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00:00Hello. Today we're joined by eight remarkable artists who excelled at the heats and beat the unrelenting four-hour time limit.
00:22Will they once again rise to the occasion, or will they crumble? It's the semi-final of Portrait Artist of the Year.
00:34Over eight thrilling weeks, 72 brave artists have created unforgettable portraits of some of our best-loved personalities.
00:43How are you doing? Hello. Hello. Hello.
00:47Welcome. Thank you. They're going to take four hours.
00:52It's four hours. Yeah. You got somewhere to be? No, no, not anymore, no.
00:56I have a restless soul, so you better be quick is all I'm saying. Turn your easels.
01:03Oh, my gosh. They are fantastic.
01:07Oh, wow. I did the thing. I said, wow. Everyone says, wow.
01:12Three of you. That's a lot, isn't it? One of me is too much.
01:15If I may say so, you've made me look kind of miserable.
01:17With inventive techniques and dynamic painting styles, eight artists earned their place in the next round.
01:27Crazy. I didn't expect that at all. It meant a lot and it was quite overwhelming.
01:31At stake is a £10,000 commission to paint award-winning mathematician and broadcaster Professor Hannah Fry for the Royal Society to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the first women elected to its fellowship, Professor Kathleen Lonsdale and Professor Marjorie Stevenson.
01:49Observing their every move are our judges.
01:55Wow, Uthman, you're really racing ahead here, aren't you? You're on a mission.
01:59Yeah. I'm on a mission to enjoy myself.
02:02To enjoy yourself.
02:03But only three can go through.
02:06I'm having a great time. I just wish it was like six hours or something.
02:10So the artists must maintain their focus.
02:13I am definitely feeling a pressure.
02:15I'm just trying to stay calm and not let it kind of make me tighten after all.
02:19And deliver a portrait deserving of a place in the final.
02:23So you're kind of down the end here.
02:24Yeah, I'm away from everyone.
02:25You know, if everyone rolled over, you'd be the one who fell out of the boat.
02:28The artists who triumphed in their heats to claim a spot in the semifinal are
02:46London-based gallery production and studio manager Chloe Barnes.
02:52Courtney Bay, a creative marketer residing in Surrey.
02:58Nigerian artist Uthman Wahab living in Kent.
03:01And Lauren Ross, an art tutor and painter from Edinburgh.
03:06I'm so excited to be in the semifinals.
03:08I honestly never expected it.
03:10So, yeah, I'm really excited to see who the sitter is and what the day brings.
03:14Joining them in today's semifinal are
03:18Paulina Krytnievska, a painter living between London and Poland.
03:23From Wiltshire, full-time artist Edie Bound.
03:27Librarian Vincent Stokes from Birmingham.
03:31And full-time artist Katie Jones from Somerset.
03:35I just want to crack on and hopefully do a painting of someone that looks like a person.
03:41That's my main aim today.
03:44Wow.
03:48Interesting.
03:49I need a huge canvas now.
03:51We've gone for quite a different feel with the set this year.
03:53Ooh.
03:55I can't believe it.
03:57I think what we're giving them actually is an opportunity to navigate the space and bend it to their will.
04:03Right, what do you think?
04:05A baker, for sure.
04:06But it's quite traditional, isn't it?
04:08It looks like going to be like a middle-aged person to me.
04:12You know, with the rolling pin.
04:13Oh my gosh, there's a lot of objects.
04:16But there is a lot of room to play.
04:18Do we get, like, baked goods in the break?
04:20Yeah.
04:20Yeah.
04:21Yeah.
04:28Today I'm looking for the Holy Grail.
04:30And what I love is an artist who can get a really good likeness, but at the same time has enough of the quirk or something slightly unusual that makes me feel like we're moving things on a little bit.
04:40We want blood, sweat, and tears.
04:45We want our semifinalists to show us their range of their artistic skills.
04:48We want them to show us that they understand what makes great art, what makes great portraiture.
04:54It's a lot to ask, but it is a semifinal.
05:00I think the artists are going to have a shock when they see our sister today.
05:04This is somebody who everybody knows.
05:06And not only everybody knows, but everybody loves.
05:08And so you've got a national treasure.
05:10You've got to do them justice.
05:13Artists, congratulations on making it this far in the competition.
05:18And as it's the semifinal, we thought we'd invite along a true television icon to be your sitter today.
05:25Known for her culinary expertise, as well as for inspiring millions in the kitchen as a judge on the great British Bake Off, please welcome Dame Mary Berry.
05:48I'm really excited.
05:49For your dress for the park.
05:51I'm a little too.
05:52A little bit nervous.
05:53Very nervous.
05:54Yeah.
05:55Is that your lucky apron?
05:56It's my lucky apron, yeah.
05:57It's my lucky apron, yeah.
05:58Starla, lovely to meet you.
06:00There you go.
06:01Wow.
06:02Welcome.
06:03Well, we have to start with, who's this?
06:17This is Freddie.
06:18Hello, Freddie.
06:19Quite excited to be here.
06:20Oh, but well, considering that that was about 20 minutes of applause, I think Freddie handled it pretty well.
06:25Well, I think it was for Freddie, it wasn't for me.
06:29So, welcome.
06:30This is your home for the day.
06:31Do you have a space for a portrait of yourself on your wall?
06:34A space will be made.
06:36A space will be made.
06:38Right.
06:39Mary, we asked you to bring along an object that has some significance for you.
06:42What did you bring along with you?
06:44I brought one of two things, actually.
06:47William, our son, sadly, is no longer with us.
06:50He died in a car crash.
06:52And so, anything of William's means a lot to me.
06:55So, I brought a box.
06:56When he was 10, in his woodwork class, he made a box for shoe cleaning.
07:02And when you lift the lid, he wrote happy birthday and the date.
07:07And then he also made a Valentine card, and he drew three elephants.
07:13And the biggest one he called his brother, Thomas, and then there was William, and then there was Annabelle.
07:19I thought it was so sweet.
07:20Put it in a frame, and I've kept that.
07:22Yeah.
07:23We were so lucky to have him, and he was 19 when he died.
07:27And I have nothing but good memories of him.
07:30Quite right.
07:31And in your portrait, would you like Freddy?
07:34Would you like the object?
07:35It's really up to you.
07:37But it would be nice to have Freddy in.
07:39He's a good chap.
07:40He's a lovely dog.
07:41And he loves everybody, and he's fairly biddable.
07:44Unless a rabbit comes by.
07:46Nobody's got a rabbit to have next, because he does like chasing a rabbit.
07:55Artists, you have all the ingredients here to create a masterpiece, so it's time to put your skills to the test.
08:01You have four hours.
08:03On your marks, get set, paint.
08:14Do you mind looking at the dog?
08:16I'm going to wait until he looks up at you.
08:18Ready?
08:22There we go.
08:23Such a pose there.
08:24We should be able to face forward, but look at me.
08:27That would be really great.
08:38With the prospect of a double portrait on their hands, our semi-finalists waste no time.
08:43Really great or really happy.
08:45So looking forward.
08:46Here's a meeting in New York City frombelly.
08:52Sorry, it's there for us!
09:08Mary Berry has a presence right, so I think that's why I went for this square canvas.
09:12square canvas which maybe wouldn't have been my natural approach it just didn't seem right to
09:17confine her to this Courtney Bay is a creative marketer for a charity she demonstrated a strong
09:25relationship with her heat sitter ballet dancer Reece Clark and her dynamic portrait cemented
09:31her place in the next stage Courtney you put a lot of paint down very quickly in comparison to
09:40the heat you've chosen quite a conventional pose we're expecting to see Mary lying on the
09:45floor doing something interesting I want to share that I can still do something that is traditional
09:50but mainly Mary doesn't lend herself to anything but this but you've undermined that quite traditional
09:57pose by having the dog sort of yeah appearing but not appearing I don't like doing animals oh I see
10:04because they're automatically sweet and we all draw our eye to the animal and we go oh and there's
10:11no real way to cut through an animal oh man I've gone a bit too low down you've gone what too low down
10:34gone too low what you mean Katie well because the composition that I wanted to have was the hand
10:39oh I see but I feel happy that I've got them both looking the same way have you just realized about
10:45the hand no I realized almost instantly right Katie Jones is a professional artist she gained her
10:54place in the semi-final with a sensitive portrait of broadcaster James May why have you gone landscape it
11:02just gives a sense of space and I quite like that you do yeah we're gonna see a stark white background
11:07today yeah there's a lot of cover up there you're not going to eat well from where I'm sat I can't
11:11see any of the background but in your photo oh yeah actually I think you've actually helped me out here
11:20all right if I add it if I add in that background it's quite well it's quite well okay yeah so thanks
11:26for that yeah no problem yeah if you win I want to cut just saying that on the front of the record
11:31the medium I've chosen today is oil paints and I might end up using acrylic and oil bar with it
11:50it depends on the kind of texture and the kind of vibrancy I want to achieve so I'll get my design
11:56right then we call it a day Nigerian artist Uthman Wahab took an instinctive approach when he painted
12:04political journalist and presenter Beth Rigby his resulting insightful portrait secured his semi-final
12:11spot well when you really racing ahead here you're on a mission yeah I'm on a mission to enjoy myself to
12:19enjoy yourself not to win if I win is gonna be a bonus a bonus yeah oh that's interesting and you've
12:26gone pretty big I mean you did the same with Beth is this your sort of go-to scale naturally I do bigger
12:32scale this is like one of the smallest you know so it's still not like my do you feel charged but do
12:40you feel like contained no because I just agree to this moment and it's fine you're a great believer in
12:46face do you always wear gloves when you think yeah so it's a very inky process that I'm doing and so
13:07you've taken off your shoes you're taking it very very seriously yeah so in my studio I don't normally
13:13wear my shoes I normally have music blasting and kind of dancing around and painting at the same
13:18time so I thought I'd just do the same here Chloe Barnes is a mono printer who paints with etching ink
13:24on aluminium the judges praised her inventive mark making in capturing broadcaster Clara Ampho who
13:32loved the portrait so much she kept it today just as in the heats Chloe will present her work on a plate
13:38instead of paper morning Chloe what's the plan I'm so I'm a bit bigger this time so I really wanted
13:46to push myself I really like the way you position Mary's head you know it's not where you might
13:49traditionally expect it's not in the center in fact it's down so Freddie's kind of looking off
13:54towards the right and is that because Freddie's gonna make it in the picture he's gonna make it
13:58double portrait I mean it's Dame Mary Berry she bought her dog you can't ignore it the artists
14:08have been concentrating on their portraits for nearly an hour this is sort of like the boring
14:17stuff before I can play I will definitely work in more detail in some parts but I just sort of have
14:24to balance it out because then that wouldn't feel like my style I'm really happy that got the drawing
14:35done in the first hour because that was my plan and now I feel like I can just get into the flow of
14:40it and just paint which is the fun bit I've been able to put almost all the objects you came with today
14:52the plants the box and of course the dog so literally it's all are in this little canvas
15:08for the past hour our eight semi-finalists have been racing the clock to capture the
15:14unmistakable charm of culinary legend Dame Mary Berry
15:22how's it going for you it's um quite a lot of pressure but um I'm very excited that it's both of
15:33you um good you're doing the dog yes definitely you've even got a little dog around your neck I do
15:38have my little dog around my neck yeah I just love I love dogs but I want to kind of capture you
15:44interacting is really my aim so it's quite exciting that I get the chance to do that with you both
15:50artist Edie bound created a striking portrait of rock star young blood and won over the judges with
15:59her lightness of touch securing her spot in the semi-final Edie you've chosen a photograph of Mary
16:07where although she's smiling beatifically her eyes are closed I mean it felt like a bit of a risk but it
16:14felt more like a moment I think the dog kind of tells you a lot about Mary so even if her eyes are
16:19closed or she's looking down at him unless you get something the dog is looking at us so we are
16:25having a relationship with the dog yeah instead of Mary vicariously is having so it's a you're
16:30setting up a very complex psychological drama yeah I know you've got him he knows exactly what's going on
16:35I see I'm still kind of working on my composition and making sure everything's right proportion but I
16:53know that it's well worth spending the time on this stage because if it's not right then there's not
16:58really any point in doing the other steps after now is to just get a little bit more down and make
17:04decisions faster at the heats art teacher and painter Lauren Ross captured DJ Melvin Odoom with
17:12a portrait the judges praised for its storytelling and vibrancy earning her a well-deserved place in
17:19the semi-final Lauren I love this fantastic yellow color that you've gone in with I can see there that
17:27that palette knife is loaded it is I'm getting ready to do the background now and you obviously quite
17:32important for you to get in some of the set I mean I can see the flowers are in there Freddie of
17:36course I really like painting hair so he's got plenty of hair and I definitely want to try and get the
17:41card in somewhere you've gone larger than we've seen before yeah is it strategically larger I kind of
17:47wanted to show my range but also I thought the direct gaze in this one listen I think as an
17:52underpainting this is spectacular thank you very good looking so really nice stuff so a much loved TV
18:05personality with a sweet little dog perched on her lap what are you after something saccharine and
18:11had Lee in a portrait exactly that's what you know us so well she wants to be seen you know happy it
18:18is a cliche minefield cliche might build it's a semi-final we're really testing our artists by
18:24laying a track yes we want to see artists grappling with that because Mary is also a 90 year old person
18:31who's lived a full life touched by tragedy she's sharp there's a steeliness to her that is also up there
18:38and the artists need to tease it out and some of them are gone the headlong into cliche right it could
18:46be early days but if they don't balance that it will be very one-dimensional and it will be disappointing
18:53so the object today is curious because the story behind it is heartbreaking it's full of meaning yeah
18:59and it's important to Mary yeah it's not all soggy bottoms and apple turnovers no there is a proper
19:07life has been lived absolutely yeah so we need to see that they can deal with something like this but
19:12it is it's a tough one today I really like this at this time I think it's very inspiring there's a lot of
19:29elements that I can play with I think the judges might expect me to do something interesting with
19:35my composition again just because I did that last time but I can't promise that professional artist
19:41Paulina Krytnievska forged a powerful connection with award-winning novelist Alif Shafak the sensitive
19:48portrait she produced won over both her sitter and the judges Wow Paulina you've got a beautiful canvas
19:57I feel like this one is perfect for Mary I can see she's quite a traditional person and I feel like
20:04this aligns nicely like you know natural linen and that sort of traditional is does that make you
20:10feel more that you have to make something that's closer to a formal portrait yes I feel like this
20:14will reflect the sitter best yes well you've got a very noble dog head there in Freddy as well it's a
20:20real sort of conversation going on between those two I think what I want to capture here is the
20:26strength yeah but also a really nice relationship of them so exciting yeah very excited so today I'm
20:44working with a range of mechanical pencils and rubbers and the tractors a lot of dry media quite a limited
20:53range of materials but I will compensate for the limited range with my technical abilities so I
21:00think that will make up for my lack of color palette and lack of scale at the heats librarian Vincent Stokes
21:08drew writer and comedian Fatia El Gorey who chose his work to take home with her the judges were impressed
21:15by the restraint he used to create a quiet and considered portrait Ella Vincent talk me through
21:22the low in the frame Mary Berry why not just a big Mary and a big dog I think there's quite a few big
21:28Mary's around okay I'm thinking of spending the latter half of the day focusing solely on the objects so we
21:35have the lovely table and the box with the card in hopefully a rolling pin yeah I had a plan for
21:42composition and as soon as I saw the set it all just went out the window so you mean you thought I've
21:48got this plan for whoever it is I can slot them into pretty much yeah that was my idea and then you
21:52were like oh no it's Barry yeah it's Barry I can't I can't conceptualize Mary Barry although I think
22:02some people are don't you think so do that are they oh I've not really seen other people so you're
22:07kind of down the end here you're kind of slightly yeah I'm away from everyone if everyone rolled over
22:12you'd be the one who fell out of the box wouldn't be the first time no it wouldn't be the first time
22:28have you done dogs before yes I actually get commissioned quite a lot to paint dog portraits
22:32but I've never done one of a person with a dog I'm still looking forward to seeing you haven't seen
22:38anything it's very it's very frustrating being this side I can't see what I think other sitters
22:43guess by reactions of the crowd yeah what paintings look like so we shall see the artists are nearly at
22:51the halfway point so as Mary prepares for a lunch break lunch did you hear that the artists assess their
22:59game plans getting Mary's face in is definitely the priority at the moment and I should be on
23:08track to kind of get that done and then start looking elsewhere soon my aim was to try and get
23:21everything but Mary painted before halfway through I'm speeding up to try and get as close to that as
23:28possible and that will put me at ease to then spend all the rest of time on Mary's face so that's the plan
23:32currently it all looks like it's going to plan so I'm not worried I'm not worried which is good and
23:43even if I was I wouldn't say so because you know as soon as you're thinking makes it so doesn't it
23:48it's the semi-final and for the past two hours our artists have been capturing baking legend Dame Mary
24:04Berry although some have been getting a bit of help from our audience do you want to paint you've got paint
24:11on your brush so you can go here okay it's a huge help thank you thank you that's great I'm leaving
24:21that brush for that I think it is yeah thank you I hope that doesn't count as cheating have you had a
24:30chance to have a look at the art on the back wall yet I have and they're all so different yeah no man
24:35will give you an idea of what's in store for you later see Mary you must be used to the rhythm of the
24:39day like this I mean doing bake off all those years watching people at work and judging them I loved being
24:46a judge because you feel you can help people just like the judges here talk to all the artists and sort
24:54of bring the best out of them and add to their skills you want people to do well I want people to
24:59do well I want them to be proud and I don't want them to cry yeah well we don't always manage with that
25:09I think this is a bit of a tricky day because there's a set which they could really trip up
25:28with it we've got two sets of artists we've got the more traditional ones and then we've got the
25:32more experimental artists so there's a weird Venn diagram that quite a lot of them are falling off
25:36the edges there are traps and the artists have to compromise I mean Mary's the biggest trap of all
25:41don't you think because she's quite fragile and delicate but she's also strong so I mean some of
25:47these artists who are taking slightly more risks I fear for their lives if they don't get Mary
25:51Mary quite right don't mess with Mary too much yeah I think what Katie's really good at she keeps it
25:57very clean and it works very well with the lovely blue that Mary's got in the background Katie of all
26:02the traditionalists here is making the best painting somehow I think that coolness and the clearness
26:07makes it feel very modern Edie on the other hand with the closed eyes the most beautiful most sensitive
26:14pose I love it but of course that's not how we're used to seeing Mary for me it's still too sweet
26:20because Mary looks happy in it yeah I don't like portraits of people looking happy I think maybe
26:26what will save it from being too sweet is that it is a bit wonky there's a kind of quirky qualities
26:30with all of the pictures that we've seen from Edie and so I think she's a real contender for me today
26:35Courtney we saw what she did with Reese giving it an interesting twist yeah I think muscular painting
26:42is what Courtney is good at how do you bring muscular painting and the delicate Mary buried together
26:48she's not giving us an attractive no but she's taken a very particular hold of the mouth and that
26:55has what's informed the painting Uthman spent a lot of the morning feeling his way through he was like
27:02that with Beth though it felt really sketchy and then suddenly all sort of came together it's a bit
27:07messy but I've got a confidence in him pulling it all together I mean we did see Uthman do it before
27:12you're right maybe likeness is something he does at the end just to satisfy us and the great painting is
27:17what he does all day because he's clearly enjoying himself Chloe working on that large piece of metal
27:21yeah I think that it's a radiant material and it's a really radiant portrait my concern for Chloe is
27:26that she's already got quite a lot on there and I think she doesn't need much more we've never seen
27:32somebody working this material in all the years we've done the show to set up a composition which
27:37has a dynamic to it which is not not sweet in any way I mean that's the sweet spot Lauren's painted
27:43everything but Mary so far I love what Lauren does and I love the way in which she makes the
27:47decisions about which things are going to be treated in the more abstract way and what I
27:51want to see come in now is just make Mary come alive it's like when a child eats their dinner and
27:55saves the sausages to last that's exactly what they've just done all the veggies that one last
28:00bites for all the bits that they love the most on it yeah exactly now Paulina is she setting your
28:05traditional sweet tooth on edge yeah it is it's the light coming through the hair I mean I think she
28:12could do an awful lot if she changed the hair is that interesting it's very backlit like a vision
28:17yeah because Paulina's got a great facility yeah and she's cool she's a cool artist you know so
28:22she's definitely someone who's gone a bit close to these traps that we've said yeah what saved the
28:28heat painting was course bringing in the object yeah and she's not playing with any of the elements
28:33today has anyone caught a glimpse of Vincent's artwork you've got to elbow him away have you you've got
28:39to drag him off there Mary's Louise she's right down at the bottom and it's partly I think because he
28:43wants to include everything that's around it but I mean I don't know how it's gonna work once
28:47everything else has gone in is it going to be enough what I loved about his heat drawing was
28:52the singularity of the line I find this drawing of Mary a bit softer but I guess since the man knows
28:58what he's doing so we'll have to wait till the end or he doesn't want us to know what he's doing yeah
29:02exactly it's very frustrating being this side of all the portraits I'm dying to watch the other side they
29:16peaked around to look at me and Freddie but they just keep going this one what's going on I'm trying
29:27to decide how I want the dog to be part of this composition should the dog look directly to me you
29:33know to be part of the gaze okay you should look away so it's a constant sort of real balance yes
29:39yes okay Katie it's exciting seeing the colors coming in yeah I mean I've just sketched in Freddie
29:53he's looking a bit sketchy to me that's your idea of sketchy there'll be a lot of other people's idea
29:59of a very proficient painting I think compared to Mary he feels quite sketchy well listen I think
30:04he already feels like Freddie okay that's there and he feels like Mary that's the danger now I've
30:08got time to mess it up and fiddle and overbake yeah yeah sorry
30:13Courtney it's so difficult isn't it working with someone whose face is so well known it is really
30:29tough yeah and she's like beautiful and feminine and pink yeah it's tricky so I mean have you been
30:35wrestling with your own way in which you'd like to sort of stylize definitely yeah trying to find places
30:40to make it more whimsical is a bit trickier Lauren you painted everything but the face yeah it's the
30:54hardest part it's thinking about the mark making it's the color mixing so I was leave it to last
30:59and now I'm a bit worried about time but she sort of warm up on the rest of the painting exactly yeah
31:04it's not like a child who'll leave the broccoli till the end because there's the stuff they don't like
31:08doing is that basically it's not I'm just being really childish with just half an hour to go it's
31:16tools up and heads down I am flitting all over the place now I'm making adjustments and changing
31:27anything that I feel needs changing I think I'm just gonna polish up areas back to metal to add some
31:40highlights and a bit more depth and just and just leave it I'm happy with it I think
31:44I'm working on the dog at the moment I'm not entirely happy with myself I mean I'm having a great time I
31:57just wish it was like six hours or something or two days
32:00the eight semi-finalists have only moments left of their four-hour challenge to make some final
32:15adjustments to their portraits of Dame Mary Berry Vince we've gone back to Mary's face yeah I wasn't
32:24gonna do that and obviously because you've only got a little bit of time left if you make a mistake
32:28and the face yeah yeah I guess that's what I'm asking it's kind of a question why on earth would
32:32you do that have you just put it in now you're rubbing it with the tiniest rubber I've ever seen
32:37yeah happy I said I don't want to talk about happy or unhappy no I'm sorry artisan happiness okay
32:50I hate pink and red and I'm having a hard time with the jacket because of it so I'm coming back
32:58to work on it now in hopes that I can fix it I think I'm gonna go right to the last minute I still want
33:06to add folds into the jacket so it doesn't look too flat so there's lots of things on my to-do list
33:10there's a suggestion of the hair and I quickly put a suggestion of the finger in and a suggestion of
33:18the necklace a suggestion of the dog Mary's a suggestion somewhere in there artists you have
33:24five minutes left five minutes I am definitely feeling a pressure I'm just trying to stay calm and
33:34not let it kind of maybe tighten after all nothing can go wrong at this point I'll just leave it and call
33:43it a day artists your semi-final challenge is over please stop what you're doing and step away from your
33:55artwork
34:00how are you feeling now
34:02knackered
34:03nothing
34:04we've made it
34:07yeah we've survived it
34:08it's the colour of the beautiful colour
34:10wow
34:12I'm glad it's over
34:14now it is
34:15Mary Berry and her faithful companion Freddie have sat stoically for four hours and it's time to reward their patience
34:23yes you survived I've survived how was it it was absolutely wonderful but I'm just waiting for that reveal
34:31well luckily we're absolving you of judging duty today I know I'm really looking I can't wait for that turn around
34:38you're about to be confronted by eight Mary berries I just need to warn you it's a peculiar thing
34:44it is but it's a wonderful thing right artists can I ask you please to turn your easels
34:53you
34:55I'm overwhelmed they're all so different how amazing colourful fun and lots of freddies
35:03lots of freddies each one has something special about
35:09and lots of freddies
35:14Colourful. Fun.
35:17And lots of Freddies.
35:19Lots of Freddies.
35:21Each one has something special about it.
35:23Yeah. Should we have a closer look?
35:25Right.
35:28Vincent's been hunched over his artwork all day.
35:32I was really worried about you. You were about that much away.
35:36I rather like the idea that I'm looking calm.
35:39And I can see Will's little Valentine card.
35:41Indeed. Indeed.
35:43And it's lovely.
35:44Thank you, Vincent.
35:45No problem.
35:46Paulina.
35:49I think that you enjoyed doing the dog more than me.
35:53That's not true.
35:54Well, no, but you like dogs, don't you?
35:56I do like dogs.
35:57He looks very content leaning on me.
36:00I think he's looking at the audience out there, you know,
36:03and thinking perhaps somebody will take me for a run.
36:06It tells the story.
36:08Thank you, Paulina.
36:10Lauren.
36:10Well, you've got the Valentine in the background with a little heart in three elephants.
36:17And Freddie.
36:18I think he looks a bit bored there, don't you, Freddie?
36:21But you've certainly got my look.
36:23Quite cheerful.
36:24Thank you, Lauren.
36:28Chloe.
36:29Oh, I think that is really so different from anything I've ever seen.
36:34I was wondering what was happening because suddenly you've got a roller out.
36:37But it's so different.
36:39I like it.
36:43Hoffman.
36:43You use so much paint.
36:47It seemed to go everywhere.
36:49Yeah.
36:49It's really rather fun.
36:51It looks as though I'm in charge there, which I like to be.
36:57Courtney.
36:58Wow.
37:01It's very bold.
37:03Now, Freddie, he's gone off to the side.
37:05But why not?
37:06Everybody else has got him.
37:07You certainly got me.
37:09And it's very flamboyant.
37:10It is.
37:11And quite different, isn't it?
37:12Really.
37:13Thank you, Courtney.
37:14E.D.
37:17You like dogs, don't you, E.D.?
37:18I love dogs.
37:19Ah.
37:20I think you've done him well.
37:22Ah.
37:22You've got me sort of looking and thinking, everything's all right.
37:26Yeah.
37:26Thank you, E.D.
37:30Katie.
37:31You've done the eyes very well.
37:33I think the eyelashes are even better than mine.
37:35Oh, really?
37:36And a good smile.
37:38And you certainly got ready.
37:40I think you've captured it jolly well.
37:43Right.
37:44Thank you, Katie.
37:46So, normally our sitters get to choose one of three, but there are eight portraits of you.
37:52You get to take one home with you.
37:53I have chosen one.
37:54I think I look contented and happy, and I've fallen in love with it.
38:00I haven't got room for it, but I'm going to make room, and I think it'll be the talk of the town.
38:07I have chosen the one that is painted on aluminium.
38:10Chloe.
38:10APPLAUSE
38:12Dame Mary Berry has made her choice, but now it's the judges who have a difficult decision.
38:33Who makes it to the final three?
38:36so eight artists you all had high hopes for inevitably some deliver and some don't on the
38:44day would that be fair yeah i mean i think the semi-finals tough i think we've got a group of
38:48artists here some of whom got it just right some of them might be on the side of playing it a bit
38:52too safe and some of them on the side of maybe a little bit too risky i think courtney pushed her
38:57own style slightly too heavily upon mary you know mary's very delicate and when you impose a more
39:03muscular style on top of that it doesn't work but i think if you want to paint like this you need
39:07to collaborate with the sitter but she did very well in her heat and instead she went for this
39:11quite conventional pose and she left herself no space to soften it in any way katie has given us
39:18these stark white backgrounds slightly softened today by that stripe of green yeah i think this
39:23is something slightly different so it's exciting to see an artist who actually shows us more and
39:28pulls it off in the time i mean that's a proper bit of painting in a day edie would have said today
39:33was a perfect sitter for her and she'd have been talking about the dog she's absolutely dog mad
39:38and this painting is pretty much all about the dog isn't it i love the bravery of an artist to be like
39:43dame mary mary okay but freddie it's really freddie i think there's a slight likeness issue in the
39:49mouth it doesn't feel as pretty as mary was but that said i think that she did something very
39:54ambitious what i like about edie's double portrait here is it's about a human's relationship with the
39:58dog and how close they are you get a sense that uh relationships between humans and dogs it's full
40:04of life ufman talked about wanting to find the strength and the sadness that he saw in mary i mean
40:10ufman was having such a great time today i was absolutely convinced that he would haul mary out of
40:16that face by the end of today but he didn't no i think with ufman it's always a sort of a balancing act
40:22between what the painting was dictating to him and i think the painting won today in a funny way
40:27yeah that mary looks like she's about to kick my head in
40:32chloe works on this extraordinary surface and it's the painting mary chose to take home
40:37i can understand why she chose this painting i mean look at freddie but i think chloe really paid
40:42attention i mean she was really wanting to make a strong likeness we're entering a different world and
40:47i think it's beautifully set up it's just such a great composition and all done in this weird green
40:53monochrome as a piece of art i think it's spectacular lauren left the face till last yeah partly out of
41:01nerves she said but the problem then if you leave it to the last moment is the language has got to
41:06fit in you know and it's an odd language it's a pop kind of flatness to it and it suits the way she's
41:12painted everything else you know lauren is so interesting isn't she the way she combines these different
41:16styles really interesting way of applying paint fabulous composition but she should have got to
41:22that face sooner paulina's portrait i'm looking at that thinking is it too soft is it too backlit
41:29is it for you all of those things objectively it's just a beautiful painting of freddie for me it
41:34feels at odds with the paulina that i've seen before who's just feels a bit more contemporary than
41:39this it's one of the best freddies in the room isn't it but i think there's an issue with the likeness if
41:43you look at freddie and he's pretty much spot on why is mary not spot on i don't know freddie was
41:47looking at it thinking am i that vincent was hunched over that desk i saw rulers protractors
41:54pencils he could have been doing maths homework but this is what he was doing what did you make
41:59of it it's a crazy fairy tale isn't it where this tiny woman and her dog is overwhelmed by cooking
42:06stuff and remember his submission yes okay the man is overwhelmed by all the various things in his
42:13life this composition maybe is just a bit too straightforward but there's something really
42:17peculiar about the submission unfortunately i just don't think this has got a strong enough
42:20narrative quality i think he could have been a bit weirder right well i've just realized of course
42:25that the one advantage bake-off has over us because at this point i'd be able to eat eight cakes
42:30but i can't we have eight artists we need three for the final please and if you can't make a
42:37decision paul hollywood's waiting outside some people just had a better day made better choices
42:50early on and were able to execute a portrait avoiding the sort of saccharine i mean there's some
42:55things don't have enough weight this is too sweet yeah yeah i'm happy with those three yeah clear
43:00and strong that's got real sort of painterly quality to it that's got a sort of silent sort of color
43:05majesty to it no good choice and i'm sort of dying to see their commission i'm sort of ready for the next
43:10chapter artists well done to all of you for making it this far in the competition thank you for your hard
43:18work it's been an absolute pleasure watching your talents at work however as you know only three
43:24of you can go through to the final and the judges have made their decision the first artist they have
43:31chosen is katie jones the second finalist is
43:54lauren ross
44:05and the third finalist is
44:10chloe barnes
44:11i can't believe i'm a finalist it's really exciting and i almost just can't believe it because i feel
44:28like what i'm doing is kind of a risk but it seems to be paying off i've got to go all over again in a
44:36couple of weeks thank you yeah i don't know what just happened but i wasn't expecting that at all
44:43there's so many great artists i know everyone probably says that but there were so that was a real
44:47shock thank you so much well done thank you very much i can't quite believe that i'm in the final
44:53answer for a moment i was thinking did i hear that right and then was i mishearing the name so it's so
45:00exciting all three of these artists really developed their practice chloe's developed a way
45:07of sort of making sure that the aluminium in the background is now part of the painting as a whole
45:12katie's got a very particular style and today she was really pushing on what she could actually give us
45:17and then with lauren we have beautiful tonalities a real understanding of composition just a luscious
45:24painting i also am very very confident that all three of these artists could make fantastic
45:29commissions so that has me tingling in the fingertips if you'd like to know more about the competition
45:35and the work of the artists featured in it please go to sky arts artist of the year dot tv
45:54so
45:59so
46:05you
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