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Contents

3 Introduction4 Series overview5 Episode guide:

The Heats11 The Finals12 Interview:

Frank Skinner and Joan Bakewell

14 Interview: The Judges

16 Contacts

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From the first daubs of paint on a blank canvas to the looks of amazement on the famous sitters’ faces when the images are revealed for the first time, Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year invites viewers on an incredible journey. It’s back for another year and once again bursting with jaw-dropping talent and creativity. The indomitable presenting double act of Frank Skinner and Joan Bakewell are also returning and I’m personally delighted that they will be bringing their wit and charm to proceedings again this year. They’ll be inviting the artists to reveal the thought process behind their works, and share details of the challenging painting techniques they employ in making

them, and along with our expert team of judges, Kathleen Soriano, Tai-Shan Schierenberg and Kate Bryan, Frank and Joan will help bring the creative process to life. One of the things I love most about Portrait Artist of the Year is that it’s as enlightening as it is entertaining. At Sky Arts we know our customers love to fully immerse themselves in the craft, whether it’s music, theatre or painting, and Portrait Artist of the Year 2014 is the perfect reflection of that. With over 1,600 artists entering this year from all over the UK and Ireland, I’m confident that the new series will once again tap into that creative passion across the country. Philip Edgar-Jones, Director of Sky Arts

Introduction

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OverviewThe hunt for the 2014 Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year begins as Frank Skinner and Joan Bakewell return to present the competition in which the country’s most promising portrait artists paint famous faces against the clock.

Seventy-two artists, chosen from 1,600 applicants who submitted their self-portraits, will compete for the chance to win a £10,000 commission to paint actor Alan Cumming for the Scottish National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection.

During six heats, they’ll get just four nail-biting hours to paint celebrity

sitters before their masterpieces fall under the scrutiny of the show’s three judges: portrait artist Tai-Shan Schierenberg, independent curator and art historian Kathleen Soriano and Kate Bryan, head of Contemporary at the Fine Art Society.

The winners of each of the heats, held in London, Edinburgh, Dublin and Cardiff, will meet at the semi-final at the Royal Academy, where a double portrait challenge will determine which three finalists will paint actor Sir Ian McKellen in the grand final held at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

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Episode oneThe competition starts in London with Joan and Frank welcoming 12 eager artists to the Wallace Collection. Under the watchful eye of the judges, they get four hours to paint football legend Sol Campbell, Game of Thrones actress Maisie Williams and broadcaster John Humphrys for a spot in the semi-final.

Among the contestants is Steve Dowson, who spent two years on his self-portrait, Louis Smith, a professional artist with a stopwatch and a strict time plan, Titus Agbara, who paints with a palette knife and Jamie Avis, whose painting of Williams takes three anxious attempts.

When the sitters have chosen their favourite works, the judges invite their top three artists to discuss their self-portrait and their four-hour masterpiece. Then, after deliberation, discussion and a tough decision, they reveal who moves one step closer to the grand final.

Episode guide – The Heats

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Episode twoTwelve more artists put their nerves and artistic flair to the test as the competition shifts to Edinburgh. In the National Museum of Scotland, their talent will be judged on how they capture actress and impressionist Ronni Ancona, Downton Abbey writer Lord Julian Fellowes and Helena Kennedy QC. A brilliant mix of contestants includes professional artist Noel Bensted, who trained at the Royal Academy, and call centre worker David Mealing, whose self-portrait is only the second oil painting he has ever produced.

The first of two heats in Scotland showcases some unusual mediums and techniques, including 18-year-old Lauren Ross’s centuries-old method inspired by Leonardo da Vinci. There is also Culloden Robertson, who paints on wood instead of canvas, and Cathy Thomas, who bids to win the heat by painting on handmade paper.

Episode guide – The Heats

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Episode threeThe search returns to the National Museum of Scotland, where the sky-high standard of portraits presents the judges with their toughest decision yet.

Twelve talented artists mix their paints and prime their canvases to capture BAFTA-award winning This Life star Daniela Nardini, Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp and Ashley Jensen, star of Sky 1’s Christmas drama Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death. Professional artist Jim Strachan is dealt a handicap when he forgets to bring his glasses, while another contestant makes a brave attempt to delve into Jensen’s soul and paint her ‘alter ego’. Another claims to take the same approach to capturing his celebrity sitter as he would if he were painting a pile of bricks.

There’s a twist in store in the third week as an incredibly close heat produces a number of astonishing portraits.

Episode guide – The Heats

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Episode fourFrank, Joan and the judges move the action to Wales as 12 gifted artists anxiously set up their easels at the Senedd in Cardiff. Comedian and actor Greg Davies, paralympian and broadcaster Ade Adepitan and sportswoman Non Evans strike their poses as the artists bid to paint their way in to the semi-final. With just four tense hours to capture their sitters, self-taught artist Brian Kamau hopes to leave his mark on the competition by using only pencil, while contestant Bill Bone makes the unusual decision to cover his canvas with wax before starting. Plus, having gone on to win the title following success in the Cardiff heat, last year’s Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year winner Nick Lord returns to reveal how victory in the competition has changed his life.

Episode guide – The Heats

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Episode fiveAuthor Jilly Cooper, Outnumbered actor Daniel Roche and broadcaster and presenter of The South Bank Show Melvyn Bragg take their positions at the Wallace Collection as the search for the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year returns to the central London gallery.

While one brave artist takes the bold decision to depict Bragg entirely in tapestry, another hopes his four-hour portrait will confound expectations of watercolour, a medium he believes is grossly underrated.

Also this week, the heat’s youngest competitor, 17-year-old artist Annabel Adams, is looking to win an unusual bet with her physics teacher, as well as a place in the semi-final. And, Luis Morris, the winner of last year’s London heat held in Trafalgar Square, returns to reveal how his success in the 2013 series changed his artistic fortunes.

Episode guide – The Heats

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Episode sixWith just one place remaining in the semi-final, the search for the 2014 Portrait Artist of the Year continues in Dublin.

The Divine Comedy singer-songwriter Neil Hannon, Star Trek actor Colm Meaney and The Corrs violinist Sharon Corr each pose for contestants in the final nail-biting heat held at the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

Returning to the competition is 2013 contestant Aine Divine, who tries a different tack for her second shot at becoming Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist of the Year. Meanwhile, Sharon Corr’s beauty proves tough for artist Nuala Herron to capture.

Knowing he can take home his favourite portrait, Hannon hopes to see an honest depiction that doesn’t flatter him. However, when one painting leaves him “devastated by my own beauty”, his decision proves nearly as tricky as the judges’.

Episode guide – The Heats

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Episodes seven and eightThe action moves to the Royal Academy for the semi-final before the artists paint Sir Ian McKellen in a gripping final a week later. Then, following the competition, a special episode reveals the story of the 2014 Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year.

Episode guide – The Finals

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He is this global star and I have been around since even before he was born. Well, not quite, but practically. It has come as a surprise to a lot of people that we get on well, but not to us because I think we quite admire what each other does.

Do you find you generally agree with the judges’ decisions? Frank: Probably about 70 per cent of the time. I have been heartbroken a couple of times over portraits that I really loved and that didn’t make it but the judges are brilliant and hey, what do I know?

What is a day like on set? Joan: It’s very hectic. It’s a long day. I am not a film star so a 7.30am call for makeup and hair is really not my style. We are already doing pieces to camera by 8-8.30 and from then we circulate and watch the paintings develop, have a word with the artists and talk to each other and the judges. We know the judges very well now.

Do you paint in your free time?Joan: I don’t. It would be nice though. I have some poor old paintbrushes ➜

We met up with Frank Skinner and Joan Bakewell at the Wallace Collection in London while they were filming the first episode of the new series.

Have you enjoyed making the series so far?Frank: It’s been fabulous. It’s exhilarating to see so much great stuff happening in one room. I love seeing these guys with paint on their fingers and on their clothes and with their tubes and brushes lined up. You can smell the art and it’s great being in the midst of it.

Joan: We are having a terrific time. We are really enjoying each other’s company and that of the artists. Many are very talkative and, if they aren’t to begin with, they soon become so. I have always loved art and I like being around artists. They are such interesting people and they are so focused. Seeing people concentrate is one of the most rewarding things. It’s lovely watching people work, especially when you do not have to work very hard yourself.

Why do you think the series captures the imagination of Sky Arts viewers?

Frank: Well, my family watch it and really like it and it’s not just because I am in it. I think you see so little of the process of art. You can go to a gallery and see lots of fabulous stuff but it’s finished and the story is told. But watching the telling of the story is absolutely fascinating. It’s great to be here with Joan, and the judges are brilliant, but the star of the show is the art and the artists – that is what people really like to watch.

Have you enjoyed presenting with Joan?Frank: Yes, it’s been great. She is such good fun. I thought she might be a bit stuffy and arty but she absolutely isn’t. And the judges are such a great combination – whoever put that team together did a brilliant job. They respect each other but they are also very happy to argue quite fearlessly and tell each other that they are wrong. I love watching them fight over a painting. I also utterly exploit them as a facility and ask them lots of questions about art, which has been great for me.

Joan: I like the fact that people are surprised that I am working with Frank.

I think the contestants that do well are the ones that basically jump off the cliff and go for it – Frank

Interview

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that have never been used and some dried-up tubes of paint but that’s about it.

Frank: I don’t but Joan and I have been talking about entering into a pact where we both start painting. It does seem wrong that we’re on this show and not putting all the stuff that we are learning into practice. We think we might set each other a watercolour challenge. I think Joan has done one watercolour painting that she framed and then put in a cupboard but I don’t even have that. Every time I do this I think that I should give it a go.

What are the sitters like this series?Frank: We have some excellent sitters and not just from the point of view of them being well-known people who it’s exciting to see. For example, everyone has said what a good sitter Sol Campbell is and that he is very still and focused. Basically, the facial expression that he gave at the beginning is the one that he is giving now, which really helps the artists.

Do the artists stay calm?Frank: One thing all the artists say is that the painting of a portrait is not

flat ground and there are some terrible deep valleys and then some beautiful high mountains. As you walk around, you can see the odd crisis but I think the contestants that do well are the ones that basically jump off the cliff and go for it.

Joan: They are completely committed to what they are doing. It is extraordinary how well they cope with us surging around them. We talk to them from time to time and they don’t mind being interrupted. The development of the work throughout the day is very interesting to follow. Sometimes you think an artist is going off course or losing it and then they just come back. It’s wonderful to watch that.

Have there been any stand-out moments from filming so far? Frank: I spent about five minutes talking to one artist about his trousers. He wipes his brushes on them and he has been doing so for some time. He was telling me that he lives with a group of artists and they are all quite proud of their painting clothes because they are like a romantic badge of honour. He actually knocked on his trousers and it was a

bit like knocking on a wooden door, they were so hardened by paint. I love all that. I love all the periphery stuff. From here, I can see a portrait of John Humphrys that makes my heart sing and that’s what’s great about the show. We can get up close and see it happening and it’s a real privilege. People have used that word a lot but it honestly does feel that way. If you could select anyone to paint you, who would you choose?

Frank: I really like Hans Holbein’s paintings of Erasmus and Henry VIII so I would be very happy to get one of those done.

And if you could paint anyone, who would you choose?Joan: For a sitter, you need an interesting and enthralling face: faces that perhaps have some mystery. Would I feel more comfortable painting a woman than a man? I’m not sure. I know my way around the female face. I

Sometimes you think an artist is going off course or losing it and then they just come back. It’s wonderful to watch that – Joan

know how we worry about where to put our makeup and the bags under our eyes and how we should pluck our eyebrows so maybe I would find it easier to paint a woman. On the other hand, if she was a great beauty, I couldn’t approach it because I couldn’t do it justice. Perhaps someone of a certain age with loads of character and with an interesting life. Any ideas?

Judi Dench?Judi would be wonderful. ■

Interview

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We caught up with the judges on set to talk about choosing a winner, this year’s contestants and how they would cope with the artists’ tough four-hour time limit.

What are you looking for in a winning portrait?Kathleen: It is a mixture of so many things. You are looking for likeness but at the same time, you want context, character and a sense of the person. We want someone who can paint portraiture in a fresh and new way. That is what

we felt with last year’s winner Nick right from the very start. His work felt very contemporary.

Kate: We don’t want something that you would just walk past, that’s flat or lifeless with no soul, psychological depth or narrative. I’d really love someone to capture the entire set and yet still deliver the portrait. If they can do that, it’s golden. It happens so rarely.

Is it hard to separate what you like from what is good?

Kathleen: I think there is an early stage of judging where you do go with your own taste but the minute that you get to the really serious stuff, you have to apply other criteria as well, which is to do with the quality of the painting and the artist’s ability.

Do you argue much among yourselves?Kathleen: I think we often disagree on the runners-up but we tend to agree on the winner. We learn and influence each other. It’s only through talking about

the works with Kate and Tai that I can work out my own response to a painting and my evaluation of it.

Kate: Today, for example, there is one that Tai really likes because it looks like one of his paintings. Kathleen and I will probably say no to it just because we think he has a soft spot for it.

Kathleen: Frank always thinks that it’s the two girls ganging up against poor old Tai but of course it isn’t. Well it is, but we are right.

Do you find that the artists improve as the competition continues?Tai: Yes. Last year we saw Nick develop very quickly during the competition. Each painting was better and each time he learned something new. We put a lot of pressure on the artists but that atmosphere makes them up their game.

What do you think the artists learned from the first series?Kathleen: I love the fact that they were clearly inspired by watching the last series. We weren’t sure whether last year would encourage people or put people off! This year, the artists have seen the

environment in which we are filming, whereas last series the contestants had no sense of what they were falling into. They didn’t know about the number of interviews, about the position of the easels and the crowdedness of the set.

Tai: Last year, Ewan said that he trained a lot and practised a lot of four-hour portraits. I think people thought OK, he can do it so I am going to try it too.

Kate: Yes, what is amazing is that some people approach it in a really competitive and professional way. They do time trials to try to get their portraits down to four hours. I think people realised that there were competitors last year who were fantastic artists yet they fell down because they couldn’t get to grips with the time frame.

Tai, as an artist, how hard would you find the four-hour time limit?Tai: A lot of my friends laugh at me because they know I lock myself away in my studio for days. They say, you couldn’t do this so how can you judge people? ➜

The JudgesTai Shan Schierenberg Award-winning artistKathleen Soriano Independent curator and art historianKate Bryan Head of Contemporary at the Fine Art Society

It’s not just the timescale that’s remarkable, it’s also how the contestants manage to concentrate with all that chaos going on – Tai

Interview

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I’ve thought about it this year and I think I could do it but it would mean rejigging the way that I work. But it’s not just the timescale that’s remarkable, it’s also how the contestants manage to concentrate with all that chaos going on.

Kate: Tai has experience against him because he has been practising in his studio but I have been speaking to a couple of the younger artists and they say there are far fewer distractions here than at school. Also, it’s so easy to work something to death. We have been talking about how four hours isn’t enough but, for some people, it’s way too much time.

Tell us about the artists this year. Are there any interesting backstories?Kate: I think the overall standard of entrants has been really good this year. We had a lot of really good self-portraits. There are people who are really passionate artists that do it all in their spare time. Some have day jobs such as being a security guard, so they spend all day looking at people and get excited about going home and painting them.

Kathleen: There is a lovely story about one of the competitors who bought a camper van a couple of years ago so that his cost of living was really low and he just drives around the Wiltshire Downs painting.

Kate: Yes, what is really funny is he is a landscape painter but he decided to do a bit of portraiture after seeing the show. His self-portrait was his first-ever portrait painting.

Out of all the artists in history, who would you choose to paint you?Tai: I would say Alice Neel because I am quite intrigued by what she would do. She has great psychological insight.

Kathleen: Velázquez, because a) I am half Spanish and b) he’s one of the greatest artists of all time.

Kate: I’d have to go with Titian as Penitent Magdalene because I once wrote 78,000 words on that painting. I wouldn’t mind Marlene Dumas either though. It would be quite cool and it would also make me a multimillionaire. I can’t help but say that as an art dealer. ■

I think the overall standard of entrants has been really good this year. There are people who are really passionate artists that do it all in their spare time – Kate

Interview

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ContactsDominic Collettdominic.collett@bskyb.com020 7032 4892

Manisha Ferdinandmanisha.ferdinand@bskyb.com020 7032 2842

Philippa Baileyphilippa.bailey@bskyb.com020 7032 1491

DVD requests:Alex Woodalexander.wood@bskyb.com020 7032 1488

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