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00:00ABC original artists from all over Australia have traveled to Sydney's White Bay power station for
00:09a life-changing opportunity I'm all a bit nervous all a bit excited for the vote the chance to win
00:15a prestigious commission to hang in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra last week Amanda
00:22Wee Wells beautifully detailed gouache portrait of Adam Liao wowed the judges she is fantastically
00:30skilled watching the way that she put down layers of paint to capture that warmth Amanda this time
00:39nine more gifted artists go head-to-head painting some of Australia's most famous faces please
00:45welcome Madison De Rosario Madison's a 30 year old woman in a wheelchair my friend Matt O'Kine
00:52Matt's bald and has light brown skin Amanda's in her 60s with short blonde hair fabulous well thank
01:00you and I don't have to bother about holding my stomach in I've chosen this outfit very carefully
01:05so who will have what it takes this is quite impressive it's very difficult to do to claim
01:13the second last spot in the semi-final the paintings are revealed and Amanda gasps a swirl of colourful
01:25paint portrait artist of the year hosted by Miranda Tapsell and Luke McGregor the Australian Broadcasting
01:33Corporation presents an Endemol Shine Australia production today is our penultimate heat in the
01:40competition I actually really excited about getting to paint someone that I don't know usually I have
01:45to get friends and family to sit for me with six amateurs and three professional artists I have seven
01:51portraits in the National Portrait Gallery but four hours is tight four hours is tight the artists arrange
02:03their various tools and equipment each artist submitted a self-portrait that earned their place in the
02:11competition deciding which artists will go through to the semi-final are our judges associate professor of
02:20art history at Australian National University Robert Wellington director of the National Portrait Gallery
02:27Australia Brie Pickering and award-winning multidisciplinary artist Abdul Abdullah and you ready to look at a wide
02:36variety of artwork indeed Luke we are starting with Sandhya who is a self-taught artist and an IOT
02:44professional it's a really beautiful and tender painting and to see that she's self-taught I think is
02:51he's extra special and the face is painted so well but then the hand they start to fade away in the level
02:58of detail so it'll be super interesting to see what she does today with her for an hour this is lucky who
03:05is a dancer that was his main way of storytelling but he's moved into art and his main materialist type I
03:11love this these are not traditional art materials this is not a traditional painting but it's a brilliant
03:18portrait what lucky's work is doing is it's going beyond the frame and coming out into 3d space for
03:24us this is avid who is already a very successful artist he's painted the bananas and pajamas a long
03:32time dream of mine I think what we're seeing here is what we see in self-portraits quite often of artists
03:39where they're really pushing forward their role as an artist you can see the frames you can see the easel
03:46in the background the naked female form do we know who that is avid's wife ah right yeah she's
03:53looking at him and he's looking at us it does feel like we've walked in on something sorry sorry
03:58this is Alison who is a really well-established graphic artist worked with Vogue mushroom records
04:06and has now quit and pursued her dream of becoming an artist I think we can see that this is a
04:14professional artist I like it as a painting the challenge for an artist like Alison is getting
04:19that balance between getting the likeness that we need for it to be a good portrait and making a
04:24painting that we can appreciate as a compelling work of art this is Blair who is an emerging artist the
04:34first thing that I see is the color like it's really magnificent color really interesting I also
04:39like how she's drawn attention to the tattoo on her foot the light that's striking her leg almost pulls
04:45your eye to the foot feet like hands are difficult things and she's done a really good job at both of
04:50these things this is Natasha she describes herself as a magical realist painter she's giving a sorceress
05:00energy here and you know what I absolutely love it that Sun lit cloud in the background it gives us that
05:06sense of a dream space now how is she going to work with her sitter to reveal something of their energy
05:13this is CC CC has created a kind of playful and magical space look at the little rubber duck on her
05:23head and her plaits her hair her braids have become little love hearts connected together it's giving me
05:29that sense of synesthesia which means when you take one sense and translate it into another and in a
05:35way I think there's something synesthetic about CC's work Jenna comes to us all the way from the
05:42Pilbara in WA and she's an untrained artist as an artist from Perth I'm so happy to see another
05:47artist from WA and interesting to see that she's depicted herself on a palette I think she's such
05:53a highly skilled painter you can see the veins in the feet like and working in that scale that is not an
05:58easy thing to do Jenna's covering her nude body in the small painting this is Daniel who is a flooring
06:06contractor and he actually got his start as a teenager doing graffiti this is a lot of fun it's
06:12loose it's ugly painting a lot of portraits are vanity portraits they want to make people look really
06:19beautiful bring out their best side so what I'm loving about Daniel's work is this is an energy
06:24portrait it's fun I want to meet him that's what this work does for me Daniel has a beard and is
06:32showing a toothy smile the artists set up their paints and easels our nine artists are split into
06:40groups of three in just four hours and in front of an audience each trio will be creating a portrait of a
06:47celebrity who's brought in an object to help the artists get some insight into their personality
06:54this guest has ruled Australia's airwaves for over 20 years with her co-host Jonesy it is an absolute
07:03abomination she has not won a gold logie yet she received an order of Australia for her contribution
07:10to media and community she's also the host of the piano can you please welcome Amanda Keller
07:16Amanda's wearing a loose matching outfit with bright colorful flowers on a black background as
07:24well as a sparkly braided necklace
07:26thank you please take a seat make yourself comfy so here we go now I suppose like on the radio you're
07:44like you can scratch your face like pick your nose absolutely I do all of that I do all of it
07:49an adjustment no this is quite an adjustment what have you brought today oh look this is Peter the panda
07:55and he's my first toy and he reminds me of my childhood which was wonderful I remember it being
08:04solid and loving and he's kind of a touchstone for gratitude for humility for all kinds of things
08:13well you look fabulous well thank you and I don't have to bother about holding my stomach in I've
08:18chosen this outfit very carefully make yourself comfy thank you it's going to be great unreal I'm
08:24excited this guest is an Australian Paralympic athlete and wheelchair racer she has competed in
08:31five Olympic Games she's brought home eight medals two gold four silver and two bronze I may ask if
08:39she doesn't mind give me one of the spares please welcome Madison de Rosario Madison has tanned skin
08:45dark features and dark blonde hair please meet around us hello hi hi I'm Madison nice to meet you
08:54say hi I'm Alison Alison nice to meet you I'm Madison Avon nice to meet you welcome welcome thank you
09:01this feels very formal now congratulations on all the medals for starters it's incredible
09:07I'm assuming the novelty of winning a medal never wears off it must be amazing every time
09:12yeah it is it's a pretty unreal experience this is probably the most special one this is from the
09:17marathon on the last day at the Tokyo Paralympics it was a sprint finish in a marathon which is
09:21one of the most brutal things I think I've ever had to do in a race what's it like like with the
09:26other athletes because you're you're competing against each other obviously is it friendly banter
09:30before you start or you're sucking each other out what you know I'm so impressed by all the women
09:35that I race and my coach and I disagree on this point my coach is Louise Sauvage and she's just
09:40one of the most like competitive aggressive she's able to like hate her competitors and just go in
09:45and want to win I have like little girl crushes on everyone that I race you're so cool is that weird
09:50though like um like beating someone and as you go past them going I'm a big fan literally that's the whole
09:55vibe this guest has been performing stand-up here and abroad for over 15 years he was amazing on
10:03triple j breakfast and he's just as excellent on a new ABC series of mother and son I also really
10:10like his music please welcome my friend manokai Matt's tall 40ish and has a light beard
10:17hello Matt hi g'day nice to meet you oh how are you buddy it's good to see you I'm really great
10:31this is so exciting Matt you brought in a coffee mug uh would you want to tell us a bit about your
10:36personal item today yeah so look I've had this mug ever since I was a very small child everyone in our
10:43family had one my dad my mom and my sister they all had our names on them my mom passed away when
10:51I was 12 so she died of breast cancer that spread to her brain and every time I look at this mug it
10:57reminds me of a time when we were all together in the one house as a family and no one ever calls me
11:06Matthew either you know so this it's sort of like it really really reminds me of that of that sort of
11:11time yeah I don't I don't drink much coffee out of it I'm more of a Milo on the weekends kind of guy
11:20this is a really light-hearted question but do you mind me asking what your Milo is it two teaspoons
11:25three teaspoons I'm strictly a two teaspoon guy no sugar no what I've been told I've only got six
11:34days to live but uh it's worth it Matt thank you so much for joining us please welcome Matt O'Kine
11:38everyone thank you
11:40let's haul chimney outside the power station then wrought iron valves polished to a dark sheen
11:51artist your talent is about to begin you have four hours to complete your portraits
11:58and your time starts now Matt chats to his artists
12:08you guys just asked me to do whatever are you good at holding mugs yeah I can definitely hold
12:14a mug cool do this first are you doing wordle and when you finish give me a phone and I may as
12:22well do work they take photos of their subjects who I want and one more angle just be smiley
12:30bit smiley not bad not bad just maybe we got a lovely side profile get my earrings in there might be a tax
12:41deduction oh yeah I don't know if it's true our nine artists will be creating portraits in a range of
12:50different mediums whether or not they include the sitter's personal object is up to them that's
12:56perfect for me to secure a spot in the semi-final the artists need to present a portrait that stands out
13:04from the crowd and captures the essence of their sitter are you painting on anything hmm what are
13:10you doing Jenny a painting a block of wood from the Pilbara sir Wow took up basically all of the
13:15weight of my bag so I bet it did the painting doesn't work out you've got a lovely chopping board exactly
13:2125 year old Jenna Pickering is a community development officer an untrained artist Jenna loves to paint in
13:31intricate detail and her self-portrait took 30 hours to complete so this is what you're working
13:38on and working oil paint over gesso yes normally I try and match the canvas to the subject but without
13:46knowing Amanda beforehand I couldn't pick a canvas that would have suited her and seeing the other
13:52work that you've done the level of detail is pretty amazing yeah I know that they're not for our paintings
13:58how are you going to translate those particular skills I practiced for this just someone in town
14:05just a little one I've got I've got a few fun ones of painting someone on a guitar at the moment like I
14:11love musicians I reckon they're my favorite people to paint so no offense I know no trying not to take
14:17a face you've got to read the rooms yeah Blair's painting while wearing headphones and Daniel starts
14:31his painting with a bright yellow outline both of us like working from life as opposed to taking a
14:38photograph awesome yeah so you're going to try to find what I call like a hero pose
14:45more like that cool it's hard you have to pick a point like this is what I do like I know it's a bit kind of
14:55ticking yeah but if I put this here then you'll know that that goes like that yeah so I do prefer to work whole and solely from life
15:06every time I embark on a new portrait there's a bespoke challenge like especially if I've never
15:15met them before and you've got to make these kind of snap decisions I like that Ava Plough's artistic talent
15:23was recognized early he won his first painting award at just 16 years old in 1997 he made headlines when
15:33his portrait of the bananas in pyjamas was controversially rejected from the Archibald prize sparking
15:40discussion around the nature of portraiture just two years later he claimed victory winning the
15:47Archibald packing room prize with his striking portrait of acclaimed actress Deborah Mailman
15:52hi Ava your portrait of Deb is a big favourite at the portrait gallery
15:59oh no it's always yeah it's good isn't it yeah she just shines out actually she kind of she's got that
16:06similar exuberant energy yeah are you going to bring that into this portrait I want to bring in the
16:16steely determination rather than smiley I kind of want to show her eyes and in her arms that kind of
16:26strength Avett starts his portrait with earthy colors Matt's artists begin to outline him on their
16:35canvases Blair it doesn't look like much yet but I'm just doing some the mapping stage we'll see
16:42I need to have my headphones on to keep myself focused I usually play music or listen to the
16:52office on repeat Blair an emerging artist from Sydney's northern beaches has recently been
17:00diagnosed as autistic she embraces her ability to hyper focus often becoming so immersed in her work
17:08that she can paint for 10 hours straight creating pieces that reflect her deep connection to her
17:14craft hi there Blair oh hi hello you've made a strong start I can really see that you're using a single
17:20tone color here you've got a kind of a brownie ready umber and you're sketching out yeah yeah that's
17:25usually how I start and I can see you've got a lovely picture of Matt here with the mug yeah I mean I
17:31didn't want to make him have it up to his face all day how much is coming from life and how much is
17:36coming from the photograph for you at this stage I like to look at the center because reading
17:42expressions doesn't come naturally to me when I'm talking to someone the best way I can do it is
17:48through painting so I want to still get their vibe yeah Alison paints on a mirror while Lucky starts with
17:59black strips of black strips of tape CC approaches Madison and asks do you happen to like sunflowers
18:05yeah because your bright smile reminds me of that thank you thank you Madison beams
18:13instead of sitting on a chair I'm gonna make her sitting on a bunch of sunflower yeah
18:18see see Hong has a Bachelor of Fine Arts and is currently studying to be an art conservator at the
18:28National Gallery of Australia her self-portrait painted in oils showcases what she loves about
18:35the world and reflects her joyful personality hi CC this is looking gorgeous thank you she's a
18:44beautiful lady so what made you get into painting painting it just it's just something I've been
18:52doing my whole life pretty much I start growing and I would in kindergarten and just it become like
18:58natural thing to do like you know go to art school even I have no hearing problem but painting
19:05it's a way for me to like overcome it I can kind of put my emotion like on a canvas like whatever I'm happy or not
19:14yeah I love it Amanda does someone tell you when you're an hour in or anything is any markers of
19:24time or is it just my five o'clock shadow that's the giveaway Jenna paints on the white strip of her
19:30small piece of wood while the portraits start to resemble their subjects artist you are one hour down
19:37we have three hours to go Jenna and a bit pool faces you got this team Matt let's go make me look
19:48beautiful Natasha takes a deep breath I'm traveling okay yeah I'm kind of on the walking the tightrope
20:00right now between having enough time and not I'd like to be home before Christmas if that's all right
20:06with everybody yeah you and I vote Natasha Zoraikat is a graphic designer who was born in California to
20:15Jordanian-Palestinian and Russian Ukrainian parents her self-portrait is part of a larger series
20:23examining the connection between humans and the natural world I know Natasha I was drawn in because
20:30I saw you're doing something really interesting you created a drawing and you've put a wash over the
20:35top yeah to create what a medium tone it's called the subtraction method but it's like to remove the
20:41lights quickly so yeah I've got a mid-tone here exactly right and then I'm gonna I'm pulling away the
20:45lights okay so you're modeling now you're getting those three dimensions you're getting those proportions
20:50right and then when I start painting I'll go on with the darks it sounds like you've got your head
20:54in the game though it's really fantastic to hear yeah hopefully I do excellent thank you a few people
21:01are watching Jenna work Luke okay we're fairly early on in the process how are our painters faring so far
21:08Cece is a very gestural painter she works with a lot of bold color her self-portrait there's a lot
21:15of detail so I suppose in the later part of the paint today once she feels confident that she's
21:20locked in Madison's likeness we might see that starting to develop Avet was one of the more
21:26experienced painters Avet is a professional and he also works from life so there's no photograph
21:33and Madison's an athlete she's got a lot of energy she's moving a lot so he is struggling with that one
21:40thing I was impressed with straight out of the gate was his understanding of tone and color he captured
21:46the beautiful tone of Madison's skin immediately he had an eye for that color this is the professional
21:51painter's eye a painter who understands that color and tone and form are all parts of creating a likeness
21:57now going over to Matt O'Kine's pod Blair what I love about this she heard Matt's story there's
22:04something about the way she's captured this mug that's very important to him it epitomizes the
22:09concept of bittersweet it's really quite impressive she has her own touch and her own style she's building
22:15up what we would call tash marks they're sort of individual strokes of paint and it's building up this
22:21surface and it's a really wonderful surface to look at a great materiality to that surface of
22:26the paint she's getting a really good likeness I think Blaire's one to watch for sure yeah right
22:32now lucky tape I thought that this would be a quick process but it is actually very slow and very
22:41detailed and his process is actually very sculptural he is trying to capture the spirit and likeness of the
22:48sitter but I think in terms of getting exacting proportions this isn't really something that's
22:54the forefront of his mind Jenna one of the self-taught artists how is she faring in the competition she
23:00was so poised and confident going to that canvas and she was getting the proportions really well first
23:06pass and she knows what she wants that's what I love it's it is unexpected for a self-taught artist her
23:13style is a realist style can she manage to achieve that level of finish in four hours we'll have to
23:18wait and see but at this stage I think she's made a strong start does there anyone you you're worried
23:23about I'm all right for us if I'm honest because there are a lot of strong paintings today and I
23:27think it's gonna be very very hard for us to come up with our top three okay lucky's a black man in his
23:33birdies and he's wearing a cap with headphones over it he cuts thin strips of electrical tape with a box
23:39cutter then uses the black tape to create Matt's outline Abdul man it's looking amazing so far you're
23:48the only one who's not using paint so that the paintings I kind of get where they're going I know
23:52where they are and I can imagine where they're going to end up but this is the only one where I
23:55have no idea this is like way more complicated yeah yeah lucky Lati is a former dancer turned visual
24:02artist who works exclusively with electrical tape this unique artistic exploration began
24:10during covert lockdown offering lucky a new avenue for creative expression when his primary art form
24:16was restricted is it always electrical tape or do you use other types of tape as well always
24:22electrical tape I suppose it's got a flexibility to it yeah yeah turn it yeah I just don't try to get
24:29to like this because sometimes it's very hard the mouth is his the nose is his eyes is his bro
24:35yeah yeah you got the likeness right a time-lapse shows lucky's tape portrait coming together
24:41Daniel a bald white man for beard put some yellow paint on a paper plate is that your favorite dish
24:49Daniel why do you use that little paper plate it's handy it's not very conventional hmm like the other
24:54palette to have your party pies on yeah my palette cost a dollar 99 from Woolworths Daniel Kelly is an
25:03indigenous Australian artist based in New South Wales in addition to working as a flooring
25:10contractor Daniel has gained international recognition for his album cover commissions so
25:17you're a waddy waddy and you and man yep yep I love hip-hop and you've painted the album covers of
25:26NWA Cypress Hill yep yep yep I've worked with DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill Ice Cube Ice Cube yeah
25:35Westside Gun Method Man Scarface Freddie Gibbs Stove Gold Cook Westside Gun I mean Rob Marciano like
25:44these are my heroes I pinch myself because hip-hop raised me so yeah I love it I love it wait till my
25:52rap album comes out you'll love it I bet I'll do the cover for you please people wander around the
26:00partition to watch the artists work Miranda okay we are halfway two hours to go
26:08Natasha let's out a breath as she starts applying darker shades to her portrait of Amanda is that
26:17information fully with horror you could fly to the Gold Coast in that time Matt slowly slips off his
26:26sneakers am I allowed to have taken my shoes off these little puppies for Rome get the donuts on screen
26:38he's wearing donut socks how are you going mate I'm good look to be fair I had to take the shoes off
26:46permission or I wasn't sure actually I didn't want to throw anyone out of whack no one got their erasers
26:51out yet have you been writing jokes in the time down it's actually the opposite this is my um worry
26:57time I might be moving house so I'm actually mentally Marie Kondo-ing in my head right now if I lived in
27:07the same state as you I'd probably ask if you wanted help moving thankfully we don't do you
27:12Sandia's portrait of Matt's coming together it's full of earthy shades and wide brushstrokes hi Sandia
27:21it looks to me like you're capturing a really great sense of proportion fairly freehand you
27:27haven't mapped it out with grids or anything like that no I'm trying off late I've been trying freehand
27:32yes but I'm happy that if it's working it's it's good Sandia Mohan Padna is an IT professional
27:40studying at the Melbourne Art Academy her self-portrait is a poignant depiction of a
27:46significant year representing her return to art the arrival of her son and the passing of her mother
27:53we heard that lovely story about the mug which connects into his family and his mother I lost my
27:58mom as well so and I know that feeling that what he was trying to explain you know that missing feeling
28:04plus all the good memories from childhood so I can very well relate to what he explained I'm hoping to
28:12capture exactly the same so I can for me this is almost like a personal painting yes she's including
28:19the mug in her painting as well chatting to Madison Abdul points at her gold medal this is freaking cool
28:28yeah that's awesome it's really heavy if you want to pick it up a little bit can I is that I don't
28:32want to like music but as soon as I saw it I've been wanting to pick it up yes oh yeah that is
28:39heavy yeah wish I brought my phone that's so good Alison looks like she's struggling
28:51I don't think I've got the likeness and it's really annoying I'm getting really upset that
29:07I don't like I know it's not right so I just have to keep looking Alison Smith recently transitioned
29:15from a career in graphic design to fine art her self-portrait explore themes of identity and
29:22perception reflecting her experience as an adopted person so Alison I've got so many questions I
29:31haven't seen anyone paint on a mirror before yeah it's just something that's kind of evolved over time
29:37but for me it's not always about the mirror it's about the surface because it's really slippery because I'm
29:43really gestural it makes it really easy for me to move the paint around in a more sculptural kind
29:47of like form with your other paintings that you're doing and paintings that are similar to like similar
29:52to this how long do they take you normally I'm quite comfortable in the the four hour time zone
29:57four hours yeah I feel like nowhere near where it's got to go to so we're on a journey okay fantastic I
30:05can't wait to see where it goes me either Jenna the time is moving way faster than I would like it to
30:14but finish the face to a degree I'll still go in and like add darker and lighter parts um as I go
30:21along but the face is done I think it's it looks pretty spot-iron but the five o'clock shadow and
30:28everything Amanda laughs hello Amanda hello Luke your bear Peter he brought in today is your first
30:37toy um the first toy I remember that's right Peter Peter the panda I don't like my kids touch any of
30:44the childhood toys I'm really scared they'll break all these transformers I'm worried they'll oh really
30:48yeah do you let your kids play with him growing up see there's not much damage you can do to Peter
30:52obviously that man she doesn't already done he doesn't transform into anything apart from a bad
30:56smell um no I haven't deliberately kept him away from them but there's not much in him that two
31:02small boys would have been interested in he was never more exciting than he is now no and yet he
31:07was everything they were simpler times weren't they yes thanks Amanda okay thanks Luke if anyone needs
31:13me I'll be here full focus now the artists work faster to complete their portraits
31:21Luke artists we have one hour to go Alison sucks in a deep breath and shakes her head
31:32are you keeping that piece of tape on your beard for a reason I need to do some cap but I don't
31:49think I'll get to it so I just make get a little bit of expression in here Alison I don't think I'm
31:58ever going to be feeling confident um like painting is like a battle so I don't know who's winning
32:05I've got heaps of time yeah you can do your hands if you want yeah I know or just the background whatever you want to do
32:15I know I just
32:16Avid and his wife stepped back from his painting
32:19you know see see on that Tokyo thing right see that logo that red blue and green is that Tokyo that's
32:29the our Paralympic logo so it's our Olympic rings equivalent for the Paralympics yeah it's called the
32:36Agitos so if I were to paint that in yeah people instantly know what it is yeah see there's a logo
32:44there's the Paralympic rings oh you want to put it in the background somehow well there's going to
32:53be sort of like a bit of a slashy kind of almost a bit gestural yeah yeah Avid adds in the red blue
33:01and green slashes of the logo in the background hello Madison hello how are you going good have you
33:09been painted before I have but not with this kind of intensity no not the audience and cameras
33:14no none of that has the uh the scrutiny you get um on the track helped you with just having three
33:20people constantly like look at you and then go back and paint has that made it easier no it certainly
33:25has it usually I'm not like looking right back as it happens to be honest yeah even if you don't
33:29like something are you good at pretending that you love it or no no no okay so something to keep in
33:33mind guys now I feel like it's all on here the whole time in sped up time-lapse people and crew
33:40move around the triple partition with each celebrity sitting in front of a different multi-colored wall
33:45artists you have ten minutes CC checks her watch and wafts air on her face does anyone need anything
33:54for me the last ten in poses faces pretty much on time I mean there's things that I wish I could get
34:04to like a little bit more detail but overall I'm just glad that I got most of the face that's debatable
34:12how much I've got to go the stress solves are too high so everything feels like a bit panic
34:18avid applies the finishing touches time just to put the cherry on top
34:26it's definitely to crunch and I'm doing the detail but go on with it it's gonna happen
34:33as long as we finish lucky applies more tape to Matt's face Daniel works on Amanda's stuffed panda
34:41toy and CC's painting is bursting with color artists your time is up
34:47the artist check each other's paintings I don't think I have any blood left in my wrist
35:04Miranda before the judges choose today's winner to progress to the semi-final the sitters will each
35:12get to pick their favorite portrait to take home Amanda thank you for your patience it is now time
35:18for you to look at the art artists can you please turn your easels around Amanda's jaw drops and her
35:28eyebrows raise as she sees the paintings for the first time all three paintings have Amanda in profile with
35:39lots of color with a miniature realistic Amanda poking out of the gap in the wood plank Jenner's stands out
35:46can I have a closer look everyone had such different techniques I had no idea
35:54Daniel's portrait I couldn't see what your arms were doing look at the colors and Peter the panda
36:03oh wow I just love it and thank you for giving me luxuriant hair Daniel thank you Amanda looks at Jenner's
36:16painting you have done an entire portrait with brushes smaller the ones I use for my eyeliner there's
36:25something secretive and and wise about it I don't know how you've managed that I look like the elder woman of some kind of tribe and I had no idea what you were doing Natasha because you were wiping big things look at this the skin tones
36:44it's just beautiful oh thank you Amanda I'm so sorry but you have no don't make me don't make me pick one person I'm sorry oh I see myself in all of them and this is so much more than I possibly imagined
37:03Jenna I'm going with you
37:07a jubilant Gemma covers her face
37:12these are beautiful congratulations everybody
37:17everyone claps each other
37:19Matt I've got good news you can move around
37:25okay change poses you can do whatever you need shake the hair out
37:29all right calm down guys
37:33well artist do you mind turning around your easels please
37:37Blair, Lucky and Sandia turn their paintings around
37:43and Matt claps
37:45Blair's painting is an impressionist mix of earthy colors
37:49Lucky's tape portrait is a black and green pop art piece
37:53and Sandia's has a calm looking Matt blending into a warm orangey yellow background
37:57I love the shimmer of this one this is like the colors are so strong here and so uniform
38:05yep that's that's great and I like the shading around my beard area
38:11thank you
38:13this is definitely the most unique it's really incredible
38:17Lucky's tape portrait
38:19with the tape I can't believe that this is made out of tape
38:23amazing stuff and the hand is like so
38:29that's that's my big
38:31lanky hand
38:33right there
38:35Blair's piece
38:37and this is really
38:39really amazing
38:41I think it really captures that
38:43that feeling of the happy
38:45sad and the nostalgia that I
38:47think of whenever I look at that mug
38:49he's looking down at the mug with his eyes half closed
38:51so if I had to choose one
38:57I'm going to be choosing Blair's portrait
38:59thank you
39:01it is
39:03so amazing
39:05thank you so much
39:07thank you
39:09thank you
39:11Blair smiles proudly as the other artists cheer her on
39:15Madison how are you feeling
39:17god I'm so nervous to see them all
39:19I don't know why I'm nervous these guys have been painting for four hours I'm so excited
39:23okay artists turn your easels
39:25cc Allison and avert show Madison their portraits
39:35Madison beams as she takes in the three very different paintings
39:41these are unreal guys
39:43I feel like there is something in every single one of them that resonates
39:47like you've all captured something like entirely different if that makes sense
39:51I feel like this is what I get seen as like most
39:55Avett's painting
39:57as an athlete is kind of that calm kind of serious intense peacefulness
40:03this one resonates a lot it's almost like
40:07I feel like you've just seen me sitting for four hours slowly losing my mind with restlessness
40:11and it's like when you're kind of like alone with your own thoughts and who you are
40:15when no one else is kind of around that feels very much
40:17Allison's painting is made up of shades of grey with pink highlights
40:21this is so hard
40:23how could I don't know how you possibly
40:25I feel like you
40:27have the best outlook on life
40:29I feel like you see
40:31in other people I think what we all see in you to be honest
40:35every time I looked over at you while you were painting
40:37it was just the most like incredible energy that you had you were in your own world but
40:41and it all shows right there
40:45a beaming Madison's resting on a bed of sunflowers in Cece's painting
40:51what are you going to go with?
40:53I don't know how to do this
40:55I think every now and again you kind of come across someone that sees something in you that
41:01not everyone necessarily does
41:03I think I'm going to go with yours
41:07a joyous Cece covers her mouth
41:11they share a tearful hug
41:17they share a tearful hug
41:21oh my god
41:23you're so beautiful
41:25Cece wipes away tears
41:27now the sitters have chosen their favourite artworks
41:31it's up to the judges to evaluate today's nine portraits
41:35and choose one artist to go through to the semi-final
41:39the three paintings of Amanda I think are really really strong
41:43and all of quite different styles
41:45starting with Daniel's
41:47now Daniel has worked very hard
41:49and there's some really cool passages of painting
41:51possibly my favourite thing in this pod
41:53is this
41:55Peter
41:57look at this sad panda
41:59it's just
42:00fantastic
42:01so extraordinary
42:03that sad little panda is really winning the show
42:05but this painting isn't about Peter
42:07it's about Amanda
42:08and so unfortunately I think
42:09we're going to have to judge it on that likeness of Amanda
42:11and it does fall down
42:13Natasha was worried about time
42:15but now that I see this finished work
42:17I think there's a really lovely sadness that's coming through in the eyes there
42:23there's some soul in those eyes that I really love
42:26for me this feels like a sketch
42:28for me she feels like
42:29this is a
42:30if you were going to go in
42:31and you had a portrait commission
42:32this is the kind of likeness you would take in a first study
42:35it doesn't feel like a resolved composition
42:39then how do we feel about Jenna?
42:42Jenna has done something quite extraordinary
42:47her style is a realist style
42:49it's extremely exacting
42:51she's working with tiny brushes
42:53and this is something that would normally take many many hours to achieve
42:59it's a simple composition
43:01it's a simple background
43:03but with the four hours she's done an amazing job I think
43:07we have three portraits of Matt
43:11let's start with Sandia's painting
43:13Sandia's looks a bit incomplete
43:15these passages of paint in here, that face
43:17I think that's really beautiful
43:19but it is absolutely hurried
43:21this is really a ten hour painting
43:23she just needed more time
43:25Lucky is a really different kind of artist for us to look at
43:29hmmm
43:31there's definite eccentricity here
43:33in fact my favourite part of it is the hand
43:35there's something about the drawing of the hand
43:37that I find really charming and expressive
43:39I think this is a very very fun image
43:41and I think it says something about Matt
43:43that the other two don't
43:45Matt looks the most playful in Lucky's
43:47I have to say I'm very impressed with what Blair has managed to achieve
43:51what I really love in the storytelling of this one is
43:55Matt talked early on about his name is Matthew
43:59that's what's on this mug but now he's known as Matt
44:01whereas what Blair has done
44:03you can see the map very front and centre
44:05but the H is there as well
44:07so it's like a tiny little sweet nod
44:09to the transition from childhood to adulthood
44:12yes
44:13Matt stares at his mug contemplatively
44:16now we're going to look at three portraits
44:18of the absolutely effervescent Madison
44:21Avett is a very confident hand
44:24has he captured her spirit? I don't think so
44:26that's okay though
44:27it's okay to have Madison in a moment of quiet contemplation
44:31really nice that he's included these colours
44:34referencing the rings of the Paralympics
44:36I think we do see Madison the athlete in this
44:39that steely determination
44:41and what it takes to win a gold medal
44:45Alice has struggled to capture the likeness here though
44:49I really like the colour and the line
44:52the reflective surface coming through beneath
44:54I find it quite compelling in some ways as a painting
44:57but I think we can agree it really just isn't Madison
45:01Cece's painting
45:03immediately we can see that Cece has captured that effervescence
45:09it is such a lovely, light, joyous representation
45:15I still think that we're sitting very close to the line of caricature here
45:20I would have liked there to be a little bit of counterbalance in this
45:23the sweetness and sourness that you need from a really compelling work of art
45:27I agree
45:28there's a sun in the corner of Cece's painting
45:32now the old metal chimney and steel lattice work of the power station
45:37congratulations
45:38you survived the day and created an incredible variety of work
45:42the judges have looked over your portraits
45:45and have chosen their top three
45:47and the first artist is
45:54Jenna
45:57Jenna's deliriously happy
45:59she bends over in shock
46:01as Cece celebrates her
46:03the second artist is
46:09Blair
46:13Natasha hugs a shocked looking Blair
46:17and the final artist to be shortlisted is
46:21and the final artist to be shortlisted is
46:27Avett
46:29Avett
46:31Avett claps with red cheeks
46:33it's night time now
46:37it's time for the artist to discover who'll have the chance to paint a life-changing commission to hang in the National Portrait Gallery
46:50the artist selected to go into the semi-final has created a very well-planned painting with a strong likeness and a very impressive degree of finish and that artist is
47:02Jenna
47:08Jenna
47:10Jenna hunches over
47:11Jenna hunches over
47:12Jenna!
47:13Jenna!
47:14Jenna!
47:15Jenna!
47:16Congratulations!
47:17Thank you!
47:18Thank you!
47:19Thank you!
47:20Thank you!
47:23What we saw from Jenna today was incredibly impressive
47:26her technique was impeccable
47:28this is an artist who's early on in her career
47:31and what she is producing is such refinement in her line, her technique
47:35to be through to the semi-final is insane
47:38to be picked in the people that even got to be a part of this is insane
47:42so to be through to the next round
47:44never thought it would be possible
47:46this is crazy
47:47Sped up time-lapse shows Jenna's portrait coming together
47:50from the line work on a grid
47:52to filling in the colours and background of her painting of Amanda on wood
47:56next time in the final heat of the competition
48:00nine artists will get the chance to paint three very different celebrities
48:05Frank Finger and his champion muster dog Annie
48:09I know she'll be a good girl and stay still but what about you?
48:13Oh I think I'll be alright
48:15Please welcome Chloe Hayden
48:18How honest will you be with your feedback at the end?
48:21Stay tuned
48:23Alex Lee!
48:27What if they see something in me that I've been trying to keep hidden?
48:31So, who will have what it takes
48:34It's a lovely face, it's a lovely likeness
48:36and I think it feels like quite a finished work
48:39To claim the last spot
48:41That's rubbish
48:44In the semi-final
48:48Oh my god!
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