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00:00Just imagine, one minute you're at home wondering whether to throw your hat into the ring,
00:16and the next you're here, one of only three finalists, brush in hand, heart pounding,
00:22everything to play for. Today's the day. We will crown our brand new Portrait Artist
00:28of the year. Welcome to the final. Across eight unforgettable weeks, we welcomed a spectacular
00:37cast of celebrity sitters. And we challenged 72 talented artists from across Britain and
00:49Ireland to capture their likeness in just four hours. I've like a hair in the trap. Let me
00:57get up this canvas. I'm trying to be chill, trying to keep this still. This is the bit
01:02where I have fun now. I'm just going to throw paint on it. It is what it is. I feel like
01:07I could keep working on it, although I've just seen something I might change.
01:10The results took our sitter's breath away. Holy guacamole. They're insane. What have you
01:18managed? Gosh. Oh, wow. I said I wouldn't say wow, but oh my goodness me. Oh my God. Oh my gosh.
01:29Whoa. That's cool. At the semi-final, eight artists competed to paint national treasure,
01:36Dame Mary Berry and her faithful companion, Freddie. Good boy. Good boy. And the judges chose their
01:44finalists. Katie Jones. Chloe Barnes. Lauren Ross. I can't quite believe that I'm in the final.
01:59For a moment I was thinking, did I hear that right? It's so exciting. Today, only one of these three
02:06finalists will walk away with an incredible prize. A £10,000 commission to create a portrait
02:12of award-winning mathematician and broadcaster, Professor Hannah Fry for the Royal Society,
02:18to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the first women elected to its fellowship, Professor Kathleen
02:24Lonsdale and Professor Marjorie Stevenson. My goodness. They've really pulled it out of the bag.
02:30These are incredible. So who will wow the judges and prove they've got what it takes to walk away
02:36with this year's title. The winner of Portrait Artist of the Year is...
03:06Oh. It's not much. It's quite simple, isn't it? Oh, it looks great though. I love the drapes.
03:17Yeah. Yeah. Male or female? I'm not 100% certain. It feels quite feminine to me, the set.
03:23I'm thinking like some kind of Shakespearean actor for some reason.
03:26Oh. All right. Here we go.
03:28OK.
03:31Three fantastic finalists, all very different in the way they approach image making.
03:37We've got Chloe. She's been working on monochrome inks on metal surfaces.
03:43So very interesting in terms of mark making.
03:46Next we've got Lauren, who does these wonderful, almost allegorical paintings where
03:50the colour really sings. A colourist who tells stories.
03:54And then finally we've got Katie, who's this meticulous artist, who's got a coolness and
04:00a precision, which really gets into the psyche of the sitter.
04:05Would it be good to win? Yeah. I mean, it'd be amazing to win.
04:08But I feel like I'm already a winner because I'm in the final. So that feels really great.
04:15I feel so much more pressure today.
04:17During the heats and the semis, I've just been making a painting on aluminium, which is like
04:22the first part of my process.
04:23The second part would be printing, which is what I'm going to do today.
04:27With this process, I can only make one print.
04:31If it goes wrong, then that's it. So it's such a high-risk process.
04:36It's so exciting to be in the final.
04:38Just looking at the work on the wall, it's just so good how different everyone's is, but
04:44just such a high calibre.
04:45It's anyone's game, I think, today.
04:48We've given them this sitter whose face is very familiar to a lot of us, and I think
04:55that, coupled with this paired-back set, is going to be extremely rich for our three artists
05:00today.
05:01This is year 12 of Portrait Artist of the Year. I think everybody now knows that this
05:07is an exceptional thing to win, and I really feel for these three artists. They've got to
05:11take everything that they've learned from the heats in the semifinal and bring it to bear
05:15today to show us that, listen, I can get this amazing commission. I am the next Portrait Artist
05:19of the Year, and that's a huge job.
05:23Chloe's pulling out all the stops for today's final, bringing a printing press along to create
05:28her work.
05:29It's a big process, isn't it? It's amazing. It's like actually your one, though.
05:33It's not mine, no. It's just so exciting. You don't know what's going to come out, but
05:36like in such a good way. Whatever it is, it's like organic.
05:39Lauren, Katie, Chloe, congratulations on making it this far in the competition. Your final
05:53sitter is one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation. Whether delivering Shakespearean
05:59soliloquies or reigning as a ruthless media mogul, he commands the stage and screen. Please
06:06welcome, Brian Cox.
06:15As media tycoon Logan Roy in the Sky Atlantic series Succession, Brian Cox mastered the power
06:22game. Today, he'll play a crucial role in the art world equivalent. Who will succeed as
06:29the next Portrait Artist of the Year?
06:36Welcome to your throne. Yeah, it's overwhelming, actually. What a space. What an amazing space.
06:45It's so nice to see three ladies in the final. It's great.
06:49Yeah, so you're going to get three portraits painted of you today. We've put you in this
06:52very theatrical setting. I know.
06:55With some jute behind you.
06:56Well, that's really the source of my family. I'm 88% Irish, 12% Scots. 80% of the working
07:05population in Dundee in the 1850s was female. And they came from Ireland at the time of the
07:09famine. And they came to work in the jute mills because the jute was the big thing. And
07:14they were there as spinners and weavers. My mom was a spinner. And of course, the great
07:19thing about the jute is whenever you see a wagon train in a western, you're guaranteed
07:25that the cover for that wagon was made in Dundee. Wow. And that was our family heritage.
07:30We did ask you to bring along something of significance.
07:32Ah, yeah. It's on its way. Oh, you forgot it.
07:35Yeah. Well, it's very early in the morning, you know. It's a beautiful little bag. It's
07:40about 100 years old. You might want to leave a handbag-sized space in your portraits. I don't
07:44know where you're going to put it, though. I mean, it's... Yeah. You're not going to hold it,
07:47aren't you? No, it seems odd sitting here on a handbag. It's a bit odd.
07:51Well, there you go, artists. It's time for your final challenge. You have four hours.
07:56You have a fantastic sitter. I wish you all the very best of luck. Your time starts now.
08:02Do you mind if I take a photo? Is that all right? If you wouldn't mind just looking slightly
08:12in that direction for me. Thank you.
08:22I was really excited to see that Brian was our sitter. I feel like the environment in the
08:27set is very fitting for him, and I can't wait to depict this really theatrical and dramatic
08:32portrait of him.
08:33I think Brian's incredible. What an iconic actor. This is the most nerve-wracking bit
08:48for me. I always get hot flushed, and then as soon as I've drawn it out and I'm happy,
08:53then I can relax a bit.
09:00I really love the set. It's so sophisticated, and I love the velvet chair. I'm really excited
09:06to try and get that velvety texture and just thinking about how to incorporate the drapery
09:11behind. Yeah, it's really exciting.
09:14Lauren Ross caught the judge's attention at the heats with a soulful and colourful portrait of
09:20presenter Melvin Odoom.
09:23That sombre looking down, it's so peaceful and moving, which fights with that acid yellow.
09:31Her sensitive semi-final portrait of Dame Mary Berry and pet dog Freddie secured her a
09:37place in the final.
09:39I do love Lauren's painting style. It's this sort of strange language. It makes me think
09:43of, like, early Renaissance paintings.
09:46Lauren, welcome to the hell that is the final.
09:51Thank you so much.
09:52It's so exciting, though.
09:54You've got a fantastic sitter.
09:55Oh, amazing.
09:56Usually with colour, it's very subdued here, but as I'm looking, there are colours. Is there
10:01something you can work with here?
10:02Yeah, I'm absolutely in love with the colour of the chair, so I've used that as the colour
10:06for the underpainting in general, but the colour of the jacket, I can see this real sort of
10:11bluish tone to it, so I'd quite like to peek that out a little bit more.
10:15He's got a very well-known face, and also the personas he acts, they're very powerful.
10:21Yeah.
10:22Is that something exciting to get one's teeth into?
10:24Yeah, well, what I sort of noticed from the images that I took of Brian, there's a real
10:28sort of introspection in his gaze. This is quite an intensity to also a sort of calmness,
10:33so it's quite a contradictory thing to try and capture, but I'm going to try and do
10:36that.
10:41By the first stage, this is doing a composition sketch, so I want to create a lot of contrast
10:47of light and shadow. As my work is very tonal anyway, the lighting is really hitting one
10:52side of his face beautifully, so I really want to emphasise that.
10:56At her heat, Chloe Barnes's striking portrait of presenter Clara Ampho was picked by the sitter.
11:02It's Chloe's.
11:04And guaranteed her a place in the next round of the competition.
11:07Her submission was a monotype, and today she gave us only one side of the process.
11:13In itself, it's a tour de force.
11:15At the semi-final, she continued to impress with a monochrome portrait on aluminium.
11:21Chloe.
11:22Which the sitter Mary Berry chose to take home.
11:25I can understand why she chose this painting. Chloe was really wanting to make a strong likeness.
11:32So here we are, Chloe, in Messy Corner. You've got gear. That's the thing I like about you, there's a lot of gear.
11:38There's a lot of stuff, I know.
11:40So what's the plan today? Are you painting? Are you printing?
11:43I'm hopefully going to be printing.
11:45Oh, wow. Exciting.
11:46You get to see my process pretty much from start to finish.
11:49The plate's going to go through the section press, and all the things that I'm painting is going to be transferred to paper.
11:54You paint all this stuff on, but it dries, doesn't it?
11:56Because it's oil-based, it actually takes a long time to dry.
11:59There is a risk, because of all the lighting and the heat, that it can start to dry.
12:03So what you see on the plate, not all of it will necessarily make it onto the paper.
12:07That's, like, the risk and unpredictability of monoprinting.
12:10And you get one print at it?
12:11Yes.
12:12Yeah.
12:13Normally, as an artist, you can either accept it or reject the monoprint.
12:15Right.
12:16Hopefully it goes well.
12:17And today you have to accept it?
12:18I have to accept it, yeah.
12:19You've got no choice?
12:20Yes.
12:26I started off by gridding my board, and now I'm just sketching Brian in.
12:32I use the grid to get the proportions right and as much of a lightness as I can,
12:36because I think that's really important.
12:38And Brian's got such a well-known face, I want to try and do that justice.
12:43Katie Jones won her heat, having produced a realistic but tender portrait
12:48of presenter James May.
12:52These feel like real eyeballs, it's extraordinary.
12:55And I think having it against this stark white background
12:58gives the picture this sort of solemn quality.
13:01It's very successful.
13:03Her impressive semi-final portrait of Mary Berry landed her a place
13:08in the final round of the competition.
13:10Katie's kind of pulled off the relationship and also a very precise,
13:15clear portrait of Mary.
13:16It doesn't feel sweet at all.
13:17It feels right and correct.
13:19Katie, I was wondering actually whether this set presents you with some problems
13:24given your bleached out colours that you like.
13:26This is a very warm set, isn't it?
13:28It is, yeah.
13:29But how do you translate that in your head?
13:31I'm just going to start painting, as long as I've got the position of him.
13:35Because when I first approached Brian and asked to take his photographs,
13:38I asked if he'd look to his left.
13:41Right.
13:42But actually when I sat back, because he sat in front of me,
13:44I thought the directness was a lot more him.
13:46Yeah.
13:47And I'm pleased so far with the lightness and that staring out.
13:51But we'll still see your lovely white background, presumably,
13:54so you're not going to try and respond to what's actually there.
13:56No.
13:57I think the lightness is fantastic.
13:58The sketching is absolutely fabulous.
14:05Just as the artists are getting comfortable with their compositions,
14:08Brian's special object arrives.
14:11Brian, thank you for coming and sitting for us.
14:16My pleasure.
14:17Now, we ask our sitters to bring an object that is dear to them,
14:19important to them,
14:20and you've brought this rather beautiful but very old handbag.
14:25When does it date from?
14:26It's about 100 years old.
14:28It's from probably 1929.
14:31Oh.
14:32It was when my mother got married.
14:34I think it was my father's mother gave her this as a present.
14:38That's a bit of history.
14:40Yeah.
14:41And it's just beautiful.
14:42And the things that are in it are just sort of stuff like,
14:45oh, this is just to say that I was educated.
14:49So that's my junior certificate.
14:51Junior, secondary certificate?
14:52Secondary certificate of education.
14:54I left school at 15, so this was my thing.
14:58And then there are other things like...
15:00Old photographs.
15:01Old photographs of my family.
15:05Fantastic.
15:06What was a holy relic?
15:07It sounds extraordinary.
15:08I mean, so much is in that small.
15:11Yeah, it is a holy relic, yeah.
15:16Our three artists are one hour into their final nail-biting challenge.
15:23Lauren, what's in your head when you're thinking about the composition?
15:26I guess I'm trying to think about how the eye moves around the picture,
15:29but I definitely want some sort of storytelling,
15:31and it's hopefully I'll be able to add some elements of the documents and pictures
15:35from inside the bag into the jigsaw theme.
15:38Oh, okay.
15:39I feel like I'm capturing Brian's face really well and starting to pick up more on his likeness.
15:48The lighting and shadow captures his form beautifully, so I think it's starting to come together.
15:58Brian's all drawn out now, and I'm happy with the composition.
16:00I think I was fooling myself when I was thinking that I was a bit calmer,
16:04because actually I'm not.
16:05So maybe I'm more competitive than I thought I was.
16:07Our finalists, Chloe, Katie, and Lauren, have been painting portraits of acclaimed actor Brian Cox for just over an hour.
16:28I think Brian is quite exhausting.
16:34Or it appears quite exhausting because I'm slightly nodding off, which is fine.
16:39I think he's having a good time, just a bit sleepy.
16:44So, we've got Brian in front of some theatrical-looking jute drapes.
16:49It's quite a minimal set this year.
16:51It's a kind of take on theatre.
16:53It's in the proscenium arch of this wonderful building, but it's austere, isn't it?
16:58Yeah.
16:59There's not much there.
17:00No.
17:01But I think it's right for Brian's personality or the persona we know him for.
17:07There's a rugged, well-lived-in, scary...
17:10No nonsense.
17:11Yes.
17:12No nonsense.
17:13There is no nonsense.
17:14Yes, I suppose let's concentrate on this well-lived-in face.
17:17This face that's been around, has got an extraordinary history, has inhabited all these roles.
17:22You know, I want to know what Brian Cox is about when I look at the paintings of him.
17:32I've just started painting Brian's eyes first, and when I get those to a position where I'm happy with them,
17:38then I'll work my way around just slowly building out from the eyes and just hope for the best.
17:43When I print my plate, what I've painted, it's reversed, which means for Brian, he essentially sees like a mirror image of himself.
17:55I try to capture likeness as much as possible and hope for the best that when it is printed, it also translates the same.
18:02I kind of wanted to be a little bit further on at this point, so I'm trying to speed up a little bit more,
18:10but I'm pretty happy with the underpainting.
18:14I'm going to work on the face once I've done the background, and then hopefully I'll feel less stressed.
18:23As Oscar Wilde said, it's a handbag.
18:25But I don't think the handbag's going to make it into these pictures after all the drama this morning.
18:32I feel bad for the artist because obviously the pressure is already so high,
18:35and then I just think it's like it's his life, isn't it, in a small object.
18:38I'm not too worried about it not being there because I think the armchair is doing a lot of work.
18:42That lovely orange pop, which I think is going to feature very clearly in Katie and Lauren's work.
18:48My big worry is that everything is so warm that actually Katie's sort of way of bleaching everything out
18:54and making it very pale is going to look a little bit disjunctive with those lovely warm tones that this room gives you.
19:00Yeah, and it's interesting because Chloe doesn't have any of that colour.
19:02I wonder if today is the day which she might introduce a second colour.
19:05I'm also hoping that today we have very, very finished, well put together portraits.
19:11They're all going so fast.
19:12Because often they relax a bit in the final.
19:14I don't think anyone's ever relaxed in the final.
19:16They know they've got the commission in the back pocket, but I want these guys to really give us the best that they can possibly.
19:21And it feels like we're on track.
19:24Today's portraits of Brian are not the only paintings the finalists will be judged on.
19:29No sooner had they recovered from the semi-final, we challenged them to create portraits of their loved ones in just a few days.
19:38Do you know how much of you to get in as well?
19:41Because I wouldn't want to do a full figure.
19:43I wanted to paint Karis because really there isn't anyone else I would rather do the commission on.
19:51She's my best friend and the fact she's also an artist makes it really interesting.
19:56Maybe like sit with your legs sort of side but like your knees facing this way but still with your sketchbook.
20:01A lot of the time Karis and I will go to a live drawing together or come to galleries, enjoy sketching or even just sort of sitting in a cafe and doing work.
20:09We'll get our sketchbooks out and pencils and stuff and it's just really nice to have another artist there working with you.
20:15Yeah, we've enjoyed doing all those things together.
20:20Nice to meet.
20:28I've decided to paint my housemate Matt, who's also become one of my closest friends.
20:34I've known Matt for about a year and over that period we just got really close and he means a lot to me.
20:40So maybe like you're like lightening up or something.
20:43Okay, like this?
20:44Yeah.
20:45Sure.
20:46Like picture coming in and just like lounging about and chilling, chatting, late night chatting.
20:51Sounds good.
20:53I've planned to paint Matt from our sitting room, from life on these aluminium plates that I painted on previously.
21:01But instead of keeping it on that, I'm going to put it through an etching press.
21:05So in that process, it's transferring the ink to paper and creating my monotype.
21:10Yeah.
21:11That's potential.
21:12Excellent.
21:22My relationship with my daughters is quite fun.
21:25We're quite silly.
21:26My eldest will be 18 in January and my youngest will be 15 in the summer.
21:32So it just feels like a really nice time to capture them both in their individual form, but together.
21:37Right, Molly, I'm going to just sketch the flower in your hands.
21:40So just keep your hands in the flower like that.
21:42I really like working with symbolism and objects and nature and flora and fauna, all that sort of stuff, what it means.
21:48So I've chosen some flowers symbolizing the girls, you know, youth, beauty and their ages.
21:55And I think those flowers will really help show their character and personality as well.
22:00I told you, I warned you that they're going to get giggling.
22:04So how are you feeling about the final?
22:15I'm feeling excited.
22:17I'm feeling way more competitive than I was.
22:20Certainly for the heats, I was just looking forward to the opportunity and the experience.
22:25But honestly, no, I really want to win.
22:34So this final, you'll get to do the full print.
22:36Yeah.
22:37How are you feeling about that?
22:38I'm really excited.
22:39I'm really nervous as well, just because the stakes are really high.
22:42But I feel like monoprinting is my predominant practice.
22:46I have to show it.
22:48Yeah.
22:49So when I finish the painting of you two, are you going to tell me honestly what you think of it?
22:58Yeah.
23:03I think I've, like, done.
23:05Just the rough sketch.
23:06Let's see it.
23:08Da-na!
23:09Oh, wow.
23:10So it's quite painterly.
23:11That's really nice.
23:12Yeah, it's like mapping out the tones.
23:14Yeah, that's really cool.
23:15Thanks.
23:16I don't know how you do it.
23:17We need that.
23:22Okay, I'm going to show you what I've drawn.
23:24Marley, I just drew your hands.
23:26Hey!
23:27That's actually really good.
23:29Oh, thanks.
23:30And then for Frankie, I did a nice bit of magnolia.
23:34Oh, that's so cool.
23:35There you go.
23:41Do you think you're finished?
23:42Yeah.
23:43I think I'm done.
23:44Let's see.
23:45Oh, my gosh.
23:46That's so great.
23:47Can I see yours?
23:48Okay.
23:49Oh, wow.
23:50Sort of getting the sketchbook in.
23:51Yeah.
23:52Getting sort of focused on your work.
23:53I really like the composition, sort of looking down.
23:56So now I just have to decide what I'm going to do for the actual painting, the commission.
24:02The finished portraits will be unveiled to the judges later today and have a crucial role to play in their final decision.
24:09I'm pleased with how I've made Brian look so far.
24:24Yeah, I'm happy.
24:25Is it good to be happy?
24:26I don't know.
24:27If you're enjoying it too much, then maybe you've done it wrong.
24:31I'm a little bit worried about time.
24:34Just because I know from the semis that working especially on the sides of a board is a big ask.
24:39I'm not regretting the decision, but I'm just going to try and speed up and stay focused and that should be fine.
24:46I'm doing okay.
24:48I'm still on track to print, I think.
24:50So I just need to kind of get ink in the third hour.
24:53Yeah, fingers crossed.
25:07Actor Brian Cox has been doing his best to hold his pose for the past two hours.
25:15You're on top of it, as in on schedule?
25:17I think so.
25:18I've just, like, applied loads of ink to my panel.
25:20Yeah?
25:21So now I feel like I'm just blocking and stuff, which is good.
25:23That's good.
25:24Can't wait to see it.
25:25It's going to be amazing.
25:26You're so beautiful, those tones.
25:34Brian, of course, huge hit in succession about choosing the next...
25:39How?
25:40Oh, right.
25:41Oh, you just got that.
25:42Choosing who is going to take over, who is going to assume the mantle, and that's what we're all about today, isn't it?
25:46Yeah.
25:47Is he producing the goods for them?
25:48Brian's an extremely powerful setter, and then we've got this rather dramatic scene he's been set in on his throne, and the artists are very close, so there's a lot of stuff to work with.
26:02Chloe, we're used to these fantastic aluminium boarded portraits.
26:08All that silvery stuff is gone.
26:10Where's it gone?
26:11Yeah, she's really lent in to that darkness of the character, the darkness of the set.
26:16Yeah, I think that Chloe's likeness is the weakest part.
26:19I think she's made a really interesting picture.
26:21There's an interesting tension always with the printmaker.
26:23At what point do they stop working, pull the print, and we know there's a whole other chapter for the print after it's been pulled.
26:30I have to say I admire her.
26:31You know, we love risk-taking, and it's really risky doing this when we know that the aluminium works so successfully.
26:38Katie starts with the eyes and the painting slowly expands.
26:42She spends a lot of time working on flesh.
26:44Is she being successful?
26:46She's using this opportunity to create a head by going into every well-lived furrow she can find on Brian's face.
26:52I can see the likeness is very good, but I don't get a feeling of the art piece as a whole yet.
26:58I mean, last time it took quite till the end of the day.
27:00Lauren has spent the first half of the day painting a rather lovely background.
27:03Where's Brian? Come on.
27:05I'm worried about Lauren with time.
27:07I mean, certainly with Mary Berry, we learned that she needed a lot more time to get that portrait right.
27:13The drawing, the likeness was great. The composition is fantastic.
27:16And now she's got the entire afternoon to just lock down that portrait.
27:19And then we get to look at their commissions as well, which is, you know...
27:21Always a great moment.
27:26The three artists are not the only ones who are having to give it their all.
27:32Brian's been treading the West End boards six nights a week,
27:36which means that holding a pose today has been no easy task.
27:40So, Brian, how are you finding the experience so far?
27:43It's tough.
27:45Sat in your very comfortable chair.
27:47Yeah, well, the problem is sleep wants to take over.
27:49Right.
27:50So I'm telling sleep to bugger off, basically.
27:52Well, you don't want a portrait with dribble and your eyes sharp.
27:55No, I don't.
27:57No.
27:59A lot of actors find it difficult to appear in public as themselves.
28:02You know, they're fine going out playing a character.
28:05They're very happy with that.
28:06But as soon as they become a bit shyer, I suppose, when they...
28:09I think...
28:10Do you have that issue?
28:11I used to, but I don't.
28:12Because I'm at a certain age now.
28:14I'm in my seventies.
28:15And I really say, well, this is me.
28:17Right.
28:18Better or worse.
28:19There's nothing I can do about it.
28:20So I don't know.
28:21I don't feel that anymore.
28:22I just...
28:23I just go on with it.
28:25And obviously, succession has been huge in the last few years.
28:28Yeah, yeah.
28:29Do you mind being cast as this sort of authoritarian bully, I suppose, as he was?
28:34Yes, exactly.
28:35I'd love to be somebody like Logan Roy, who just tells people to...
28:38You know what?
28:39It's infected me, though, because I never used to swear.
28:41Right.
28:42I mean, I'd swear occasionally, but now I swear all the time.
28:45And it's actually...
28:47It's not nice.
28:48Right.
28:52Currently, I'm painting with solvent to remove ink to add highlights to the piece.
29:02And then hopefully, I can maybe get round to printing.
29:05You never know what's going to come through, what area's going to be really dense, or there
29:09actually might be some texture that I didn't anticipate.
29:12Whilst I've been doing this for a long time, you never know what to expect.
29:18I've nearly got the bulk of Brian's face in.
29:21I'm slowly trying to block in his eyebrows, but I'm going to need to go back and add some,
29:27like, nice hair detail, I think.
29:29I've still got a lot to do, but I'm happy with where it's at.
29:38You do like to keep us guessing, Lauren, don't you?
29:40Are we going to see your hands?
29:42Hopefully.
29:43We'll see.
29:44I'm hoping to get in at least a suggestion of the hands, so that will be next on my list after that.
29:50I've got a long list.
29:51What have you found today, to be honest?
29:53It's been a lot more stressful than the other ones I would say.
29:55Has it?
29:56But it's still really exciting and it's an amazing opportunity.
29:58So I'm enjoying it, but also there's just that tagging pressure.
30:01It's just weighing on my shoulders.
30:03And you're so close.
30:04So close.
30:05I'm ready to print.
30:09Which is scary and exciting and everyone's watching and I'm nervous as anything.
30:13So we'll see how it goes.
30:15Oh, God.
30:18OK.
30:22As only a single image can be made through this unique printing process, Chloe has just one shot at capturing Brian.
30:31This is exciting.
30:33What happens?
30:34You just, like, roll it down.
30:36Yes.
30:37Paper, blanket, roll it through.
30:39That way.
30:40Print reveal.
30:42Nervous?
30:43Yeah.
30:44Yeah.
30:45Yeah.
30:48Yeah, yeah.
30:49Yeah, yeah.
30:50Okay, hahah.
30:52Well, so then that goes, there's a real woman.
30:53You don't like the other woman.
30:54Okay.
30:56You don't like the other woman.
30:57They're not like this Mariah's?
30:58Not like that.
30:59Can't stress this now.
31:01You want to buy a new woman.
31:02You guys say you've been happy about pajama?
31:05cturr is no food yet.
31:09A productless seriously.
31:10I strode on a wedding, right?
31:13First I'm uh, Iść.
31:14I
31:21See you can't see you can see
31:35I should like it. I'd be like the piece
31:38I like how it's like death also. It was quite subtle with the facial expression eager to keep working on it
31:44I
31:50I've been trying to incorporate something from the handbag, but my attempt didn't really work
31:56So there's a few things I've still got less to do and I want to just touch up the face a little bit
32:01Hopefully not ruin it. So that's plan
32:07Katie how you feeling I feel a bit up against it actually I was so into the detail of Brian's face
32:12Yeah, and then I thought I just need to get some stuff down. So I saw you suddenly stood in the collar and the chair
32:17Yeah, he was floating somewhat. Yeah, so I'm feeling a bit better. I don't think I'm gonna get it all done
32:27Chloe you've got some watercolors on
32:30That's impossible. Did you make the image knowing this was going to be added later? I made it with the
32:38Potential that I could if I had time and how the print went I haven't seen this in your work for so
32:53This year's three finalists have just ten minutes to add any finishing touches to their portraits of acting legend Brian Cox I
33:02Just want to add a little hint of color so I'm picking up it's the blue and a teeny bit of the orange of the armchair now
33:09The prints done I feel good about time now. It's just finishing touches
33:18Artists you have five minutes left
33:20I'm feeling pretty stressed this point I want it to be like the best it can be but obviously there is that time limit and
33:31You just sort of have to prioritize what you think is most important. Hopefully I'll be satisfied at least with how it turns out at the very end
33:39It's a shame that I haven't finished it, but they're not gonna have enough time
33:51So I'm just gonna focus on what's there and just polishing it up and what will be will be I can't do anything about it now
33:57It's a lot of time
33:59Artists your time is up your final challenge is over. Please stop what you're doing step away from your hour
34:29How'd you find it tough day at office?
34:40It's there's so many things go on during this whole
34:45Process really whereas I thought I would just be a sort of dumb figure in the middle of it all
34:51But then you're observing the artists at work and how their approaches are different
34:56So that was quite fascinating to me the other thing they have to put up with which I think
35:00You and I would both bulk at is all the people here watching them work
35:04I know I imagine a crowd of people like this in rehearsals
35:06I couldn't understand that at all. I don't know why these people are here quite honestly
35:11Right, so we put you out in misery. Let's put your glasses on all right absolutely don't be alarmed by these glasses because they're pink
35:20But it makes everything look rosy
35:22There you go
35:24Right then artists can I ask you please to turn your easels
35:34Are they turned? Oh they're turned
35:43This is extraordinary different visions
35:46They're wonderful
35:48They're wonderful all of them. They really are
35:50Oh God I hate these
35:52Should we have a closer look? Let's have a closer look
35:54Let's have a closer look
35:56Come down with me
35:58Lauren
36:00She's really got something of me
36:02In a doer way
36:04We Scots understand doerness
36:06And she's got my doerness
36:08Actually rather well
36:09Scarily well
36:12But yeah lovely
36:13What's he thinking there?
36:14He's thinking oh
36:15F*** off
36:21I'm sorry to say I know it's national television
36:23I'm not supposed to swear
36:24It is
36:25It is
36:26But it is that
36:27I think we've just moved time slot
36:28I think we have
36:31Brilliant Lauren thank you very much
36:32Thank you so much
36:33Thank you
36:36Katie
36:37This is truly extraordinary
36:38Thank you
36:39It really is
36:40I mean you've got something in the face which is
36:43It's me
36:44But it's not that me
36:45It's a different me
36:46It's just excellent
36:47I love what you've done
36:48Thank you
36:49The head is just incredible
36:51And one day you'll finish the rest of it
36:53One day
36:54Yeah one day
36:55Really I think that is a beautiful painting
36:57Thank you
36:58Thank you
36:59Thanks
37:02Chloe
37:03Wow
37:04Chloe
37:05Good God Chloe
37:06There you go eh
37:07I mean it's bold
37:08It's amazing
37:09It's extraordinary
37:10It's atmospheric isn't it?
37:11It's very atmospheric
37:12It really is
37:13I love this
37:15The kind of
37:17Slightly desiccated looking quality
37:21I'm not particularly proud of
37:22I have to tell you
37:23But you've got it
37:24And the one
37:26That's wonderful
37:27Thank you
37:28Right then Brian
37:29You get to take one
37:30And one only I'm afraid
37:31Oh God
37:33It's so hard
37:34Because it's all so
37:36So wonderful
37:37It really is
37:38But
37:39If I choose one
37:41The one I have to choose
37:43Is Katie's
37:45Thank you
37:46Thank you
37:47Thank you
37:49It's really extraordinary
37:50Thank you
37:51Thank you
38:04With the challenge complete
38:05The artists can now take a break
38:07But the competition is far from over
38:09Everything now hinges on their all-important commission pieces
38:13Which the judges are about to see for the very first time
38:19Wow
38:20They've done well
38:21They're so good
38:22My goodness
38:23Fantastic
38:24They've really pulled it out of the bag
38:25These are incredible
38:26They're very emotional aren't they?
38:27Yeah
38:28You feel that they're painting people that are very very close to them
38:30It's really exciting to see that there's such full propositions
38:33Like especially for Lauren
38:35Like we know that she's trying to get to this very full scene
38:37Loaded with narrative
38:39Even more than her submission
38:42Hopefully the judges can see in my commission that I really wanted to capture an artist at work
38:47And there's lots of different things on the table next to her that show who she is
38:51Some daffodils since she's Welsh
38:53And then there's a tartan blanket there for Scotland
38:55So I tried to include all these bits of symbolism
38:57But then also try and make it a nice sort of balanced composition
39:01With Katie we've got so used to seeing what she can do in four hours
39:05It's almost like we've forgotten what she did with her submission
39:07And this is where we've gone back to
39:09That precision and that depth of application of paint
39:13To do a diptych, hello
39:15We had a diptych before and a final commission that's just showing off
39:18Don't you find also that her finishedness has gone to another level
39:21I'm just looking at the hands are just exquisite
39:25For my commission I wanted it to show there's a bit more depth
39:29To just looking at a composition it's a lot more informed
39:32And I do research as well as can do hands and all those other bits
39:36Look at the marks on that monochrome just fantastic
39:39And the distance you get from the hands to the plant all with that monochrome
39:43And I think what's so great about Chloe's is I think she's pushed the kind of abstraction
39:47And the looseness and the risk taking to the next level
39:49I mean it's just on the border isn't it
39:51I have no idea what the judges are thinking or feeling
39:55I think all of our work is so different
39:57I just hope they like it and they see the potential in it
40:00I really genuinely mean it when I say that this is just an impossible task
40:04Because not one of them has under delivered they've all over delivered
40:07This is like a complete master class
40:10So we've got the commissions now next to the portraits painted today
40:19And having the commissions is supposed to make well your lives easier
40:22But I don't know about you I look at that and I'm just I'm a wreck
40:25I have no idea what way is up now
40:28I think they've all surpassed what we'd already seen from them
40:31You know even when you take it right back to their submission
40:34They've reached that point and gone beyond it
40:36Chloe did you learn anything from seeing a commission that you didn't already know about her
40:40I think in this commission from Chloe you're seeing
40:43There's a delicacy there that we haven't seen so far
40:45And I think that combined with the full picture
40:49And the way that the figure occupies space
40:51It reassures us that we know that this is a great portrait artist
40:54Today I was thinking that isn't a great lightness of Brian
40:57His presence is there and the sort of moodiness of the set is there
41:01But I was worried and then you look at this head and it's just the neck
41:05The head sitting on the neck the tousled hair
41:08All these marks that were abstract she put them in the right place
41:12We're seeing great skill
41:14When she came here in the heat she couldn't work with a printer
41:17So she adapted her style and worked with the aluminium
41:20Part of me does wonder whether the aluminium we saw of Brian
41:24Might have been slightly better
41:26You know I've got question marks about that
41:28But I really admire her bravery
41:30So Katie has given us two
41:32Well there's three portraits there
41:34Full of emotion
41:35Katie's very organised in the way she builds a portrait
41:38But somehow she always pushes it to the next level
41:41There's something about shared humanness that always comes out
41:44And you know she's done that with Brian today
41:46And with this double really sensitive double portrait
41:49I also think that she's incredibly fast and technically skilled
41:51The fact that she can get as close to this here today is staggering to me
41:56The only thing I would do is I would put Brian in the middle of the two daughters
42:00Because it's almost like there's an altapiece
42:02These are two saints holding their flowers
42:04They're so precise and so beautiful
42:07And then the sort of profane messiah in the middle
42:09Yes exactly right in the middle swearing like a trooper
42:13Well let's turn the colour right up with Lauren's two paintings
42:18She's a great colourist isn't she Lauren?
42:20We've said that before but I think the commission definitely proves that
42:23And especially seeing the commission alongside her painting today of Brian
42:26Because that painting of Brian came together when she put these colours in
42:29Being a good artist also knowing what to leave out
42:32And I think in today's painting Lauren's simplified everything
42:36And as a result the flatness of the grey jacket and the orange of the armchair
42:41It becomes an abstraction which is exciting to look at
42:45Yeah I think she does really suffer in the four hours
42:48Because I think what she's most interested in
42:50I've realised today talking about her again
42:52Is that she's a symbolist painter
42:54Everything in her work has meaning
42:56And if she doesn't have time to put the stuff in the painting
42:59The painting doesn't have the weight that it needs to work for her
43:03I don't think I've ever been as grateful that I'm not a judge as today
43:07You could pick any of these three artists
43:09And I would both agree with you and disagree with you
43:12So I look forward to seeing you get it wrong
43:14And right
43:16Thank you
43:17Thank you
43:18Katie, Chloe, Lauren, you have been brilliant finalists
43:27And it's been an absolute pleasure watching all of you work
43:30Not just today but over the whole course of the competition
43:33But as you know, only one of you can take the title
43:37And the judges have made their decision
43:40The winner of Portrait Artist of the Year is
43:46Chloe Box
43:53I just can't believe it
44:11I'm in such amount of shock
44:13Ecstatic that they chose my work
44:15I wasn't expecting it
44:16I was hoping
44:17I'm feeling over the moon
44:20I'm absolutely so pleased with Chloe
44:22The whole process of the monoprinting
44:24I thought it was incredible
44:28Chloe's such a worthy winner
44:29And like the whole process is so intriguing
44:31I'm excited to see what she does for the final commission
44:34Having Chloe as our twelfth portrait artist of the year
44:38Feels like a very special addition to this incredible alumni that we've created
44:43I mean it's
44:44Edition, our first printmaker
44:45Oh yeah
44:46So very nice
44:47Yeah true
44:48I mean really exciting
44:49It's kind of scary
44:50But I think when we saw the commission
44:52And seeing what she'd done throughout the show moving between the two mediums
44:57Just amazing
44:59What I've been really impressed with is the progression throughout the competition
45:03And I feel that what we've got at the end of it is just such a pinnacle of achievement
45:08Yeah
45:09That it makes me very very excited
45:10Because going forward I feel like she could make something that's really career defining
45:14I can't wait to get started with winning commission
45:19For me this is such a monumental door opening opportunity
45:25Yeah
45:26I couldn't wish for anything better
45:29If you want to find out more about next year's competition and the artists featured this year
45:36Visit our website skyartsartistoftheyear.tv
45:44Thank you
46:01look skyarts
46:09Thank you
46:11Transcription by CastingWords
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