that narrative is and it's very very beautifully thought through and constructed. The eyes are extraordinary well done because they they say everything about what the painting is about. There's a sadness and a sort of contempliveness to them.

[00:04:50]>> It's so believable. That is exactly how you tie your hair up. I think anyone with long hair will recognize the way that the the band runs between the two hands and the fingers run through the hair.

[00:05:00]>> It reminds me of those Russian constructivist workers posters. You know, lovely sort of flatness to it.

[00:05:08][music] >> What grabs me is incredible finness of the painting and the beautifully rendered light and figure without being fiddly or photorealistic.

[00:05:18]>> It's sort of quite religious in a way.

[00:05:19]She's either the Archangel Gabriel or the Virgin Mary [music] receiving.

[00:05:26]>> It's like a very strong graphic idea.

[00:05:29]>> She's absolutely luxuriating in the possibilities of paint pooling.

[00:05:33]>> All credit to her for having said, "I'm going to just do this with one color and make it sing."

[00:05:38]>> Well, there's a lot there today for us to get our teeth into.

[00:05:41][music] >> But which three well-known personalities will our artists be painting today?

[00:05:47]Artists, your sitter is an actor and a comedian with a taste for the macab. You may know him from the dark and [music] eccentric League of Gentlemen. But as a writer, he's also helped to resurrect two of our favorite fictional [music] characters, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who. Please welcome the remarkable Mark Gatis. [music] [applause] Mark performs in comedy, drama, even fantasy roles. He stars in Game of Thrones as the head of the Iron Bank. He also enjoys a challenge as a writer and is adapting Dracula for television. [applause] >> Well, now which you are they going to paint? I mean, you you know, League of Gentlemen. I mean, >> I'm just going to turn my face to the wall. Try something different. Um, I don't know. It's a challenge sitting still. I've been practicing.

[00:06:37]>> They say that after about an hour, people's faces really settle into who they are.

[00:06:41]>> Like they're dead.

[00:06:43]>> [laughter] >> Artist your sitter today is one of Britain's most successful [music] parolympians. She's won 16 medals, 11 of them gold. In 2005, she became a dame for services to sport and 5 years later was awarded a life periage artist.

[00:07:00]Please welcome Tanny Gay Thompson.

[00:07:06]As well as her impressive Olympic medal hall, Tanny's also won six London marathons. She now uses her platform in the House of Lords to campaign for disability rights and greater access to sport for all. Welcome, Tanny.

[00:07:20]>> Thank you.

[00:07:21]>> Have you had your portrait painted before?

[00:07:23]>> I have. Yes.

[00:07:24]>> Oh, you have? How did you find it?

[00:07:26]>> Um, really interested in how people see you and how I see myself. And they don't always match up.

[00:07:32]>> No, they don't.

[00:07:33]>> No. So, I'm going to be intrigued.

[00:07:35]>> Yes. Artists Your Sitter won the best actress Baft Award in 2015 for her role in the hard-hitting BBC drama Murdered by My Boyfriend. She went on to star in other heavyweight dramas such as Broad Church and Black Mirror. Please welcome the immensely talented Georgina Campbell.

[00:07:56]>> [applause and cheering] >> Born in Kent, Georgina originally wanted to be an air stewardist, but at 16, she was spotted in the street and offered a role in an online teen drama. 6 years later, she became the first black actress to win a BAFTA. [applause] >> Murdered by My Boyfriend. That was >> Murdered by My Boyfriend. Yeah. Quite dark.

[00:08:18]>> Was it distressing?

[00:08:20]>> It was distressing. Yeah. Well, it was a real story, so it was kind of everyone was very aware of the fact that it was it was real and carried a lot of weight.

[00:08:27]>> Okay, artist. Now, how would you like Georgina to sit?

[00:08:30]>> It might be nice if um you're facing a slightly different way than your body's facing. So, your head's kind of slightly different to >> However you're comfortable.

[00:08:37]>> Yeah, got to be comfortable.

[00:08:39]>> Well, artists, is there any particular way you'd like Tony to sit? Anywhere you'd like it to look?

[00:08:45]>> Is it further around this way?

[00:08:47]>> Further around this way. You can face slightly there, but I don't mind having a quarter.

[00:08:52]>> Is that comfortable?

[00:08:53]>> That's fine.

[00:08:54]>> I definitely have to cross my leg. I think >> Mark wants to sit like that. Are you happy with that?

[00:08:59]>> Of course. Lakshmi. Graeme, you're fine.

[00:09:02]>> Yeah.

[00:09:07]>> Artists, the moment you've been preparing for has arrived.

[00:09:10]>> You have 4 hours to complete your portrait, and your time starts now.

[00:09:19]With their subjects in place, artists can start the rigorous process of measuring their features, working out proportions, and deciding on a composition.

[00:09:31]>> Could you move a bit right side? Oh, that's too much.

[00:09:37]>> I'm using a viewfinder just to so I can get an idea of my composition. I'm going to start to map out the figure using relational proportions. I've decided to turn my canvas to the side because I think potentially it could be more interesting than just doing a larger head.

[00:09:55]Londoner Graeme Dudridge is a professional artist and photographer.

[00:10:00]Graham's self-portrait depicts himself as Pierro, a clown rooted in 18th century Italian theater who has served as inspiration for many artists. What is it about the clown that intrigues you?

[00:10:13]>> The idea of an identity and the point at which the the costume that we use to cover ourselves might say more about us than actually hiding.

[00:10:21]>> Now, the pro a comedia delatte character, the trusting fool. Is that fair enough?

[00:10:27]>> Yeah. The trusting fool or the eternal hopeful character.

[00:10:32]>> And is that you? I >> I think it's important to be hopeful.

[00:10:34]Yeah.

[00:10:36]Is that hope disguising deep despair?

[00:10:40]>> Obviously, >> right? [music] >> While proportion is crucial for capturing a likeness, for some artists, color is key.

[00:10:56]>> Well, Eve, the most striking thing about the stage you have reached now is that you have sketched in a quick likeness and you've suddenly hit it with blue.

[00:11:04]Well, I like to put patches of all the colors in because then I can work out if the colors are working on the canvas.

[00:11:10]But interesting that she's red, white, and blue. And being a British athlete, it's kind of appropriate, isn't it?

[00:11:15]>> Kind of appropriate. So, lots of nice sort of character references in there that you'll be able to bring.

[00:11:20]>> Yes. [music] >> Amateur artist Eve Pettit is a yoga teacher from West London whose self-portrait was made from life over the course of three days. For Eve, painting alone at home is a refuge from the stresses of modern life.

[00:11:35]>> It's such a solitary experience normally and a silent solitary experience being here with all these people. It's going to be difficult for me. It's going to be difficult cuz I'm not used to it.

[00:11:45]>> Nonetheless, I think the way you all focus between yourself, the sitter, and the canvas. Looks wonderfully therapeutic in a way, almost meditative.

[00:11:54]>> It is. And what about the relationship with Tanny? Are you having a chance to have a conversation and get to know her better? Probably good if we don't chat to her too much cuz then she moves around.

[00:12:03]>> Right. Keep still. That's what that's the order of the day, isn't it?

[00:12:08][laughter] >> Georgina's eyes and her mouth is just beautiful. Would you like any more compliments?

[00:12:32][laughter] >> She had her mouth slightly open actually at one point and I thought, "Oh god, that would be quite interesting." But I know that teeth are very difficult to do. [music] >> Professional artist Katherine McDermad juggles painting full-time with family life in [music] Cumbria. Catherine's self-portrait was painted especially for the competition. And this is her third time in [music] front of the judges, having made the short list on two previous series of portrait artist of the year [music] with her paintings of Ashley Jensen and Ross Kemp.

[00:13:02]>> Katherine, thank you for not being sick of us and coming back. We're pleased to see you. We loved your submission. I mean, it was very much for me about this extraordinary light that you created.

[00:13:13]Are we going to see a bit of that today?

[00:13:14]>> I'm hoping you will. the beautiful line of like artificial light being created on the shoulder. So, I was hoping to try and capture that. And the way that Georgina's face is a kind of a different tone to the artificial light.

[00:13:28]>> She's very young and beautiful. Is there enough there to paint?

[00:13:31]>> As an older face, you've got a lot more to get into.

[00:13:33]>> But with a younger face, you have to make sure that it flatters. In a sense, you don't go too old with the skin.

[00:13:40][music] When trying to achieve the same level of detail, some artists leave nothing to chance.

[00:13:48]>> Hello, Rupertine.

[00:13:49]>> Hello.

[00:13:50]>> Now, what's going on here? You've got Tanny over there. Tanny on a phone.

[00:13:53]>> I'm Tanny Mad.

[00:13:54]>> So, what which one are you painting from?

[00:13:56]>> I'm painting from Tanny, >> right?

[00:13:58]>> And then I've talked Tanny here to as my second eye to see what I what I've done wrong and need to need to correct.

[00:14:05]Gotcha.

[00:14:11]Ex-fashion model Rubertine Allen now works as a billing analyst for an energy company in Northampton, painting in her spare time.

[00:14:21]She usually works from photos, as she did [music] for her self-portrait, so painting from life can present some interesting challenges.

[00:14:29]I can't see Tanny's eye color from here.

[00:14:32]It's dark, but I know it's not really dark.

[00:14:34]>> Damn, what color are your eyes?

[00:14:38]the sort of greeny brownie color.

[00:14:40][laughter] >> I've always wanted blue eyes. Can you do me with blue eyes?

[00:14:44]>> They're like pools.

[00:14:45]>> Yeah, like mountain pools.

[00:14:46]>> Yeah.

[00:14:48]>> I don't know why I was saying yes. I just came with you.

[00:14:50]>> Paint two mountain pools.

[00:14:52]>> No, >> I won't tell anyone we cheated by asking her.

[00:14:57]>> The artists [music] have 3 hours left to complete their portrait.

[00:15:02]>> I can't believe we've had an hour already. It feels [music] like 5 minutes, which is a bit worrying.

[00:15:10]>> I haven't got as much detail in the eyes [music] at the moment that I want to, but uh I'm quite happy with the way the overall composition is going.

[00:15:22]>> I think it's going well. Uh all the main shapes are in position. I should know within the hour if this is sort of going to fly or not.

[00:15:44]For the last hour here at the Wallace Collection in London, Mark Gatus, Tanny Gay Thompson, and Georgina [music] Campbell have been the focus of nine artists in a race against time to complete their portraits.

[00:16:02]Usually I'm uh fast when I'm painting.

[00:16:06]I'm always starting from underpainting.

[00:16:08]This is the guarantee what in any time I can stop and my work will will look finished and you will see where is the face, where is the background and all of this.

[00:16:23]Professional artist Anastasia Shima began her art training aged 12 in her native Russia. Now based in the UK, [music] in 2017, Anastasia took part in landscape artist of the year creating a monochrome drawing of Nesbra Vioaduct, but today she's working in oils on canvas.

[00:16:45]>> So Anastasia, you picked the round canvas. T >> today I bring three types of canvases.

[00:16:52]When I see the profile position, I'm think about Roman coins and it suits Mark's head absolutely beautifully.

[00:17:00]>> It's almost a complete portrait of Mark.

[00:17:02]You're a very fast painter. I'm trying to work out how your brain works. Are you painting on automatic pilot almost?

[00:17:09]>> When I painting, I thinking about the what to do next. I can add some shades here, some detail here. For me, it's natural process. [music] >> When working against the clock, the key to creative success can lie in careful preparation.

[00:17:29]>> I brought uh 20 pre-sharpened pencils with me, which I will use really. So, you can just use one after the other.

[00:17:36]Pencil away from the paper is wasting time.

[00:17:40]>> Professional artist John Bledhill discovered his love of art while taking a ceramics course. 47 years ago. Since then, he's built up a varied body of work that incorporates painting and lino cut, but his true passion is for the pencil.

[00:17:56]>> John, your submission was a to force in draftsmanship.

[00:18:00]>> Thank you.

[00:18:00]>> Quite a lot of lead there. Sometimes we say a submission is very painterly because there's so much paint. Yours doesn't have a word because we can't say it's very leady, but it was very full.

[00:18:11]>> Yes. Graphitey.

[00:18:13]And of course, you don't work with color, so the bright blue, it doesn't worry you too much, but you have to do a lot of work to find tones and shades to give us a sense of this person being real and existing in space.

[00:18:26]>> I use soft pencils. I find that you can get the range of tones then. So, from very light to very dark. The softer the pencil is, the deeper the dark can get.

[00:18:34]>> It's like painting in black and white.

[00:18:36]Whether our nine hopefuls choose to include or ignore the backdrops behind their sitters today, they've all proved inspirational to artists in the past.

[00:18:46]>> Ty, theme of the day.

[00:18:48]>> Well, we like to take our themes from art history and today's period we're looking at is the Renaissance. So, we're looking at materials and colors that we used.

[00:18:58]>> So, behind us, we have the gold and we have >> a naked man with four arms and four legs. So based on Da Vinci's Vituvian man, a sort of idealized version of a perfect anatomy. Um, a very important symbol from that period and encased in this beautiful gold. Nice thing to work with.

[00:19:16]>> Yeah, Mark has a wonderful face, a good face to paint.

[00:19:20]>> Mark's head is a beautiful structure. It wasn't apparent to me, funnily enough, till I saw the artist starting to draw him. So a delight to paint. I think they're going to have a good day.

[00:19:33]Here we have this glorious blue lapis lazuli. It comes from a mountain in Afghanistan in the Renaissance. It was so expensive. It was deemed to be the perfect thing to paint the Virgin Mary's robes. If you see a woman in a Renaissance painting in a blue robe, it's always the Virgin Mary because only the best.

[00:19:50]>> What do you think of the sitter here?

[00:19:52]>> I think Tan is a lovely sitter. So, I think they're lucky in this section.

[00:19:55]It's very rich. It's like a jewel scene, I think.

[00:20:00]>> So, Kathleen, what's happening [music] on Georgina's set? What we're really doing is acknowledging that in the Renaissance there were huge steps forward in relation to perspective. We started to see people positioned in the right place in respect of the landscape that they would set in. Beforehand everything had been very very flat. It became more realistic.

[00:20:17]>> How's Georgina getting on as a sitter?

[00:20:20]>> She's got this incredible bone structure and it's it's so helped really by this fantastic neckline that she's provided.

[00:20:26]It's almost like a classical bust.

[00:20:30][music] Georgina's shoulders are actually really nice. I think the the contrast of the background and the skin is going to play quite nicely off each other. So, I think that's the way that I'm going to be able to bring a lot of presence to or hopefully bring presence to her.

[00:20:45]Born and raised in Devon, Amelia Webster recently completed a foundation course in art therapy and is currently artist in residence at a disability charity.

[00:20:58]Her self-portrait painted over the course of a week captures a moment in the ritual she performs before painting.

[00:21:08]>> Amelia, I noticed that you have stuck very closely to the same palette that you used in your submission, that pale beigeness almost. Is that something aesthetically you tend to stick with?

[00:21:18]>> Yeah, I do. I occasionally um if I'm doing a uh a longer sitting, I might add a black, but that can be quite overpowering. What I've learned is I don't want to put too many colors in to confuse it. I think if uh for me personally, if I have too many colors, it's going to just get a bit messy.

[00:21:38]>> One artist has chosen to push the concept of [music] a reduced palette to its very limit.

[00:21:44]>> I use one particular blue ink. It's it works a bit like chromatography in that it separates into very beautiful tones and then it separates into pinks and it can take on the very dramatic dark form as well. I like to explore what the ink does, so I let it do its thing a little bit.

[00:22:04]Self-taught artist Laxmi Hussein fits [music] painting around raising two small children and a full-time job in marketing. She almost exclusively portrays women and always in her one signature color.

[00:22:19]>> So, why not work with more colors from the start?

[00:22:22]>> The world is full of color, but I think taking away color and using just one color enables me to emphasize the beauty that I see. I just love exploring how this ink changes. I have added a bit more water than I would normally do, which is giving these >> uh pooling. Yeah, >> effect.

[00:22:42]>> So, it's a bit of a tight trope. You could overdo it and it could sort of [laughter] sort of Mark's face could run off the page.

[00:22:49]>> A minimalist palette makes for a tidy workspace, but other artists thrive in a more anarchctic environment.

[00:22:56]>> Henry, you're a bit of a mucky pup, aren't you?

[00:22:59]>> The state of you.

[00:23:00]>> I know.

[00:23:00]>> Half the paints on your face, your trousers. Some of it has gone on the board to great effect, I might add.

[00:23:06]>> Thank you. But the little I know about painting, I would suggest more on the board, less on your >> I'll have a go at that.

[00:23:12]>> Okay.

[00:23:16][music] >> 19-year-old Henry Why taught himself to paint last year after studying Alevel art history. He's today's youngest competitor and completed his self-portrait in 6 hours using oil paint and a variety of unorthodox materials.

[00:23:34]You brought some fabrics with you?

[00:23:37]>> Yes.

[00:23:37]>> Cuz your self-portrait had a pair of jeans.

[00:23:40]>> Uh, yeah. I had a little pair of jeans.

[00:23:42]>> You going to get Georgina in some jeans?

[00:23:44]>> Well, Georgina is [clears throat] in some jeans. You might have thought maybe I'd had a go at those, but uh I've zoomed in a bit instead.

[00:23:52]>> You zoomed in on the face. You're very carefree with the brush.

[00:23:55]>> Yeah, >> it's about the painting.

[00:23:56]>> Chuck it on.

[00:23:57]>> Yeah, chuck it on.

[00:23:58]>> That's what I like to hear. That's the technique I can understand.

[00:24:01]>> Yeah. Yeah, exactly. from the Chuck it on school of painting.

[00:24:06]>> Now the artists have used up half of their aotted time and just [music] 2 hours remain.

[00:24:12]>> Now I just add some details and richer color and textures.

[00:24:20]>> I was on a slight up and now I'm on a slight down. Everything could go wrong.

[00:24:26]I might accidentally do a wrong brush mark.

[00:24:31]It's a battle. [music] It's me against the canvas in a gorgeous way. She'll come fighting back in a minute. I can feel it.

[00:24:48]For the last 2 hours, nine artists have been testing their creative skills.

[00:24:56]>> What do you think? get.

[00:24:59]>> They're creating portraits of Tanny Gay Thompson, Georgina Campbell, and Mark Gatus, who are discovering that sitting still is not as easy as they thought.

[00:25:09]It's harder than it looks. It's uh it's quite restful, slightly dangerously so.

[00:25:15]I don't want them to capture me going like that, [laughter] which I think may be a terrible problem today. But I've checked with everybody and I'm going to do the last hour like this >> just for fun just to mix it up a bit.

[00:25:27]Yeah.

[00:25:28]>> If you find a focal point and just keep looking at it.

[00:25:32]>> No, that's fine. Okay.

[00:25:34]>> I thought I'd be really good at being still, but I'm absolutely completely rubbish at it. So, the other thing is when I see even now, my hands move all the time. I can't talk without moving my hands. So, that that's that's quite difficult as well.

[00:25:47]>> It's quite um strange. You kind of have to go into almost [music] like a trance.

[00:25:51]I feel like I'm getting crosseyed a lot.

[00:25:53]I'd be a bit upset if I got turned around and I've kind of got a stink eye.

[00:25:58]So, [laughter] I'm hoping there's a certain warmth to it. I have a banana. This is for the last hour. This is this will get me through. If I had to do five hours, I think it might have to be, I don't know, heroin or something.

[00:26:13]While the sitters struggle through, the artists have been hard at work under the watchful eyes of the judges.

[00:26:19]>> Halfway time judges. So, it's time to find out what you make of it [music] so far. Let's start with the portraits of Mark Anastasia.

[00:26:28]>> I'm just delighted to see the circular format. It's absolutely fantastic. It's a Renaissance day. It's a Renaissance format. The tando, we've never had that before. She works incredibly quickly.

[00:26:38]There's a lot of paint there. any reservations I had about what she could do in the time limit were removed within about the first half an hour.

[00:26:46]>> The interesting thing about Grahams is of course the the setting the position is is very good, but he's only recently started to put on paint.

[00:26:53]>> When one of our painters chooses to do more than the head, it's always a bonus and we were expecting that from his submission. There's a narrative quality in in it. He uses a setup to sort of illuminate the psychology of the sit and he's done the same here with Mark. Um, he's taking his time.

[00:27:08]>> The artist in Tanny's section. What about Eve?

[00:27:11]>> Eve's sort of one of our artists who you might quite happily see making abstract art, watching her paint. Tanny is not necessarily a sort of a living, breathing sitter to be observed and she wants her to sit more still. She's almost making an object out of her.

[00:27:25]>> We've got Georgina in another section here. What about Katherine?

[00:27:29]>> I love the approach. It's a wonderful likeness and she's caught her use and her beauty. you know, she's using light in an interesting way.

[00:27:37]>> And Katherine's got this sort of energy and she's giving us not only a very good head at this point, she's also giving us an interesting textured background.

[00:27:46]>> Um, has Amelia's portrait of Georgina come well?

[00:27:49]>> I think Amelia's portrait of Georgina is really starting to come together. She's pacing herself.

[00:27:54]>> How do you feel about it? Going well?

[00:27:56]Very good day, not so good.

[00:27:58]>> Strangely, I think there are a couple of artists who've been doing very, very well all morning. And the dangers with them is that they're going to tip now.

[00:28:05]But then we've got a couple of others who weren't doing so well this morning, but seem to slowly be pulling through.

[00:28:09]So, we've got this really, it's like a b scales >> slowly going like that, and it's just difficult wondering where they're going to stop.

[00:28:15]>> Yeah.

[00:28:16]>> Some up, some down. We'll see where they go.

[00:28:20]>> When painting under competition conditions, negotiating those ups and downs can be difficult for some.

[00:28:27]>> Hello.

[00:28:29]How are you? [laughter] You've come to annoy me.

[00:28:32]>> I have come to annoy you. I saw you telling Tammy off earlier. Do you feel under under pressure?

[00:28:36]>> Be mean, aren't I?

[00:28:37]>> Do you want to punch us all and tell you to get out of the way?

[00:28:40]>> I love you all, but yes, I'm glad you want us to punch. Now, you you teach yoga.

[00:28:45]>> Yes.

[00:28:45]>> So, where's the zen calm that comes from yoga? Where is it?

[00:28:48]>> Well, it was hilarious. My sister said to me last night, she said, "Just stand there and meditate for 4 hours."

[00:28:54]>> Did you want to punch her?

[00:28:55]>> Yes, I wanted to punch her.

[00:28:56]>> Okay.

[00:28:57]Fortunately, today's pressure isn't provoking the same reaction among all our artists.

[00:29:03]>> Graham, you seem rather relaxed. You haven't just done Mark's head. You're actually putting him in space. Is that what you usually work with when you're painting?

[00:29:11]>> I like to cuz I think it adds a psychological dimension. The the clothing, the the gaze, where is he looking? Why is he here? I want to understand the interior world. I was going to use the word narrative, but actually with you the composition is a it's almost like a psychological narrative. It it opens up the reading of you in your painting and in this case Mark.

[00:29:32]>> I think um people are essentially unknowable. So as a portrait painter often you find that you're painting another version of yourself.

[00:29:39]>> I'm intrigued where it goes.

[00:29:41]>> Yeah.

[00:29:52]>> [music] >> Katherine, I don't know whether you've subliminally absorbed the theme of today, the Renaissance, but you you've used one of their classic tricks, which is to put a backdrop specifically behind the head, and then open it up on either side.

[00:30:06]>> I've just picked out one of the shapes basically and done it in the background color >> because you've also broken it up. So, it's it's helping you with perspective here, isn't it? Yeah, that's what that was for actually to try and bring this side towards a little bit perspective.

[00:30:20]Another feature of the Renaissance.

[00:30:21][music] So you you are on theme.

[00:30:27]>> With 3 hours gone, the [music] artists have different takes on how to spend the final hour.

[00:30:33]>> At the moment, I'm still happy with the composition. I think I haven't lost her.

[00:30:38]Yeah, the coloring's a bit wrong in some [music] areas. I need to get the highlighting right and the textures of my brush marks actually as well.

[00:30:45]>> 3 hours it's I think it's more than enough for traditional uh oil sketch and 4 hours too much. I make decision finished here at the Wallace collection. Nine artists have been painting three familiar faces for nearly 4 hours [music] and have only minutes left to complete their portraits.

[00:31:13]>> I'm behind, but I don't know. I mean, you never know what's going to happen.

[00:31:17]Suddenly, I might get a miracle.

[00:31:22]>> I'm tired.

[00:31:24]I'm fiddling really. Ideally, I might have had a little bit more of the body in [music] the shoulders, but it didn't work out that way.

[00:31:32]Well, in this section, I think Anastasia's finished. I think Lakshmi's [music] finished. And I think I'm the only one who's still got bits to do.

[00:31:42]>> Artists, you have 5 minutes [music] left.

[00:31:45]>> Well, it's too late to stress now.

[00:31:48][laughter] >> I think I'm nearly there. I think I'm nearly done everything [music] that I can do. It's just last minute bits and pieces really.

[00:32:07]Artists, [music] your time is up.

[00:32:09]>> Please stop working and stand away from your easels.

[00:32:14][applause] [music] After a 4-hour wait, our sitters are about to see how they've been portrayed.

[00:32:26]Georgina, you're relieved of the responsibility of sitting still. You can now >> move around. [laughter] >> Now you can move. Artist, will you turn your easels round?

[00:32:40]>> Oh wow.

[00:32:44]Oh my god. They're all so different.

[00:32:47]Different perspectives and and different types of painting. [music] I can't believe you've done that in such a short period of time. I think it's lovely how you've [music] kind of got all the different shading and there's the sparkle in the eye as well, which is really lovely.

[00:33:04]This one looks just completely different. I [music] really love the the collar bone.

[00:33:09]>> This is quite witty, isn't it? To allow the drips to be >> Yes. And it looks like the kind of ruffle of my shirt.

[00:33:18]I really love that this one. [music] You can see the kind of the the stark um angles of my face and of my collarbone.

[00:33:26]Kind [music] of looks like I'm a ballerina. [laughter] It looks very kind of sleek.

[00:33:33]They're all so fantastic. I'm going to have to choose Catherine. Yeah.

[00:33:38][laughter] [applause] Fantastic.

[00:33:46]Tanny, how was it?

[00:33:48]>> Actually, really tiring.

[00:33:50]>> So, you haven't had a look?

[00:33:52]>> No, not at all. No.

[00:33:54]>> Artists, please turn your easels.

[00:34:02]>> Oh, wow.

[00:34:05]They're really different, >> aren't they?

[00:34:07]>> Yeah.

[00:34:08]>> Let's have a closer look.

[00:34:11]I wasn't expecting my face to be so big, but um sort of the depth of color, especially around my cheeks and around here, I think that looks that that sort of captured me.

[00:34:22]>> And your mountain pool eyes. [laughter] [music] >> It really captures.

[00:34:28]>> Really interesting colors though, isn't it? Cuz I saw you mixing green. Where's that going to be? But actually sort of around my eyes and hairline [music] that that kind of picks it up really well. That's fantastic.

[00:34:41]slightly more melancholy. Tanny, [laughter] >> naturally, if I'm not smiling, I do look a bit miserable. That's probably the uh sort of a quite a natural expression.

[00:34:50]It's incredible what you can do with with [music] a pencil. Really amazing.

[00:34:54]>> Right, Tenny? This is the moment.

[00:34:57]>> Oh, how long have I got?

[00:35:01]>> I don't know. How's everyone fixed for the evening?

[00:35:03]>> Yeah.

[00:35:05]>> Oh, I think it's going to be Eve's.

[00:35:07]>> Well done, Eve.

[00:35:08]>> Thank you. Thank you.

[00:35:09]>> Thank you [applause] very much.

[00:35:11][music] >> Thank you very much.

[00:35:16]>> Artist, will you turn your easels round, please?

[00:35:26]Well, heavens to Betsy. [laughter] There's a problem here because in this gap where there should be an enormous full head of hair, she's this I think it's sort of interpretation artistic.

[00:35:42]It's very good.

[00:35:46]>> Yeah, it was beautiful. I love ink and I love ink washes like that. I think it's very interesting. He's very handsome, whoever he is.

[00:35:57]>> I look quite severe in this. Probably sitting straighter at the beginning.

[00:36:02]They just deflated gradually.

[00:36:05]And I love the suggestion of the Vuvian man behind.

[00:36:09]>> Well, it's now time to make a choice.

[00:36:12]>> Right. I'm going to choose obviously the one I can put in the attic which will absorb [music] all my sins. Uh I'm going to go for Anastasia. [applause] >> [applause] >> While the artists unwind, the judges [music] assess the day's work.

[00:36:37]We really like Henry's self-portrait, his submission, because of the combination of a certain sort of crudeness with the collage. Today, Henry's portrait of Georgina hasn't captured that charm.

[00:36:51]I like the way Amelia approached Georgina. Georgina is very, very pretty.

[00:36:55]Delicate features, this extraordinary skin, flawless, and she found a way of not making her look too much like a doll or too pretty.

[00:37:04]Katherine's almost subconsciously absorbed the Renaissance theme. And it's as if you've got a Madonna standing in front of a backdrop.

[00:37:12]>> Regina was a very difficult model. I mean, there's this this luminous quality and smoothness, youthful, dewy skin.

[00:37:18]>> She was too beautiful. Yes. Um, but Katherine's found a way of of reproducing it without it being sweet.

[00:37:27]>> I'm glad somebody in this section decided to do the whole of Mark. Um, and it's not surprising it was it was Graeme.

[00:37:33]>> Graham's captured Mark beautifully. The head's great. I'm not happy with the background, though. I think it was a bit of a dar decision to put the Vuvian man arm coming through the head like that.

[00:37:42]It's quite distracting.

[00:37:45]I think Lakshmi caught a sort of angry mark, a stern mark, but I feel like I know that face even though he wasn't there today. Anastasia's work gave us a fantastic representation of Mark today.

[00:37:58]I [music] love that looseness that she had in it earlier in the day, but her training makes her want to sort of tighten it up and give it that old fashioned feel, but it's fantastic >> and incredible that she felt so confident that she could step away from it at the right time.

[00:38:14]John really loves working in pencil. You could see that. I think there are some really interesting things that he did, but there's nothing exceptional about it.

[00:38:23]>> He has an eye for detail, but it is a kind of journalistic eye. There's no poetry in it.

[00:38:30]>> Eve's love of color just shines out really. I Well, it literally shines out.

[00:38:34]But I do think that Eve has got this fantastic suggestion of Tanny in the face.

[00:38:41]>> I liked watching Rubetine paint. I think it was a good decision to make the square format and to keep the head big and keep it cropped in there [music] cuz it has like a condensed power. I think she didn't resolve the likeness.

[00:38:53]>> Before deciding on today's winning portrait, [music] first the judges narrow the field.

[00:38:59]>> This one is too weak in this. Neither here nor there.

[00:39:02]>> Let's move it now.

[00:39:06]>> There we go.

[00:39:07]>> It's a good three. It's a good three.

[00:39:08]All right. Well, great. Now we have to just find a winner from three really good paintings.

[00:39:15]After much discussion and deliberation, the judges have chosen their short list of three. The first artist on that short list [music] is Anastasia Shimshell Villi.

[00:39:27][applause] >> The second artist is Eve Pettit.

[00:39:36][applause] The final artist to be shortlisted is Katherine McD.

[00:39:47][applause] >> Our commiserations to the rest of you.

[00:39:55]Not everyone can win. It doesn't mean we don't appreciate the wonderful work you've done. Thank you very [music] much. [applause] >> The whole day has just been an amazing experience. It's just been one of those things that you're never going to forget and it's I I think my art will change from it. [applause] >> The short-listed artists original submissions are lined up alongside their work today to give the judges some context when picking their winner.

[00:40:25]So judges, we've got it down to a short list of three. An all women short list.

[00:40:29]We'll start with Anastasia.

[00:40:31]A really lovely portrait of Mark.

[00:40:34]>> Yes. Sort of. noble, beautiful colors, also sensitive. It caught his sensitivity. Lots of really good painting almost. I find she might be too good a painter.

[00:40:46]>> Wait a minute. You You think she's too good a painter?

[00:40:48]>> If we look at the other painters, there seems to be an artistic voice that runs through both their works. Here, there is a relationship. The relationship seems to be one of sort of historical painting. So, what is Anastasia's true voice?

[00:41:02]>> We loved it. We recognize that there's a masterful nature in what she's doing.

[00:41:06]The question will be for us, do we think that there is a >> a continuation of her style, a development, a journey that she is on or is she fixed?

[00:41:15]>> Right. So then we have um Eve's portrait of Tanny. Do you think we're looking at a finished portrait or just what where she got to after four hours or does it matter?

[00:41:24]>> I get the feeling that the way Eve works um the painting is never really finished. is a kind of sense of it's it's a journey of perception and looking and reacting to planes and colors and at some point a figure emerges.

[00:41:37]>> I don't know that um this is entirely how she would want it to look necessarily because we look at the submission and there seems to be an added component to the submission. The combination of the two today shows you that Eve approaches things in this really interesting way. And Catherine, well, Katherine's submission is just this exceptional piece of narrative painting. It's a very good portrait and I think with Katherine's portrait of Georgina today, she played around with the colors that she was presented with and made them distinctly her own. And it's a, you know, it's a very timeless, beautiful piece of painting.

[00:42:10]>> Your job now is to find a winner.

[00:42:18]>> [music] >> Anastasia, Eve, Katherine, the work has been really impressive, but I'm afraid the short list is about to get much shorter.

[00:42:26]>> Only one artist can go through to the semi-final, and the artist the judges have selected displayed [music] a great command of light and captured the essence of her sitter. And that artist is Katherine McDermott. [cheering] >> [applause] [music] >> OH, this means so much because it is the third time that I've been in this competition [music] and I've got to the same stage twice before. So to get past that post, this mean it means a lot to me. [music] [applause] I can't quite believe it. I'm really thrilled.

[00:43:10]Katherine was our winner today because she delivered a very complete [music] painting. It had a wonderful sense of light. She showed us Georgina's beauty.

[00:43:18]The likeness was there, [music] but she did something more interesting than that. She gave us a sense of her strength. She gave us a sense of personality. And I don't think we'll tire of seeing the way that she [music] puts paint down. She's found this very good language and we want to see more of it. [music] I'm thrilled. I'm going to have to do it all over again now.

[00:43:42]>> [music] [music] [music]