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Tuesday, January 20, 2026

BRAND NEW FORMAT for Landscape Artist of the Year Series 12 (2027) announced!

I can hardly believe it. Landscape Artist of the Year is having a RADICAL change of format for Series 12
  • which will be recorded summer this year 
  • for broadcast in early 2027.
The Public Announcement - see below

Just over a week ago, I wrote a post titled How Pottery Throwdown is a better programme than Artist of the Year

At the weekend I highlighted in my first review of the new series (Review: Episode 1 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 11 (2026) - Derwent Water) how absolutely ridiculous it is to be deciding who is the best artist for a commission - when all the artists are being asked to paint very different locations - some of which bear no relation whatsoever to the commission!

Back In December, I had the opportunity to chat to a member of the production team - and said what I don't write on this blog.

Yesterday I was told via email that LAOTY is changing its format - but the announcement was not yet public

This morning we have the formal public announcement 
on https://skyartsartistoftheyear.tv/landscape-artist-of-the-year/ of the change I was told about yesterday.  See belo
We have some exciting news. Landscape Artist of the Year is introducing a brand-new format.

For the next series, we’ll select ten artists to take on landscape challenges across the country, returning week after week to create work in new locations. Each episode will see one artist eliminated, giving those who progress the chance to create multiple works and develop their practice over time. More locations mean more time in the pods, greater opportunity to refine your approach, and a fuller chance to show the range and consistency of your work. By following the same artists throughout the series, ideas can evolve and the quality of the work can build.

If you’re a confident, adaptable artist who enjoys responding to different places, conditions and moods, and you’d like the chance to create work in the pods more than once, we’d love to hear from you.
As part of the show we will still be inviting artists to join us as Wildcards and paint along with the pods, but we won’t be running the Wildcards as a competition.
In summary:
  • 10 artists (rather than the 8 different artists per episode) will be chosen for the whole series
  • one leaves each week
  • ALL the artists create artworks at ALL the locations
  • More scope for:
    • showing what you can do in terms of range and consistency
    • getting used to being filmed so you perform better (that's not what they say but it is what will happen)
  • artists can still turn up to paint as "Wildcards"
  • NO Wildcard competition
  • If you apply, your work will be reviewed by prominent judges from the art world. 
  • If selected for the show, you will receive £500 for each episode you take part in, plus reimbursement for travel, accommodation, and meal expenses. 
  • An additional £10,000 commission will be awarded to the winner.
  • the deadline for entries has been brought forward to Monday 23rd March 2026.
    (it was in May before the change).
This televised art competition gives artists four hours to paint a UK landscape. One artist is eliminated each episode, and one finalist is ultimately crowned the winner.

Filming the heats of Landscape Artist of the Year is planned to take place around the UK in Spring/ Summer 2026
The Benefits for Artists
READ MORE......>>
Posted by Making A Mark on Tuesday, January 20, 2026 0 comments
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Monday, January 19, 2026

Last Call for Entries for Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours Annual Exhibition 2026

You have 4 DAYS LEFT to submit an entry to the OPEN Annual Exhibition 2026 of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours.

Alongside the work of its elected members, leading figures in contemporary watercolour and water-based media, the RI welcomes both emerging and established artists who push the boundaries of the medium through traditional and experimental approaches.

 

Why enter this exhibition?

  • This is the biggest exhibition dedicated to paintings in water colours in the UK.
  • around 50% of the artworks are from the Open Submission
The exhibition is the largest of its kind, featuring over 400 of the finest works from around the world.
  • displays a wide diversity in approaches to paintings using watercolour media and subject matter - from traditional to the more contemporary.
  • although more contemporary artwork has a lower profile in the show and tends to favour acrylic and mixed media.
  • relatively little of what I tend to term the "can't draw, can't paint, won't sell" school of painting which lacks application to both concept and craft
The overall impression is that most of the artists in the show, on the whole, are very much more inclined to paint natural scenes associated with the outdoors - and have a distinct preference for more traditional media.

To be more precise, last year:
  • more than a third paint landscapes or cityscapes
  • just under 20% painted portraits and human figures
  • 14% painted still life and interiors
  • less than 10% painted Marine and Coastal OR Wildlife and Animals OR other topics.
  • very few people created abstract paintings
This is worth a study - in terms of what subjects get painted in what media
(from my review of the 2025 exhibition - see link above)
 

Call for Entries for RI Annual Exhibition 2026


The deadline for entries for the 214th Exhibition of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours is 2pm on Friday 23 January 2026
  • Information about how to enter starts on the Mall Galleries website
  • Submission is via the OESS website
  • There is a single-stage virtual judging process for ALL submitted works.
  • Selected works should be delivered to Mall Galleries, London, for inclusion in the exhibition by Saturday 16th March (10am-5pm)
  • The Annual Exhibition opens on 25 March and closes on 11 April 2026
Who can enter
READ MORE......>>
Posted by Making A Mark on Monday, January 19, 2026 0 comments
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Sunday, January 18, 2026

LAOTY: A video all about the Pods!

This is a fabulous new (Instagram) video about the PODS from the Landscape Artist of the Year team at Storyvault Films (who make the programme) - highlighting:

  • the Production Designer Bruce French - who is responsible for the design of the pods and how they work
  • the Pods and how they work
This post also takes a look at:
  • some of the places the pods have been - across the UK and Ireland
  • what a production designer is
  • who is Bruce French?
The Pods Video

It's a fabulous short video giving your a very nearly complete insight into what they have to do and how they work (obviously somethings are "secret").

 

 The Pods in Action - in the UK and Ireland

The Pods at Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire
See SERIES 4: Episode 1 
The Pods at Felixstowe Docks
See Series 4: Semi Final
READ MORE......>>
Posted by Making A Mark on Sunday, January 18, 2026 0 comments
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Saturday, January 17, 2026

Review: Episode 1 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 11 (2026) - Derwent Water

This is the first of my (very long) reviews of the eleventh series of Landscape Artist of the Year in 2026. I've watched and reviewed every series of Landscape Artist of the Year since 2018. 


This review follows the same format of my other reviews and considers.
  • the location and weather
  • the artists' profiles
  • themes arising during the episode
  • who was shortlisted and who won
However I do have a couple of important preambles and information about the commission before we start.

If you want to make sure you get every review of every episode in this series, might I suggest you review my page about how to subscribe - absolutely for free.


Preamble - about the "Landscape Artist of the Year" programme

The episodes are broadcast at 8pm every Wednesday evening on Sky Arts (on Freeview Channel 36 and Sky and Now TV).
  • The Series has 9 episodes - at 9 different locations in total (6 Heats + semi-final + Final + Commission)
  • Six Heats are held at each of the six locations which were filmed last summer in the 
    • Lake District (Derwent Water and one other location)
    • London (St James Park and The Thames from HMS Wellington, London)
    • Dover (Dover Castle, Kent and Dover Ferry Point, Kent)
    • as has happened in the past there are urban structures than landscapes.
  • 48 artists are selected from "c.2,000 applications" (they always say this and I'm not sure I believe them).
  • Each selected artist arrives with their submission landscape (which I will keep coming back to repeatedly regarding its importance)
  • Eight of these artists compete in each heat on location in a pod 
  • Each artist has 4 hours to paint the location landscape the artists are given - from the pod they are assigned (unless you rebel as some have done in the past - and turn round / wander off / etc!)
  • 50 wildcard artists also attend each heat - although we see very little of them
  • Three pod artists are shortlisted and their submission artwork and heat painting are considered together
  • The Judges have changed since the last series - see below
  • the winner of each heat moves forward to the semi-finals
  • The Semi Final and Final look as if they will be at two very big structures
    • The Ouse Valley Viaduct, West Sussex
    • Falkirk Wheel, Scotland
  • In the Semi-Final all the heat winners and one or more wildcard winners will compete for the three places in the final
  • The three Finalists produce two paintings - a commission (prior to the final) and a painting in the Final - in 4 hours. 
  • One artist is chosen as Landscape Artist of the Year
  • The Winner receives a £10,000 commission to produce a landscape artwork for a nationally important museum or art gallery 

The Series 11 Commission


The £10,000 Commission Prize for 2026 is to create a landscape of Ireland's Holy Mountain, the pyramid shaped Croagh Patrick - an important pilgrimage site in County Mayo, in Ireland.

Croagh Patrick in County Mayo, Ireland - the subject of the commission
Croagh Patrick, nicknamed 'the Reek', is a mountain with a height of 764 m and an important site of pilgrimage in County Mayo, Ireland. The mountain has a pyramid-shaped peak and overlooks Clew Bay, rising above the village of Murrisk, several kilometres from Westport. It has long been seen as a holy mountain.
The painting commissioned (by Sky Arts) will be on view in The National Gallery in Dublin after the series finishes being broadcast in Spring 2026.

What we need to know about the Commission
THE VERY BIG QUESTION FOR ME

Do the Judges KNOW what the commission subject is going to be when the heats start and they start selecting "the best artist"? 

  • I would have thought you would have to - in order to be able to make sensible decisions for the "client commission". Note that I'm working on a "horses for courses" principle here. (i.e. you're probably NOT going to choose a portrait artist for a major landscape commission. However within landscapes, people also have preferences - expressed by their output eg urban vs rural; structures vs land) 
  • Surely - in principle - EVERY finalist ought to be somebody who could do a very good job of the commission?
  • However, a recent conversation I had suggested that might NOT be the case.....
I think this is something that needs to be spelt out.... 
Maybe in this next series being filmed this summer...???

Surely the whole scope (the locations) and intent (who are the best artists?) of the ENTIRE LAOTY Series should be focused on who is the best artist to deliver the Commission?

You would think so wouldn't you.....?

Preamble - about my reviews
READ MORE......>>
Posted by Making A Mark on Saturday, January 17, 2026 0 comments
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Thursday, January 15, 2026

Kate Bryan is no longer a Judge for Artist of the Year

You, like me, may have missed the announcement from Kate Bryan that she has stepped down from being a Judge for Artist of the Year Programmes created by Storyvault Films for Sky Arts.  She's been a Judge for both series for 13 years.

The announcement came via a post on her Instagram account (see below) - and NOT via the Artist of the Year account.  Which I thought very odd. Normally any well planned announcement goes live contemporaneously. 

(The latter was of course in the middle of its social media marketing in the week run up to the launch of the 11th Series of Landscape Artist of the Year - and you don't "pull focus" on one of your major social media plans!)

Here's the text of the announcement

Post on Kate Bryan's Instagram account 5 days ago (Sunday?)

What's very unclear is what's next

I'd love to know the reason why....

It's a Goodbye rather than a See You All Later.

Given the timing, I wounder whether it might be linked to an annual renewal of a contract - or not as the case might be.

People normally have a plan, a Grand Plan or at the very least a "to do" list before jumping ship.  However, based on her website and Instagram, it's unclear what Kate Bryan's is - as her message above says nothing. Her website also needs a major update. 

So my queries start with:
  • Does her Curatorship of the  ever growing Art Collection for Soho House now require more of her time
  • Is she trimming and refining her portfolio of interests and client and making them more focused and profitable?
  • Is there something completely new in the offing?
  • Does she want to spend more time with her daughter?

I have found one thing - and I can well understand why this might be thought of as a bit of a conflict of interests.

There is a new art competition - and I can do no better than to quote from the news I found. Although this was announced last November - with few ripples hence I've only just found it.

A collaborative competition between Hisense and VIDAA Artwork is being run in partnership with Portrait Artist of the Year and Landscape Artist of the year judge Kate Bryan

Launched by TV manufacturer Hisense, the contest has one top prize of £1,000 and a 55” Hisense Canvas TV. The winning piece - along with those of 19 other finalists - will be unveiled at an exclusive exhibition at Dolby House in London.

All 20 creations will then be showcased on Hisense’s new Canvas TV, a 4K QLED television designed to resemble framed artwork. When switched to Art Mode, it turns any living room into a gallery.
Daily Mirror 14 November 2025

Whatever the reasons, Kate Bryan is no more in relation to Artist of the Year. She was my least favourite Judge, by a long way and for a variety of reasons which I won't spell out here.


PLEASE can the next Judge be an active portrait artist

It will be interesting to see who replaces her on Portrait Artist of the Year which kicks off in April.

I can think of any number of portrait artists who would do extremely well in the role.

I'm very happy to make recommendations of people I know who are

  • excellent portrait artists;
  • with good critical faculties - specifically related to portraiture and commissions; 
  • who are also articulate; and 
  • "perform" well in front of cameras.
There's another important criteria which I'd be happy to spell out to Storyvault Films.

Posted by Making A Mark on Thursday, January 15, 2026 0 comments
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