(dramatic music) - Hello, we're at Scotney Castle in Kent, which eight accomplished artists are about to paint or draw.

- And our three judges will start using posh art words like impasto and sfumato and en plein air.

You like that one?

- That's my favorite.

I'm dreaming, they might say grisaille.

anyway, don't worry, we'll be here to translate.

Welcome to a brand new series of "Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year".

(gentle music) - [Joan] Over the coming weeks, we're challenging a fresh batch of artists to paint some of the National Trust's most beautiful views.

- You're looking at what I would call, in terms of landscape painting, the full English.

They'll be putting brushes, spray paint, and collage to canvas in order to impress the judges: award-winning artist Tai-Shan Schierenberg, art historian Kate Bryan, and independent curator, Kathleen Soriano.

- It's like ice cream in the background.

It's almost like raspberry ripple up here.

- [Joan] But it won't be in vain.

As one will win a possible life-changing prize, a £10,000 commission to paint the impressive Petworth House, made famous by Turner.

And their painting will become part of the National Trust's permanent collection.

- What a gift it is.

But they're not the only ones vying for the judge's attention.

50 more artists will come to each heat to try their luck as a wild card.

- You're blowing my mind.

This is too exciting.

- [Joan] So who of today's first eight artists will win a place in the semi-final?

You're having such a good time though.

I could see- - That's what the point of it is though, isn't it?

Have a good time.

- [Frank] The tranquil tradition of landscape painting is about to get messy.

You've got your J Cloth already.

(laughing) - Leonardo da Vinci was always well known for his J Cloths.

(gentle music) (gentle music) - [Joan] Of today's eight new artists, six are professional.

Cathy Read, Meng Ju Shih, Mark Stopforth, Stewart Beckett, Howard Weaver and Richard Knight.

- This is going to be a big challenge for me because it's quite a chocolate boxy location.

I prefer things with a bit more grit in them, and there's so much green.

- [Frank] And joining them are two amateur artists, Cecilia Wood, and Karl Ullger.

- Actually feeling quite confident, just a little bit apprehensive with what's gonna happen with the weather, but I'm keen and I'll be okay, yeah.

(gentle music) - [Frank] Until this point, the artist's submission pieces have been assessed using a digital image.

So seeing the real thing can be eyeopening.

- That is the smoothest water I've ever seen.

That's what initially attracted me to the piece was its amazing evocation of water, but then it has more than that.

It's got a great sort of morning... Is it morning?

It feels like early morning- - Yeah.

It's like glowing.

I feel like you immediately transported in and I like the viewpoint that you are potentially sat on the rock or you are in the water.

You're immediately straight into the scene.

(gentle music) - What's interesting about this one, we're used to people drawing, especially architecture, with black lines.

- Yeah.

- And I've never seen somebody use it in the reverse where the white line is being used and it works very well.

- [Kathleen] But great use of perspective and the different planes.

So again, a lot for the eye to do.

- Yeah.

- And you think that you've seen everything you've got to see and then suddenly you notice something else, like the reflections on the right hand side.

- Also, when you go to certain parts of London, for example, I like the way you get sort of quite nice houses dwarfed by those amazing skyscrapers.

(gentle music) - I think this appealed to us originally because there's a sort of a looseness to it and it's quite monumental in scale, but you don't really realize that until you recognize the figure in the bottom left hand corner.

And, even though it's sort of slightly mad and loose, it's quite contemplative at the same time.

- There feels as if some parts have been observed to understand the light and the color and then there are other parts which have just come completely from their imagination, which is exciting when you get a day like today where we're giving them quite a defined, extraordinary view.

But what we're really looking for is them to personally respond to it.

(gentle music) I like the sense of them really looking.

I don't feel like this is from a photograph.

I feel like it is from life because you get these really nice little just patches where the paint brush is kind of creating a shorthand for what they're seeing.

- Yeah.

- And I really hope that they can come today and do something which is as sort of strange and sweet and colorful and odd.

- It's actually quite a monumental area that they're covering.

And somehow they've managed to bring it down to this quite small piece of board.

And I love a little man at the front sort of with this clip board.

- Where?

- Here!

- Oh yeah!

- [Kate] That's Bob, yeah.

And that's his truck.

- What's great about this wall today is I really, really wanna see the next thing that these people do.

- Yeah, yeah.

(gentle music) - There are two castles here at Scotney, the new castle stands at the top of the hill, overlooking a vista of the Kent countryside, and the old castle nestles within the grounds.

It's this building and it's moat that our artists are being challenged to paint.

- I can see so many different ways of doing this and I can see there are layers upon layers upon layers of buildings and greenery.

- I'm actually really pleased.

I thought it was gonna be loads more things in the way and this way and just face on, fantastic.

I think I'm have gonna a...

I'm quite liking the idea of playing around with the shadows and the reflections.

- [Frank] Amateur artist Karl Ollger teaches art at a secondary school in Gibraltar.

His submission of the upper old town is painted on a discarded piece of metal he found at a bus stop.

- Instead of a canvas or a normal piece of wood, I've brought a sheet of black metal steel on actual plywood.

This is something that has always caught my attention, you know, erosion and rust.

And I thought, why not?

You know, let's transpose that into an actual piece and create an artwork on a manmade object that's already eroded.

- I'm itching to get started now.

I think it's time to start.

(laughing) - Artists, I hope you've got everything you need, that you're at the ready, you've got your talent, your confidence, your bursting to go.

Your challenge is about to begin.

- You have four hours to complete your work.

Good luck.

And your time starts now.

(gentle music) - One of the first decisions a landscape artist has to make is about composition.

Whether they're taking photographs or painting straight onto the canvas, there are various techniques that can help.

I can't resist climbing up here to ask what on earth you're doing because it's green out there and your canvas is here.

This is your notebook and you've got a roller.

Please explain it all.

- Well, first of all, I look at the tone of a painting.

Usually I would start with a sketch and this is my way of sketching.

So I'm feeling it by drawing it.

- You're having such a good time though.

I could see- - That's what the point of it is though, isn't it?

Have a good time.

- I'd quite likely put that on a wall.

- I'll stop now.

- [Joan] Richard Knight is a professional artist from Surrey.

A successful graphic designer, Richard switched to become a full-time artist 10 years ago.

Preferring to paint cityscapes, Richard's submitted entry is a view of London from the top of Primrose Hill.

- I was worried about the chocolate boxy look.

- Do you feel good about it though?

- Green is not my friend.

- Oh, is it not?

- No.

No I don't like green.

It can overpower a painting.

But this building is exciting, I like it.

I like the structure of it.

- This is extraordinary isn't it?

But I just can't wait to see what happens on the canvas.

- Me too.

(gentle music) - You started with that drawing to work out the composition and I see you've transferred it very basically with a couple of lines.

Yeah, it is a symphony of gray and green.

It looks like it's all gray but you've got three brushes with grays.

So you've obviously...

There are subtleties in the gray.

- There are.

You know, there are three different tones of gray at the moment.

- [Tai] Okay.

(gentle music) - [Frank] Professional artist, Howard Weaver lives in Wales.

A scenic artist for over 40 years, he's worked on a number of blockbuster films from "Finding Neverland" to "The Borrowers".

His submission is of the Sebes-Koros river, where it crosses the border between Hungary and Romania.

- You do these big scenic- - Yeah.

- Backdrops.

- [Kate] Is this practically what you would call a miniature painting?

If you're used to it- - It is a bit like it, yeah.

- Because you're usually doing meters and meters and meters.

- Very big.

- Wow.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- Is the kind of perspective you use in that kind of scenic painting useful here today?

Do the same rules apply, but you adjust them?

- Yeah.

When you're trying to create distance in scenic work, you're trying to pretend that something's much further away than it really is.

You know, the painting's only 10 meters from a camera, but it's supposed to look like, you know, 50 miles.

- Yeah.

- Well we'll let you progress.

And we look forward to- - We leave to your symphony of greens and gray.

That was nice.

(gentle music) - To produce a painting within the four hour time limit, many of our artists have adapted their style.

But that's not always the case.

Mark, I don't meet many artists who are influenced by the car manufacturer, Henry Ford.

But he invented, I think, mass production.

(laughing) - And- - That's where you're going.

- You've already nearly finished one.

I mean, I only turned my back for a second and you've got a sheet here ready for the.

next one?

- Yep.

It's there, ready to go.

Ready to go.

- How many do you imagine you might get through during today's challenge?

- Four or five.

(gentle music) - Mark Stopforth is an art teacher from Gloucester.

Originally an installation artist, he switched careers because creating the installations took too long.

He caught the judge's eye with his diptych, which is created from a memory of Dartmoor.

You are gonna try and inject that sort of wind swept energy that you like into what is almost a cornier piece of English countryside.

- I'll be honest, there's lots going on that I'm really excited about.

I'm excited about this wall here with the green ivy on it.

So that's gonna be my focal point, which then leads onto the trees.

Sky is a given and then water at the front.

So there's three elements there, which I can really get stuck into.

- You've got your J Cloth already.

(laughing) At the ready.

Is that a key part of it?

- Leonardo da Vinci was always well know for his J Cloths.

(laughing) (gentle music) - [Joan] We've got the beautiful location and our eight contenders, but "Landscape Artist of the Year" would not be the same without the wild cards.

Today, 50 more artists have come to Scotney on a first come first serve basis to try to impress the judges.

If they succeed, one of them could win a place in the semi-final.

- Beautiful, the sun's shining, even be good when the sun's not shining.

And even if it's raining.

- It's great, isn't it?

Oh, I like that.

What's that, you're doing that with a sponge?

- This is just a glove, I made- - Oh it's just a glove!

- Yes, when I have to peel it off, I use that.

- It's very, very effective.

- Hello.

- Hello.

- You are completely on your own.

- I started over there and then couldn't quite find my pitch.

So I thought, oh, let's just see what's around here.

So I had a look and I just thought, look at that.

What a wonderful view.

- Hello.

So you've got a great position as well.

- Yeah.

- What's gonna be the toughest bit for you?

- None of it.

- None of it?

- I just love it.

- I'll come back later.

- I set off at half three and I was still late.

So I'm really excited.

I am nervous, but it's just the experience of everyone here painting and it's just magical, isn't it?

It's just lovely.

Really pleased I'm here.

(gentle music) - [Frank] Painting for a definite place in the semi-final, our eight heat artists are nearly one hour into their challenge.

- I have to be bold.

I hate being bold, but the same time you've got to be, otherwise it doesn't have any energy.

And I love having energy in my painting.

- [Karl] That's stage one done.

(laughing) - Hopefully.

- So you're very systematic.

- I'm really expressive in my marks and stuff, but I'm a bit regimental right in the process.

I think, - Well you need to be don't you, with only four hours?

- For me, it's a whole learning curve because I haven't done...

I don't do buildings.

I don't do sunshine.

So there's all these things that I'm having to rethink about for the paint and what paint can do.

(gentle music) (gentle music) - [Joan] Here at Scotney Castle in Kent, our eight heat artists have been applying paint and pencil onto their canvases for just over an hour.

- But under one artist's work lies something unexpected.

So there's a mirror underneath all this?

Can you tell me the theory behind the mirror?

There must be one.

- The theory was, is I wanted to try and capture some of the moving light within the day.

So by scratching back here, when you look at it from different angles, you're gonna get this sort of glinting and I'm using sandpaper to kind of take some of the top layer off to get some of these more subtle textures underneath.

- Now is this just some crazy weirdo gimmick?

- Gimmick.

- Is it?

Okay, well thanks for admitting that.

- I've only done it once before, so... - Oh really?

- Yeah.

(gentle music) - Stuart Beckett is from Southampton.

A former IT specialist, he has recently taken the plunge to become a professional artist.

He wanted to capture a landscape in a state of flux.

And so his submission depicts the building site of Westquay Shopping Center.

Why are you on the floor exactly at this point?

- I'm on the floor, not just praying, but- - No.

- To get some of this glazing medium on that I've been putting on, which is not drying very quickly.

So- - Now what does that do?

- It just adds a bit of texture on top of the acrylic that I've already put on there.

- Okay, so it's gonna lift it up?

- [Stewart] Yes.

- This looks quite a long way away from drying, the lumpy stuff.

There isn't some method you could use of waving it about, blowing?

- Hairdryer maybe?

I don't know.

- Have you got a lot of air, do you wanna give it a go?

- Well I'll give it a try.

If we both get down here and- - What and give it a blow?

- It'll look even more religious.

(gentle music) - To start a painting is really, don't think that much.

Focus on the lines you're making.

Gradually, when the form is becoming something, you need to put them in order, then you need to be more careful with the arrangements.

(gentle music) - [Joan] Originally from Taiwan, professional artists Meng Ju Shih is studying for a PhD at the Slade School of Fine Art.

Her submission work is of the conservatory at the Barbican Center in the heart of London.

- Someone told me you've made a mistake somewhere here.

- Yes, can you tell where I make the mistake?

- Well, it's very hard to tell because so much of it is so expressionistic, but when I look at the range of palette tones, I'm just wondering whether it might be that little area there.

- [Meng] That's the mistake I made, the blue mark.

- I mean, lots of artists like these, what they call, happy accidents in their work because they need something to push and pull against while they're sort of playing with the tones or playing with the form or whatever.

I mean, do you welcome those accidents in your work?

- Yeah, absolutely.

That kind of happy accident is more than welcome, but this is not really a happy accident yet.

I will make it happier later if I can.

(gentle music) - So Tai, when I look at this composition, it seems to have every cliche you could ever want about the English countryside.

- It's impossibly perfect.

It is not only difficult in its composition, but if you squint, all the colors and tones are all the same.

- I know what you mean.

Yeah.

- The only variation we have is the sky.

And then if you actually look at the colors as well, the red brick in the tiles and the building is also in the roots of the ferns by the side.

So there's actually very little contrast for our artists to work with.

- And their challenge, presumably, is to try and give us the unexpected.

- Yes.

- Amid all this predictability.

- Yeah and I think some have started quite boldly by saying, "I hate green."

And so they've already sort of, you know- - They're on the wrong show, let's face it.

(laughing) - [Tai] Even where they would have a bit of light relief in the pond, you know we like reflections.

- [Frank] Oh, I love reflections.

- It's got lily pads all over it, so it doesn't even reflect.

- No, it's still...

When I looked at that, the first thing I thought was you can find some reflections, but they're so masked by the lily pads.

- But you know, none of the artists have complained.

They've all said, this is absolutely stunning.

So they're connecting with it and they want to tackle it.

So we haven't pushed it too far.

(gentle music) - [Joan] One of the great things about creating a piece of art is that you don't always have to use paint.

- I'm just making some like leaves and plants and stuff that I'll collage onto the bottom.

I like the sort of the foreground with the plants, but I think I need to work it up a bit more, add some more in.

So it's really like full, like it is in reality.

- [Joan] At 18, Cecilia Wood is the youngest artist in this year's competition.

She competed last year as a wild card and won her heat at Lyme Park.

She wanted her collage landscape of Butterley Spillway in Marsden to show that even manmade structures can be beautiful.

- As the day's progressed, there's more and more stuff happening.

- It's like you're moving in.

- Is this how you usually paint is it, you sort of get immersed in the atmosphere and the landscape?

- This was all at home and I packed it all up, brought it all here and slowly spreading out today.

- So I can see these lovely leaf marks, have you...

It's almost in a funny way somehow you've traced them from the leaf, but have you just copied them?

How have you done that?

- [Cecilia] I press them in with paint on, but- - [Kate] Oh you've done a pressing?

- Yeah, but it wasn't that effective.

So I just decided to use some pens.

- Okay.

So you're really just experimenting here.

In the middle of a timed competition.

Which I... That's the youth, isn't it?

(laughing) - And it's exciting for us to see as well.

(gentle music) - I normally paint architecture.

I normally paint urban scenes, very modern, very contemporary buildings with lots of glass, lots of reflections.

And I have fun with the reflections.

Well, unfortunately we don't really have much in the way of reflection there.

- Cathy Read is a professional artist who lives in Buckinghamshire.

To pursue her dream of becoming an artist, she gave up a career as an occupational therapist.

Her love of iconic architecture is captured in her submission watercolor of The Gherkin in London.

Will you be doing your white lines?

- I will be doing my white lines.

- Now that's done with masking fluid.

- It is.

- Can I make a confession to you?

I don't really know what masking... Is it like Tipp-Ex?

- It's basically liquid latex.

It's that stuff.

- Liquid latex?

- Yeah.

- So if I...

I mean I cycle, would I be...

If I was sprayed with that, could I construct and impromptu outfit?

(laughing) - I suppose you could.

- Let's try it.

It looks like semis skimmed, I'll be honest.

- It does.

And it's best if it's that sort of consistency as well.

I'm just finding my little tool and I can show you.

I basically dip that in.

- [Frank] Yeah.

So it's not done with a brush, it's done with a sharp point.

- It's called rolling pen.

- [Frank] So what is masking fluid normally used for?

- It's normally used for keeping the paper white.

That's what it was...

I dunno whether it was designed for or the- - Keeping the paper white?

What kind of a purpose is that?

- Well, with watercolor, you're not supposed to use white paint, you're supposed to use the white of the paper.

- Is that right?

- That's traditional.

If you're a purist.

- Okay.

But this is basically the secret of your success?

- Yeah, I think so.

(gentle music) - [Joan] Painting for a possible place in the semifinal, the wild cards are trying to catch the eye of the judges with an idea of their own.

Some are even trying three.

- No!

Are you doing a triptych?

- Yeah we are.

- Yeah.

- You're blowing my mind.

This is too exciting!

- 16 Year old triplets, Rebecca, Rachel and Sarah White are from Surrey.

They've been painting individually, but also together, since they were 11 years old.

And today the judges have allowed them to compete as one.

This is really quite a challenge.

Now, do you confer one with another?

- [All] Yes.

- What have you... You've decided you are going to do this part?

- I've done the sky.

- Yeah, we swap round on each painting.

- I'm a bit of a foliage fan.

So I do all the sort of leaves and stuff.

- At the moment, I'm just doing the lake.

We're gonna swap over.

- Do you ever disagree?

- [All] Yes.

- Everybody says, yes.

Ooh.

Now what made you touch her canvas that she's working on?

- Well, I just saw that I needed to do quickly.

So I just did that.

- We're all enormously impressed.

- So I can tell you're the shy and retiring type.

(laughing) - Well, I spent about an hour getting myself very angry.

- Oh.

- With that dreadful little painting.

- Let's have a look at it.

Oh, it's quite cute.

- Yeah, that's the problem with it.

- Oh right.

(laughing) - I just love the wildcard area.

They brought everything with them, you know, the kitchen sink, the umbrella, all the paints they could possibly need, multiple canvases and their partners to bring them cups of tea and coffee and sort of make them feel good about it all.

- You know I get always a bit emotional when I- - Did you cry this time?

- No, no, no.

I hardened my heart.

- [Frank] It's nearly halfway through the challenge.

- I'm trying to leave some of this showing through aswell 'cause it's a nice texture on the mirror.

So I don't wanna lose all of that.

Equally, I need to get a bit of light in, I can't just do a black painting.

(gentle music) - When you're spending time on a painting, of course, the light can be changing, especially if painting in England, it changes dramatically from minute to minute, hour to hour.

So what light do you use, you know?

- It's time to get into details and to see the painting as a whole, not individual brush marks.

- I'm trying not to put green on my canvas until the very, very end, but we'll see.

We'll see how it works out but certainly not that green.

(gentle music) - [Frank] Here at Scotney Castle in Kent, the artists are halfway through the challenge.

And, during one of the breaks, they're having a little look at each other's work.

- Oh wow you got everything... - So I've done, that was the first one.

- I like it.

- Right down there.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- Second one.

Yeah, I'll see.

- Yeah.

- Did you put it in your luggage when you came?

- It's to the measurement of my suitcase so... (laughing) - But today it's the judge's opinion that counts.

Okay judges, halfway time overview.

What do you think?

Tai.

- What's interesting is that, compositionally, not many have been very inventive.

I mean, they really have plonked the house right in the middle, or what we're seeing of the ruins right in the middle.

- I think all of them are sticking to exactly the styles that they know and they're very confident.

And, if you think about Richard, graphic designer by training, he's got exactly the same approach.

He's brought that industrial landscape.

- [Tai] Yeah.

I mean, Mark is prime example.

You've seen his stuff more recently.

He's- - Yeah.

I spoke to Mark very early in the morning.

He'd finished his first one and he was happy to go onto the second one and he was going to, at the end of the day, just see what he felt was going to work for us.

And Meng Ju has also stuck very much with her traditional style, which I think is looking really beautiful and colorful.

Even though she says there are some accidents in there.

- I really like Stewart.

He arrived with this clunky mirror, although it didn't look like a mirror- - I didn't understand that.

- That he'd painted blue.

And then he was just allowing some texture to come through and he's gonna peel back certain elements.

He's very careful not to make it too cliched.

He's been working on it damp, we've had some Jackson Pollock with the dripping, but actually what's emerging is a really interesting kind of moody painting.

- They might be sticking to their style, but they are adapting it and making it slightly different.

I'm just thinking of Howard.

He's a scene painter.

I love he's just absolutely covered with paint.

- Yeah!

- His submission was that beautiful lake.

He's had to adapt here.

There is certainly a lake, but there's no reflection in it.

- [Joan] So who's ahead of the race here.

- I try not to have a favorite at this stage because I want to give them all room to grow and change.

Before we get towards the end of the day.

(gentle music) - [Frank] A wide range of tools are being used to create texture in the paintings, including a material usually reserved for wrapping sandwiches.

- I normally put cling film on 'cause I get lots of interesting textures when I put the cling film on.

So it's just part of the process I normally do.

It's something I started doing, I was experimenting with texture and I thought I'd try cling film.

It's almost like a folded blanket type thing, isn't it?

And it just pulls up the color.

Now this is where, unfortunately, I have to wait for that to dry a bit.

'Cause if I go in immediately, if I pull that off, it'll just go flat.

- The ruin our artists are painting today isn't a result of neglect.

It was actually carefully planned.

In the early 18th century, the old Scotney Castle was no longer habitable and had reached the end of its useful life.

So Edward Hussey III built a brand new home, new Scotney castle.

But what to do with the old one?

As a keen watercolorist, Edward Hussey III had an idea.

- The castle was ruined to basically fit in with the picturesque ideal, this romantic sensibility of referring back to a time that's very wild and mystical.

The picturesque literally means in the manner of a picture and it relies on three different characteristics.

So it has to be dramatic, it has to have variety and it has to have rough edges.

- [Joan] Deconstructing an unused structure, or, in fact, building a ruin became remarkably popular.

But, as it turned out, it wasn't just a fashion thing for the Hussey family.

- The family were quite artistic.

We have quite a lot of paintings from different family members in the house.

- [Joan] And the family's passion for painting was infectious.

- Got lots of artwork of friends who came to stay and then left lovely landscapes of Scotney Castle behind for them as presents.

The view is so iconic and it also changes and you see something different each time, whether it's the colors or the trees going bare and people come back and just love it.

(gentle music) - [Frank] The wild cards have enjoyed the camaraderie of painting together, but now one of them could win a place in the semi-final.

All the judges have to do is choose one.

But with such a variety of styles, that might not be easy.

- We mentioned the woman who did that rather nice drawing with graphite as you approached from the pods.

I quite like that.

- I like the watercolor.

It's been really strong all day, which is, it's almost like a Harlequin, slightly Cubist.

- Yeah.

- He's- - And it's quite vertical, isn't it?

- And it's very much of today, but it's quite funny when there's little duck in it, I think it's great.

- [Kathleen] I'm rather keen on the bit of sky behind us here.

- [Kate] Really big whopper of a painting.

- Yeah, I know there's not that much of the landscape itself, but you know, he's been big and bold right from the very start.

- They're good painters and that's what I think painting outside is about, it's sort of letting it rip a bit.

- Yeah.

- Excuse me.

- Hello.

Is this your painting?

Whoa!

No, this has never happened before.

Was this your painting?

- It was my painting.

- Wow.

It was accidental, but it was quite fanfare.

- It was.

- And quite appropriate because this is the wild card winner for today.

You are our wild card winner.

- Really?

(audience applauding) - Yeah.

Congratulations.

Is it all right?

- I'm gonna hold on to it just in case.

- [Joan] John Newman from the West Midlands will now join a pool of other successful wildcards from across the heats, from which one will win a place in the semifinal.

(gentle music) - Not only do our eight main artists have to create a landscape in four hours, they have to do so in front of spectators.

And not all of them are impartial.

Have you been had a look at the painting?

- Yep, I have.

It's looking pretty good, isn't it?

- You think so?

Yeah I certainly like it.

It'd be a nightmare if you'd turned up and it was rubbish.

- Occasionally that happens.

- Does it?

- He brings something home and he says, "What do you think?"

And I'm like, "Yeah..." - Oh really?

- In general, fabulous.

I love his work.

- If you see another piece of art that you think is better than Richard's, my advice is just put a bit of gravy on the arm of the easel.

(laughing) Just let the dogs go.

(gentle music) - What we got?

And we got something there.

Not a lot, unfortunately, this one.

It needed to stay on a bit longer.

So I could actually start creating the effects.

But I've pulled up a bit too soon and all the paint's flattened out.

But it's happened now, I'll work with it.

(gentle music) - [Joan] There are just 30 minutes of the challenge left before the judges select one artist to go through to the semifinal.

- I think I've got most of what I wanted to do done today.

So the fact that there's only a little bit time left, I'm just worried about overworking it now.

There's a few things I want to do but then, after that, I'm just gonna have to tell myself to leave it alone and be brave.

- Looking...

Looking good.

Not exactly how I want it, but it's not far from what I think it would look like.

- There's a lot to do.

It's quite a complex piece of architecture so it's quite a lot to do.

- Every painting is a risk.

It's working towards something else.

It's failing better each time.

That's what it is.

(gentle music) - Nestled among the bucolic landscape of Scotney Castle, Kent, our eight heat artists are in the final moments of their challenge.

(dramatic music) How do you feel about it?

- Hmm.

Just need a little bit of something.

Give me five more minutes.

(laughing) - I will- - What is it?

What can it be?

- Give me five more minutes.

- Artists, there are five minutes to go.

- [Joan] Which are you going to submit?

As if we couldn't guess.

- I think it's gonna be this one.

But, even so, I still haven't finished 'cause I wanna take the tape off.

That's the finish.

Do you wanna go for it?

- Can I do that?

- If you do it sort of at an angle.

- I see.

- So it's gotta be quite low.

Or else you pull the paper off.

Keep it low, keep going, all the way.

- Oh yes!

- All the way.

- How very satisfying.

- All the way, all the way.

There you go.

- Now that- - That's nice.

- You like that- - Yes, I do.

- Wriggly bit?

- [Mark] It frames it.

- I get the feeling that you're a man who's finished.

- Yes.

- Just as well.

'Cause the time's nearly up.

Artists, your time is up.

- Please put down your brushes and step away from your work.

(audience applauding) - Been a pleasure Cecilia.

- [Joan] It may be up to the judges to decide who will go through to the semifinal but some keen onlookers have their own opinions.

- Different style.

- Messy, messy abstract look.

- This person really has done a lot in four hours.

I do like the water.

- I like the yellows, picking up the yellows at the back.

- Yeah.

- So it sort of brings all the picture together, doesn't it?

Yeah, she's doing really well, I think.

Yeah.

Very nice.

- With the artists taking a well earned break, the judges assess today's work.

(gentle music) And to help them decide who'll go through to the semi-final, they must first select a short list of three.

- I really love this one.

I think it's a joyful celebration of color and the foliage and a really wonderful impression of the blue sky idea.

And I know a lot of people will look at it and think it's just a mess of paint mashed up but I really like that honesty about it.

- It's sort of like a Willy Wonka, Tim Burton take on the landscape.

It's all sort of like the colors turned up, everything's exaggerated.

And I do think that she's still got a bit of a way to go in refining some of her ideas, but I love the energy and the imagination.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- The worst moment is I make the blue wrong mark.

Yeah, wrong.

So wrong.

- You know me saying about capturing the mood of the day and the...

This doesn't, but it's fantastic.

It's got great depth and atmosphere.

- I love the mood, I like the composition and the fact that he's pushed it up high and you don't see much sky, but I'm really irritated by these gluey, globuley drips that he's put all over.

Why would you do that?

- I like the playfulness and the inventiveness.

I like to see an artist who's prepared to take risks.

(gentle music) - I think the mirror part went not too badly in the end.

It's a bit of a gamble but I think it's paid off.

Least I hope it has.

(gentle music) - This one is growing on me, I have to admit, because I thought early on it was a bit drab but then I realize there are intonations of that lovely light that he had in his submission.

You know, it's like a little country scene.

- You said everything I was gonna say.

- Oh good!

- I think that some people might look at this and think it's a little bit chocolate boxy, but I think he's the only one who's really had a relationship with that building and that view.

And I think he's done it really well.

(gentle music) - It is a difficult thing to do it in four hours.

So I'm relieved that that's over.

(laughing) - What I really love about this guy is the relationship that he has with the paint and how he likes to feel that the paint's doing its own thing.

And he's given this incredible sense of energy right the way through it, which is really effective.

- I don't feel he was looking and adapting it to what he was looking.

So it's almost like he's got an idea of a house and some trees, and he's just sort of knocked that up.

- I like the fact that it's almost as if you're rushing past it in a car or that you get that sense of wind and there is an extraordinary, you know, wind rustling through the trees.

(gentle music) - It was always gonna be three or four paintings, at the very least.

The last one was the best choice because the other two I'd picked a view, I'd picked a composition, which looked good, but it was cramped.

(gentle music) - I think that one's a definite.

I think all of us have got- - Yeah that and that, great.

- I see the merits in both of those and I'll be very happy with having them in our top three.

I think they're very good.

- [Joan] But who has made their short list?

- The first of those artists is Meng Ju.

(audience applauding) - And the second artist is Stuart Beckett.

(audience applauding) - [Frank] And the third artist to be shortlisted is Howard Weaver.

(audience applauding) - Commiseration with those of you who didn't make it.

- Yes, brilliantly, well done.

Well done today.

(audience applauding) - I think I gave it a good shot.

As the day progressed, I saw those three and I thought they were a strong body of work.

(gentle music) - Esteemed judges, we have your three choices.

Quite a bit of variety.

Meng Ju, I was surprised that she made the top three.

- She worked from an image.

It was low in amongst the yellow irises and it looked across the water and there's great space and light and the mark making is interesting.

- I'm not as convinced of this painting as these guys, but I do see that there's an interesting approach and there's promise I think.

- It's not there yet.

I completely understand why people might have trouble with it, but I think there's a lot of variety and range in that painting.

(gentle music) - To be shortlisted, it's amazing.

But, at the same time, I feel calm.

- Stewart's really shown us his range today.

He's found a fantastic way of bringing this ruin to life in a sort of very atmospheric way.

- Yeah he's a great storyteller and I think he's happy to adapt his style and his approach and his technique in order to conjure a really strong narrative.

And in both of those paintings, you know, you can start telling stories.

- I didn't even think I'd get this far.

I didn't even think I'd get entered so on top of the world.

(gentle music) - What about Howard?

- [Kathleen] There's an incredible honesty.

That building in the painting today is so real.

It's so true to what we have here.

You can almost feel the textures of the bricks.

- I think that you have sought so much innovation and experimentation on this show that now he's become a bit of a rebel and a bit whoa!

- Yeah.

- Oh God, that actually looks a bit like...

The rascal.

- It's a very classical, traditional composition, but he's inventive in the way he's done it.

He hasn't just stuck to this.

And he also hasn't gone over the top where he's embellished this.

- It'd be nice, wouldn't it, for one week that in my ear, I can hear the British public at home standing and applauding that this has made the final three.

With cries of, "At last!"

- We've got to keep people on their toes.

- We're not that bad!

- Yeah, that's what's happening.

(gentle music) Meng Ju, Stewart, Howard.

This is the moment we really hate because two of you are going to be disappointed and that's terrible, but the judges have made their decision.

- Yes, the artist they have selected, and I quote, "Produced a painting that evoked an honest sense of mood and place."

And that person is Howard Weaver.

(audience applauding) Congratulations.

- Thank you.

- Well done mate.

- I was very shocked when my name was called out.

Out of that group and I stood there, it was... Yeah, I'm still in shock actually.

- Howard won today because his painting evoked Scotney so efficiently.

And I think it's because of his skill as a scene painter that he understands how little you need to give the viewer to get that across.

And he did it beautifully.

- The quality of their work was pretty high, to me.

To be selected out of that group was...

It means a lot.

(gentle music)