Applying and selection.
Way back in April 2024 my calendar app popped a message reminding me to apply for series 10 of Landscape artist of the year.I’ve watched the programme for many years and always wanted to apply but never made the step. However in 2024, now working as a full time artist I finally had the space and time to plan and apply.
My submission piece was painted on location in Glendalough over four sessions from February to April, definitely a labour of love as it's a fair walk to get up to the spot with a canvas of that size. I’ve painted here a lot and the route and area is known as the Spinc which means ‘Pointed Hill’ in Irish. The view is along the high track that runs along the cliffside looking toward the Spinc and its dramatic cliffs. It’s windy up on this track so had to be patient for days with less wind to set up a canvas that size here. One day I had to abort with a real fear of the canvas being blown off the mountain. It can seem really calm below and you only get a sense of the conditions when you get over the last steep climb and come out onto the the track at the top properly.
I’m drawn back to this area to paint because of the special light and dramatic shadows that get cast here. The view changes a lot with weather and time of year but never disappoints. I love the atmosphere here, the history of the place and the chats with the hikers you meet. It’s easy to imagine back to when there were glaciers here carving out the valley. It's a deeply historic place with the remains of the monastic city far below, first founded by Saint Kevin in the 6th century.
When I finished this piece I knew it would be the one I’d submit to the competition, little did I know the journey these trips up a mountain would take me on!
Getting the call
Going through Dublin's city centre in May I saw a call from a UK number pop up on my phone. I was surprised and delighted to find I was chatting to a producer from the show and I had got through the selection process and would be a pod artist on the series! A call I’ll always remember and I knew from that initial contact and chat it was going to be a special and great experience.
My heat was to be in Bristol and would be filmed in June. I’d never been to Bristol and always wanted to see the suspension bridge so was thrilled to hear we’d be painting the area of the bridge, no exact locations given which was to be expected but I at least knew we’d be tackling the bridge area in Bristol.
In preparation for the heat I limited all my plein air work to the four hour time limit. I also tried to work out my optimal canvas or board size that would be best for how I’d work in that time frame. I arrived at the size I brought, 40cm x 50cm as this was the size I knew I was able to complete to a finish I’d be happy with, it was also reaching the limit of what I could easily travel from Ireland with. I wanted to work using my own tripod and easel so I’d feel relaxed and in control of my painting so I brought these and ok’d it with the production team beforehand. This made a huge difference on the day as I really felt at home with the setup I had.
Bristol, the heat.
Arriving very early on the morning of the shoot all the artists got to meet and get introduced, we had a really nice breakfast and a cuppa, then we were all mic'd up for the day and had a briefing from the production team.
My fellow artists on the day were:
Chris Priestley - @christopherpriestley
Ian Cox - @iancoxarts
Charlotte Kenyon
Jonathan Hargreaves - @jonathanhargreaves
Jo Rance - @jorancedesign
Sarah Harris - @sarahharrisartist
Dan Wall - @danscarlettwall
It was when I saw the pods and my submission piece in a pod that things started to really hit home and I felt a wave of nervousness wash over me. However the crew and staff on this production I can only say are the best people I’ve had the pleasure to be looked after by. At each step of the way during the day they were there to reassure and just make everyone feel very relaxed and calm.
Once the first walk on shot of filming was done, I felt really relaxed and was just looking forward to getting started. We got ourselves setup and the starting announcement was filmed and we were off.
The view here is really beautiful, the bridge is an amazing structure but the gorge was what I was most excited about, it's really deep and covered in beautiful forest. I was especially interested in the base of the bridge on the opposite side that was facing me. It just had a lot of mystery to it, it looked like it had planted itself there somehow, Hard to imagine how they built this amazing structure! I also loved the fact that it was red brick which just made it seem all that more industrial. I spent a little bit of time doing a couple of possible ideas in my sketchbook just to be sure what I had in mind would work well then I tried to get stuck in as fast as possible.
The four hour time limit is always there in your mind as you work, there's a small break every hour then an hour for lunch. You can work through this if you like but it's strongly encouraged to take the breaks which I tried to do. The lunch break was a great chance to chat with the other artists. It's always a privilege to get to discuss work with other artists especially in this kind of situation, I felt a real camaraderie with them all.
There’s filming happening all the time and you have to be ready to do small interviews during the day with the crew and with the judges. These chats with the judges are very helpful because they are not out to drill you but are full of real encouragement!
Judging
Before I knew it the 5 minute call was happening. It really did hit me out of the blue. I'd been watching the time all day but for the last hour I was just deep in the zone trying to finish and give more depth to areas. When the 5 minutes was announced I realised with about 4 minutes to go that I hadn't painted the suspension bridge cable, sweaty palm moment but I got it in!
We all walked from the pod area and up on the grassy area right beside the bridge to where we could sit and have a snack and wait for the judging. There were some more interviews for everyone while the judging was going on. The judges did take what felt like a really long time to decide the shortlist so its clear there's a lot of discussion which is great. This was also a great time to try to decompress and talk to some of the artists I hadn't chatted with yet.
We were then called down for the shortlist announcement. This was quite a surreal moment and I'm not the only artist that experienced a really weird feeling of being in the television, just being so familiar with this portion of the show it was extremely strange and unnerving to be standing there. When my name was called I was just elated, really happy to make the shortlist!
There was then another period of waiting as the judges came to their final decision, more interviews and then we were all standing waiting. When my name was called I did have a moment of disbelief, felt incredibly lucky to have had this day and experience but to go through was just brilliant.
The semi final will be shown on the 5th of March and you can keep up to date with available pieces or prints here.