Review: Episode 7 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2019
Episode 7 produced a bit of a pink shortlist - three girls on the shortlist with a dominant pink tinge to the portraits with colour, a graphite drawing was accompanied by a vivid pink scarf and the background included some very strong pink!
I'm beginning to think the descriptions should be Students, Amateurs and Professionals.
There were four amateur artists - two of which ended up in the shortlist - and one of them won!
The sitters for Episode 7 were:
That said they might not have been there for some of the artists because they were only looking at their technology.
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| Lucy Fall, Annie Lee and Catherine Noone waiting to find out the winner of Episode 7 - who each draw or painted one of the sitters |
The Artists, Self-portraits and Sitters
I'm beginning to think the descriptions should be Students, Amateurs and Professionals.
Professionals
- Hun Adamoglu (Facebook | Twitter | Instagram) - video - took 4 days to create his self-portrait which was about his connection to his Cypriot heritage.
- Neequaye Dsane (Dreph) (Facebook | Twitter | Instagram) - video - He has an Art, Design and Media degree and is as influenced by comic books as old Masters. He's well known as the street artist Dreph and has worked for three decades producing street based painting in Asia, Africa, the UAE, Central and South America and throughout Europe. He produced street murals - do have a look at his websites and in particular at his giant portraits in the street. He now produces giant murals for publicity for events eg Idris Elba's film Yardie and Michelle Obama's book 'Becoming'. This is his webpage about painting Jamael Weston
he is best known for his large-scale murals and oil paintings. His portraits and their accompanying backstories present an alternative narrative, a tribute to living unsung heroes and heroines.
- Lucy Pass (Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest) - video - She paints within a certain constrained palette and also draws. She's from Lancaster, draws and paints great eyes and confessed to being a big fan of Steve Mangan! Not a lot more about her on her website.
- Khushna Sulaman-Butt (Instagram) - video - Born in Lancashire. Graduated in 2016 from Oxford University with a BFA Fine Art. Artist-in-Residence, Kensington Aldridge Academy (the school at the foot of Grenfell Tower). Currently doing an MA at the Slade. I recognised her straight away as she was selected for the BP Portrait Award Exhibition in 2017. Her portrait was of a group of the friends she made, while studying at the Ruskin School of Art, Oxford University. I met and interviewed her at the time - see BP Portrait Award 2017: Artists with their paintings
- Phil Tyler (Twitter | Instagram) - video - an experienced British painter who has exhibited his work throughout the UK who is also an Art Lecturer at the University of Brighton - which I guess is why the idea of a whole day to paint sounded such a luxury to him. He has exhibited in the ING Discerning Eye, Royal Institute of Oil Painters, The Lynn Painter-Stainers prize. He was also shortlisted in the 2018 Heat - and lost out to the eventual winner of the Portrait Artist of the Year 2018.
Our lecturer Phil Tyler starred on @SkyArts Portrait Artist of the Year on Tuesday 📺— University Brighton (@uniofbrighton) 28 March 2019
He painted actress and presenter Angela Griffin 🎨 Great work Phil 👍 pic.twitter.com/ndjNymJhIn
Amateur Artists
There were four amateur artists - two of which ended up in the shortlist - and one of them won!
- Annie Lee (Annabella Lee) (Facebook/ Twitter / Instagram) - video - Took her art A Level a week after the heat. Now studying at Central Saint Martins. Spent an hour plotting features before starting to paint.
- Catherine Noone (Instagram) - video - Widnes based Animator, Illustrator and Designer. Attended the Manchester School of Art for an MA Illustration with animation
- Emily Sharples - video - student and part-time hairdresser; about to start an Art Foundation Course at Camberwell
- Sharon Wright - video - A retired receptionist who lives in Suffolk. She is a regular painter who prefers to paint from life. She's a member of the local art society who entered for the prestige of the programme.
The Sitters
The sitters for Episode 7 were:
- Angela Griffin - a well known actress who worked for many years on Coronation Street before becoming involved in other series such as Lewis.
- Gina McKee - an English actress who won the 1997 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for Our Friends in the North
- Jamael Westman - an actor who Graduated from London's RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) in 2016 and has the lead role in the American musical Hamilton in the West End
The Self Portrait Review
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Discussions and Observations
The better the sitter the better the portrait
The artists were very lucky with these three sitters - they all maintained very steady poses - with no slouching, twitching or nodding off!That said they might not have been there for some of the artists because they were only looking at their technology.
