The newly-crowned Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year opens up about his unlikely passage into portraiture and why painting Sir Tom Jones is not unusual. Interview: RACHAEL FUNNELL
I had never watched the TV show and I didn’t really know what I was getting in to, but my godson is a big fan and he nagged me to enter. I didn’t think it would come to anything – I thought that I’d be rejected before the filmed rounds.
What were the benefits of entering the competition?
Well, the obvious benefit is exposure. Suddenly, after winning the competition, thousands of complete strangers knew something of my work. Exposure is very important for artists trying to get commissions. There are a lot of people out there who would like to buy or commission a piece of art, but who are either unaware of how to go about it or haven’t found an artist whose style they like. Programmes such as Portrait Artist of the Year act like creative menus for anyone looking to get a portrait painted.
What did you learn from the experience?
Comfort zones are well and truly smashed on the programme, as every aspect of your practice is scrutinised, filmed and interrupted. I came out the other end a better painter. The process, stress and restraints of the series made me cut some of the chaff from my technique and I became a less ponderous painter as a result.
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Denne historien er fra September 2019-utgaven av Artists & Illustrators.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Still life IN 3 HOURS
Former BP Portrait Award runner-up FELICIA FORTE guides you through a simple, structured approach to painting alla prima that tackles dark, average and light colours in turn
Movement in composition
Through an analysis of three masterworks, landscape painter and noted author MITCHELL ALBALA shows how you can animate landscape composition with movement
Shane Berkery
The Irish-Japanese artist talks to REBECCA BRADBURY about the innovative concepts and original colour combinations he brings to his figurative oil paintings from his Dublin garden studio
The Working Artist
Something old, something new... Our columnist LAURA BOSWELL has expert advice for balancing fresh ideas with completing half-finished work
Washes AND GLAZES
Art Academy’s ROB PEPPER introduces an in-depth guide to incorporating various techniques into your next masterpiece. Artwork by STAN MILLER, CHRIS ROBINSON and MICHELE ILLING
Hands
LAURA SMITH continues her new four-part series, which encourages you to draw elements of old master paintings, and this month’s focus is on capturing hands
Vincent van Gogh
To celebrate The Courtauld’s forthcoming landmark display of the troubled Dutch master’s self-portraits, STEVE PILL looks at the stories behind 10 of the most dramatic works on display
BRING THE drama
Join international watercolour maestro ALVARO CASTAGNET in London’s West End to paint a dramatic street scene
Serena Rowe
The Scottish painter tells STEVE PILL why time is precious, why emotional responses to colour are useful, and how she finds focus every day with the help of her studio wall
Bill Jacklin
Chatting over Zoom as he recovers from appendicitis, the Royal Academician tells STEVE PILL about classic scrapes in New York and his recent experiments with illustration
