Painting Ricky Wilson - Portrait Artist of the Year - S06 EP06 - Art Documentary

[Music] hello we're at Battersea Arts Center  finding out what gets artists inspired it could be color or a subtle play of light or even  a celebrity in a whopping great prize welcome back it's portrait artist of the year 2020. taking part  in today's heat are seven professional artists Nick Richards Chris Eastham Jacqueline Marr  Thomas McGregor christabel Blackburn Lee Putman and Leo crane I want to start now because  as soon as I start painting I can get in the zone and forget about everythin

g else  around me and just paint paint [Music] and there are two amateur artists Sebastian Bishop  and Wendy Wallace I like to do 110 and I am pretty competitive I'll try not to novel anybody  but you know you never know what will happen our nine artists have just four hours to create  a portrait of a celebrity sitter she's very red yes it's associated with passion love innards  they'll need to impress all the judges I've got to pick between one of these two if there's anybody  overlapping yes I

'm not oh they're competing for the chance of a lifetime a 10 000 pound commission  to paint songwriting Legend Nile Rogers for the Royal Albert Hall [Music] so which artists can  take the pressure of the challenge if you try and go too fast I'll leave a big black splodge right  in the middle of his forehead like I can't get out to the semi-final you were with oils for a  long time no I started about nine months ago okay so you started working with oils nine  months ago he started gridding last

week you've done one self-portrait you're in  portray artists of the year yeah you can have a wing at the tape named after  you about eight months time [Music] while the artists prepare for the day ahead the  judges look at their self-portraits judges let's celebrate the wall the people you have selected  from the submissions to be here today [Music] uncaptivated by the glasses and  the light reflection that comes from them this is a symphony of warm  gray tones it feels Lively and inviting I lo

ve this Dynamic way the face is painted  that it's sort of Shifting in and out of focus it's fantastic and the posture and the pose  really adds to the character of The Sitter himself it's very dramatic I love the way  it sort of emerges from the different paint layers then you get to different colors coming  from the bottom there's just so much energy detail there's a very resting head but what I like  about it is stepping into a different world it's a very dark space this penetrating gaze comi

ng out  of the darkness the eyes are absolutely piercing here we have a fan of portrait it's a tour de  force there's no other word for it I mean the colors the fact that he's included so many  Figures it's just full of story what really draws me in are the faces of the children I know I  think this is just absolutely marvelous I want to be painted into this I want to get in the boat  that's true I'm quite intrigued there's just a Clarity she sort of removes all the noise  and then just focuses

in I feel like I've got such a strong sense of her tentatively  sitting on the chair sort of saying will I actually get in to the competition you  know I find that quite endearing [Music] now this is very interesting it is pyrography  pyrography okay would you explain it it's an electric tool it can actually burn into wood  so you draw effectively like you would with a pencil it's very persuasive I think I think  the use of the wood grain is really effective particularly in the hair and the skin

I  mean the scarf is absolutely magnificent the way the paint has gone down is What  attracted me to this it's got a lovely sort of yummy texture and there's such this  wonderful focus on her head that head really so strong you get the sense of it just  in motion the head has just turned yes wow I I just love the way that the Torso  is delineated by the pooling of the paint these strains are natural colors but which  are really believable considering how small it is it does hold a sort of uh we

're done  in an hour well we'll have four today please with tools and paints all laid out the  artists just need a celebrity sitter artists your sitter today is a singer-songwriter  he's the front man of an award-winning Indie band who have headlined the world over  I predict a riot for Ricky Wilson as lead singer of the Kaiser Chiefs Ricky achieved  three Brits a stream of hit singles across eight albums and was chosen to be a judge on The  Voice ah now you strike me as a man full of energy no

there's a huge amount of melancholy  behind the smile and the clown you're a clown but there are tears seeping out of me but we'll  get some tissues okay have you had your Portrait Painter before yes but only by myself oh you're  an artist yeah I was an art teacher how does that make you feel looking for some advice looking  for some advice eyes and ears are the same height that's it thanks artists your sitter is an actor  and the theater director he also heads up the anti-corruption unit and th

e BBC's line of duty so  no bribing the judges please welcome Adrian Dunbar before he stint as a TV superintendent Adrian  came to the world's attention through big screen hits such as my left foot The Crying Game and  hear my song which he also co-wrote you look so amiable you know for us you're quite forbidding as  a figure so to what extent does the parts you play affect your personality once you take the makeup  off you take the rest of it off don't you so you kind of leave it behind and is

that difficult  you don't go home well maybe maybe do a bit of that but uh no it's not difficult how do you feel  about sitting still for four hours I might have to get up and go to the toilet then again oh we  give you breaks oh you give me breaks that's good whether it's hard living students  or 70s activists your sitter today doesn't shy away from formidable  roles and her recent experience playing an art gallery assistant may come  in handy today please welcome zowie Ashton since her TV debu

t in fresh meat zowie has  appeared in wonderlust gorilla and Netflix Thriller velvet Buzz saw and played Emma in the  critically acclaimed production of betrayal in the West End and on Broadway how are you I'm really  well yeah not intimidated at all well there's quite a few people here aren't there have you  heard your portrait painted before no I've never sat still for more than five minutes oh you're  a fidgeter yeah this is going to be a challenge for you it will all right I'm up for it tho

ugh  artists how would you like zowie to sit I quite like the hands sort of to be nearer to your face  oh almost like a Vogue the situation I thought you've got to find a position that's comfortable  I know it's surprisingly long time this feels very much like me okay at home if you could focus your  eyes somewhere yeah maybe you're sort of in the mid distance okay whoever you feel comfortable  for the next four hours you know okie doke I'd like to have my legs crossed yes and I don't want  any

teeth in there you don't want any teeth no I mean I spent a lot of money on them well you're  going to unveil them at some ceremony yeah I'm saving it for the Knighthood okay I think we're  there good luck Ricky good luck artists thank you [Music] artists we won't keep you waiting  any longer you have four hours to create your portraits good  luck your time starts now foreign [Music] beard paint or pencil most of our artists today  are sketching a likeness using traditional media One is using py

rography a technique with its  own problems in a competition like this [Music] my speed is by how fast this thing will  actually go over the wood I'd like to be able to put more detail in the shade to bring  it more alive but I know I'm not going to have time for that so I'm just gonna have to crack  on and try and cover as much space as I can Wendy Wallace is from Essex and her self-portrait  took 28 hours she discovered pyrography when renovating her kitchen but has found a way  to take this D

IY tool into her art [Music] it's lovely watching you work and I realize  it you can get quite subtle effects you can you can graduate the heat on the tool so that's  generating heat yes into here which transverse and this is numb this is burning the wood yeah  however if you make a mistake there really is no going back as well yeah I've found I've had  to change my style slightly for the practice I've had it up a lot higher and work a lot  quicker but if I had this up hot and I put it straight

on I'd end up with a black blob  so I'd blow on the nib which takes a little bit of the heat out instantly for when it  touches the wood well it's masterful at the moment what you can see is incredible  thank you very much thank you [Music] Thomas you've got quite a big canvas there yeah  she's got really strong shape so I just wanted to get everything in really so we'll be keeping an  eye on you to see how long that pencil stays in your hands what's the ideal time frame within  about 30 minutes

to get everything in Thomas McGregor lives in London where he works part-time  in a mental health unit his self-portrait took two months and shows him juggling life from family  and work commitments to his love of painting your submission there's a lot of Rhythm and movement  in that and I can see in the shape of the body you've got that beautifully there yeah there's  quite a lot of force shortening so just trying to play with the perspective a little bit adding  the feet to be more of a focal

point here as well it'd be great if the dress makes an appearance  yeah yeah well I'm looking forward to seeing this it's 20 minutes in and while some are still  working out the position of features one has figured that out and moved on to something new  [Music] hello we haven't been going very long and you have completed a very fine sketch already and  is that just a study it's a study drawing so I can blur that Ricky get an understanding of his face  and make mistakes in the drawing so that b

y the time I get to a painting I can make him emerge out  of this oily mess but marvelous slap on I love it Leo crane is a freelance animator from London  having proved his skill in Japanese watercolor in his submission and charcoal for his initial  sketch he's just as happy using oils for the main portrait today you seem to be using a  palette knife in a very Rough and Ready way it's just more fun that way okay because when  it's white there's nothing to work with yeah so I'll probably get some

thing that hopefully  looks like a face and then as time goes on I'll try and refine it directly yeah he looks  slightly sleepy I don't know whether he needs a coffee or a talking to I don't know it's pretty  hitting Stills murder on the coccyx yeah classic [Music] um you've got 150 brushes here yeah and they're  all square is the square brush what makes your paintings flat I quite like a clean Edge yeah it's  just the brush which feels good to put paint down with and there's so many because I'd

have to  keep washing them [Music] the Bell Blackburn is a professional artist from London who painted  Mira sayal in the 2018 Heats her self-portrait in oils took eight days and she draws inspiration as  much from modern day life as from contemporary art we really like your submission because you had  gone into this sort of rather flat pop art way of reducing things will we see that today you  will see it today I think the reason that's half probably is because I spend a lot of time painting 

Anonymous figures in galleries you can get a real sense of the person from the way that they stand  and their body language so I do a lot of those I'm a massive people Watcher I could do it all  day long no how is Adrian as a sitter Adrian's got such powerful features which is perfect  being able to sleep and be still at the same time it's pretty skillful for us thank you we're  almost an hour into today's four hour challenge agent has got perfect face for  what I like to do reminds me a lot of

my husband actually I shouldn't say that really but um he does be a little bit  more love involved in it as well I think I've blocked in some color quite quickly  basically a long time ago I just had five bottles of household red Emulsion so  I deprived all my canvases with red and I've got used to it it might be a  gamble it's only a painting it's fine I'm not very used to working on lightness I'll  just try stuff see if it works I'd rather it go wrong and I was bold than play it safe and  feel

like I might miss the trick [Music] here at Battersea Arts Center Adrian Dunbar  zowie Ashton and Ricky Wilson have spent the last hour being scrutinized and while  the artists paint what they see they must also consider what to leave out to suit their  style and the shape of their canvas [Music] did you just come with this one board or do  you came or two just in case and what's the other one like it's like a design oh I guess  you really knew you were going to take this approach yeah what is

it that you like about  this verticality I think because I can get the shoulders and torso in there may be a hand if I  can but I don't have to worry about too much of the background I'll just focus on kind of  like a full length Sebastian Bishop works for a vegan food Box Company in Glasgow he  painted Sophie ellis-bextor in the 2019 heat and likes his paintings to feel sculptural  his self-portrait was painted in seven hours so second time round uh what are you going to do  differently this ti

me I'm using the red pencil this time I think sometimes the dark charcoal  lines can overall the whole drawing and using red I can put dark over the top so I'm not so  restricted in these black lines you look and sound confident super calm I like it you're  making me feel better it might sound it wrong [Music] I haven't been painted for very long so it's  a bit hard for me to know exactly what works and the only person I've had set for me was  my girlfriend and it did not go well so I am a bit n

ervous Lee Putman is a former dancer from  Watford his submission is his first self-portrait and took 30 hours you've been dragging the paint  across there fearlessly I found that it really helps me if I just throw stuff on go a bit nuts  in the beginning and then refine the bits that I like later on how long have you actually been  painting uh about in nine months I think it is August last year I'm still here and that's  rather wonderful that you're here with us you started with a grid do you u

se grids a  lot I used it last week for the first time most portrait artists like their models to be relaxed and two of today's sitters  are taking that brief very seriously should we wake him up are you  falling asleep over there yeah it's really hard looking that's Fame  stay still Jacqueline's quite happy with you falling asleep yeah normally  don't slump forward or start dribbling Jacqueline ma lives near Falkirk in the Scottish  lowlands she studied painting in Florence inspired by Old Mast

ers like Caravaggio whose Works rely  heavily on the play between light and shade and you've got a profile are you happy with that yeah  it's nice to let on the back of his head we've got some nasally coming in on his forehead it's  very happy yeah like a good profile dozy profile in each heat the backdropped the sitters  pays tribute to a different artist today we're celebrating the Black American  artist from Michelle basquia it was this incredible figure died way too young so the sets  celebr

ate his love of jazz music with the piano keys the fact that he used to wear suits in the  studio and get them covered in paint and the set behind is the sort of lithography that you  might find on a hundred dollar bill he was part of Andy warhol's Factory so that's alluding  to his interest in consumerism how is Adrian Dunmar as a sitter he's incredibly still I mean  even when he nodded off a little bit he's abs and managing to keep that head up rather  than having it sort of drop onto his ches

t I started off it wasn't very good I  guess I was falling asleep a bit but I think it's the days going on I've  got a bit better I hope so anyway here we've got a nod to his habit of painting an  Armani suits he had so much money at some point in the 80s that he'd dress up very smartly and  get paint all over his suits what a Mucky pup you want to look sharp when you're painting you  might want to look something you don't wear a ball gown to go water skiing do you so why would  you wear a sharp

suit to paint I've seen somebody wear Swan Wings going water skiing well you  live in a world that I can only dream of or acting yes that's true how's Ricky getting on as  a sitter when he's awake he has crossed his legs which he's cursing but it gives the pose a nice  little twist and asymmetry so he's good [Music] I don't think people staring at me  realize that I'm really studying them all there's one lady that every time she comes around  she looks like this she's quite disconcerting how is

zarya as a sitter she's  exceptionally beautiful what a fantastic dress I think we're all  swooning over her dress and she's got great Poise she's sitting very still I  think they've got a bit of a gift [Music] for me art is about disruption and making your  personal interpretation Universal and I think Basquiat really embodies that I'm really glad  I'm here on basket day it's a good sign [Music] I wanted to just put in some black colors  for the background because the background and the model

are all kind of integrated then  I've been using a hairdryer because I'm using acrylic paint drying the layers and painting  over them so that the colors don't become muddy Chris eastam is a retired art teacher from  Leeds who likes her work to convey energy and a sense of Journey she often  paints over a canvas with figures and colors already on it but today  she's decided to start from scratch well you put a lot of movement into your painting  already even though you've got an incredibly still

sitter yeah she's very still yeah I like to  keep the brush marks quite Lively kind of makes the colors a bit more exciting you know when you  blend it it's a bit like a photography no laughs Nick you seem to have blocked in a good healthy  amount already so I was trying to get the likeness without actually doing much detail almost  like with a minute you know make every bus stop Count you're on a resistant painter you  mustn't paint too much yeah definitely yeah Nick Richards is a part-time gr

aphic designer  who's been a fan of this show since it began in 2013. his submission was painted in  four hours mostly using four colors I'm seeing the same great warm gray tones that  was in your submissions this your favorite color palette yeah it's it's what they call the  Zone palette so it's just black yellow Corvette and white yeah quite reduced yeah you spotted  something Ricky which some other artists haven't there's a reddishness to him isn't there oh yeah I  mean the next thing I was g

oing to do was bring in the more Reds on the cheekbone and those you know  it's very little there but he's already right yeah [Music] pluses have bad habits and  with just two hours left they must find ways to counteract them [Music] to add greeny blue just helps me  keep everything muted [Music] in my final two hours I'm going to work as  fast as humanly possible the important bits are nearly there when I start to tackle the  dress I could ruin it all in a minute [Music] the colors are quite bl

ocked in at the moment I need to refine our features  and the whole the whole head [Music] here at Battersea Arts Center zowie  Ashton Ricky Wilson and Adrian Dunbar are finding creative ways to pass the time [Music] but two hours in what do judges make of the  portraits so far we're halfway through how's everybody doing they're all doing brilliantly  actually they've made good starts in the different media that they're working with  so it's interesting Zoe seems to be faring better than most I

mean this is probably the  strongest section all three artists have got a likeness and that's a do with attitude I think  Zoey's wearing this fantastic outfit with his fantastic shoulders and the patterns those sort  of exudes energy and they're picking up at it Thomas for example has really gone to town on  that Sally's giving him a cider it's sort of a really malevolent characterful stare so he's not  only given us this full length Serpentine figure but he's also cloped it in this color that 

is so rich and full of story even on its own um Sebastian are you happy with what he's  doing I like Sebastian's painting so much I've sort of got anxiety because anything that  good at lunchtime can quickly disappear in the afternoon of the whole section his likeness was  always the best it really has caught her I'm not since that Chris he's got a good likeness of  zowie I like the form I like the composition but I really want to see her do now is spend more  time trying to get that lightness a

ctually it's really come on in the last half an hour or so so  I'm feeling a bit more positive so painting Ricky we have three very interesting artists for me Leo  is a bit like Jacqueline they have neither one of them have got the likeness yet I don't know  if Ricky's got a difficult lightness to cap after him Nick has got the likeness yes there's  very little detail there but what is those correct Adrian's been painted by Wendy christabel and  Lee or were curable Lee as I'd refer to them colle

ctively Adrian has quite a presence doesn't  it is that translating into the portraits yeah I think there's such a fantastic Clarity to what  christabel's doing the way that she simplifies the form yet it still feels really believable so a lot  of early promise yeah I got my top three already okay let's throw that one in there  subjects by change of course yeah of course in the fine print yes yeah [Music] it's interesting watching the people as  they wander about you're sort of here but you're n

ot here because the paintings  themselves are like Cipher through which people are looking at you so it's a  cannabis very strange dynamic [Music] foreign expectation of what they're going to  be like I just hope they're not terrifying in the sense that sometimes someone can capture  elements that you're like huh those aren't the most attractive elements that's not the  ones I wanted to put necessarily on show I haven't looked at anything yet which is  scary I see the palettes there's using very

odd colors but I'm excited I'm nervous  [Music] light and large enough with a limited palette but it's even trickier  for artists working with vibrant colors I am experimenting a bit with some brighter  colors because Ricky is quite luminous in these lights I've got a lot of colors here  that maybe don't really exist but I see what I'm trying to do so whether other people  can see that as up to him to the side [Music] it's very bold yeah I think everybody  sees color differently so maybe I won'

t see color the same as anybody else well  what is interesting is these great slabs of color really create the planes  of her face I like them to describe the form so I might use some oranges  and greens in the shadows very good foreign it's helpful to have at least a mid-tone  color or something so you've got something to pull away from if that makes sense I mean  it's associated with passion love violence yeah in its yeah that's not intentional is that  we gonna survive in one piece today yes

in your painting yes there's gonna be less red than  some of the nicer things are going to come out a striking accessory or item of clothing can  be a gift for an artist but how they choose to paint it can make or break their portrait  Sebastian to now you concentrate on the dress which is Bonkers I see a lot of like silver tones  in it so I think scraping the black away has like made the gray and I'll give you some texture as  well and I can just keep putting it on taking off so we're just taki

ng it off it's about  volume isn't it as well oh yeah because you do get a sense of body in that dress yeah  that's good that's what I wanted [Music] how you doing he looks like his glasses might  fall off why because his nose is slippery they are wonky on his face but not quite  this wonky so I need to just sort that out he's quite intimidating he is about yeah are you  worried about how he's going to react to painting speaking could be quick it could be quite severe um we'll see we'll see or m

aybe he won't maybe  I've given you something else to worry about that you weren't even thinking about yeah they were  quite guilty about that sorry no that's all right the artists have just half an hour  left to finish their portraits it's not going to be as finished  as I would like it to be but I'm hoping that I can get the majority of  his face and time is just the factor laughs I think I'm most concerned about leaving all  these lines on the painting I'll put maybe a bit too many lines on t

he grid so I'm worried  and I won't cover them up in time [Music] I'm not as far forward as I would have liked  but just got to keep the speed up if I can another four hours would be nice the artists are in the final moments  of today's Heat at Battersea Arts Center where they're painting Ricky  Wilson Adrian Dunbar and zowie Ashton what are you prioritizing mainly just  tweaking the face and just fiddling a little bits but I don't know if that's good  or bad oh no is it Panic fiddly a little bi

t I could probably work more on the  mouth but I think I'm in danger of making it worse as much as I am  making it better [Music] I think I'm just playing now and just putting  paint on and I'm not really sure why to go I think any minute I'm just going to stop  I don't want to ruin it very last minute thank you I might just leave it I can't do  anything in five minutes it's too much of a stress panicking a bit oh just playing some last tweaks in the hair I could ruin it  the whole thing now [Mu

sic] artists your time is up please put  down your equipment and stand away from your easels [Applause] [Music] [Applause]  [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] that's how he did it how was it you did it my  heart was really really going for all of you the anticipation is actually quite real and if you  had a peek no it's the most self-control I've ever exercised in my life right well let's not put it  off a moment longer then artists turn your easels [Music] yeah well done it's so myst

erious it's  so atmospheric I love how you've interpreted the dress in the space I love it  it's beautiful they've all got such different levels of drama to them and I look like I'm  really thinking like a very intelligent woman so incredible I love how abstracted it is I love  the lightness in this well unfortunately you don't have to pick one oh no they're all brilliant  um I'm gonna go with Chris [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Adrian you're released from custody oh  thank God for that how did

it feel all day it was lovely what about the BDI of  the artists the artists were being Beaty enough I thought but we'll find that  out shortly I think well we'll find it out now all right artists would  you like to turn around your easels foreign wow wow very good work already wonderful likenesses in such a short space of time  I'm very impressed with that [Music] very interesting technique and it's a very  detailed piece of work that's very good I mean it's a fabulous likeness there's no  doub

t about it thank you yeah well done very interesting I like the way you've  got the fact that I've got one ear lower than the other lies my glasses to be at a  really jaunty angle there yeah lovely work it is good as well it's because he's got a  different angle on things I like it great head of hair yes that's right that'll keep me going  for another few years I reckon nice work it's your moment to choose right um I'm gonna choose  Wendy's actually [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so let's have a

look you ready okay  artists please turn your easels wow wow hey crumbs what was the first  one to see myself in different aspects well that's good let's go meet the  artist yes that's what I look like when I'm not trying to put the buzz on so  I think you've captured that incredibly I am gobsmacked but to be honest  I think it's absolutely beautiful I just can't believe it's with me  it's such an honor thank you so much in many ways it's what I would  want from a painting of me if I had to have

one Commissioned I love  it completely I really do thank you I think I think it's brilliant thank  you Jacqueline okay time to pick um so yeah [Applause] as the artists finally take a break after A Hard  Day's painting the judges look at their portraits Lee's sort of division looks like  a sort of disapproving dad but it is a good likeness yeah I think the  color palette is great I really love the way he's treated the hair it's  quite fun this is just marvelous I really love Crystal Ball's cool

palette  it's got that sort of sharpness and freshness and delicacy to it I think she caught a  very good likeness and that green in the back of it is just inspired as a color to  work against the skin tones it's perfect I have to say Wendy's completely convinced  me there's a lot of tenderness there for me though it falls down with the color and  the lack of oomph that the submission had it's a lovely painting and a lovely portrait  of somebody but it's not Zoe oh I think it does look like zow

ie I think it's a fantastic  bit of painting because it's so sort of lively and peculiar and then quiet at the same  time I mean it's a great thing to look at Zoey's dress was just crazy and Sebastian found  a sort of interesting painterly short how to get it in there I do think that he's made her  look a bit dour I mean the eyes are so loaded I think Thomas's portrait is the cross  between a comic book hero and vampire I mean I love the fact that it's got so much  storytelling in it but I like

the fact Thomas actually tackled the whole body and Zara's  head is small but it's all packs of punch Jacqueline has really made a beautiful head of  Ricky but this feels like some Roman Senator just about to set off to battle I think  our big problem was in the nose area but I think ultimately she did a pretty good job  of capturing her lightness off him actually Leo made a fantastic charcoal this morning  there was something there which was more Ricky but somehows he's found a way of making br

ight  green yellow and pink workers of believable head Nick's head is good and he caught  the tiredness of Ricky's eyebrows and eyes yeah I think the head is very  quiet and beautifully intensively put together but this is just too  distracting for me this background seeing the paintings alongside each other helps  the judges choose their short list of three that's a strong day isn't it yeah a really good  day hmm they're Central to definitely in my top three and I've got a pick between one of t

hese two  at the ends is anybody overlapping yes I'm not oh can we just argue what is wrong with that  one there's nothing really wrong with it to see what all three of these would do next  I think that's where I am I'm thinking about competitors in a competition I think all  these artists actually moved on today it's a very contemporary top three I think that's  something we should really celebrate yeah [Music] artists we loved watching each of your  portraits taking shape it's never easy but t

he judges have chosen a short  list of three the first artist is christabel Blackburn [Applause] [Music]  and the second artist is Chris Eastham the third artist to be shortlisted  Thomas McGregor [Music] two other great works there and when Ricky  Chase minor is really proud I don't have to take a big wet oil painting home now  which is quite nice as well [Music] in a day with some very strong portraits all  round it seems we're left with three fairly non-traditional yeah I think we've got some

  slightly quirkier painters here but they've all found a way to add their own personality their  own stamp with christabel I could see a painting in a dealer's window and know if it was a crystal  ball because of the star she's established yeah I think christabel she's almost like a minimalist  artist she takes out the background the context everything else and she produces something  that's tight and it's got a bit of a scandy cool feel about it well it's quite different from  Thomas yes every

element of Thomas's paintings are impeccably placed with the submission the Gaze of  his children draws you in and it's done the same today those bright red shoes draw you in it's  imaginative abstract but absolutely believable yeah I think story is almost more important to him  than painting and possibly the same group you say of Chris there's an isolated figure dreaming  in a painted space I haven't seen that before and that would be her sort of calling card yeah  and I think it's a very intu

itive method and as a consequence you get a real sense of energy and  liveliness in her paintings but I also really like that really heavy white sweep of paint around  the profile over her shoulder emphasizing the puff of the sleeve yeah she was very proud of  that she said the juicy piece of painting well you've chosen three artists with very strong  individual Styles and now you have to pick one Chris Thomas christabel you each each stand out  today sadly only one of you gets the chance to do

it again the artists that the judges  have selected displayed a strong sense of their own style and an interesting  approach to likeness that artist is christabel Blackburn [Applause] [Music]  [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] um in total shock I 100 did not expect this  to happen I'm over the moon I'm so happy I think christabel's work communicates a lot  through its Simplicity I think she'll go on to do well in the competition [Applause]  I thought Christopher's got quite a unique likeness

she's managed to talk to something  about consider I think it's great [Music] his work is how economical it is it's that  combination of finding the style that is beautiful and cool and with colors that sing but it also  gives you an insight into the sitter that is Magic good painting under so much pressure  and I'm just so proud of myself [Music] foreign [Music]