Landscape Artist of the Year

As with 'Portrait Artist of the Year', this series follows the journey of some incredible artists. Unfortunately, it's the judges who disapppoint! 2018 competition clearly demonstrates this with the chosen winner who produced the weakest pieces out of all 3 finalists. The subject matter for this particular commission piece was so important, and I feel the final piece was an incredible let down for the venue and the series!

I thoroughly enjoy the concept, but dear gawd. The judges have some hidden criteria that means they can't pick anything but artists with big chunky abstracts that are more suited to a Walmart art section or mid-grade hotel rooms then the hallowed halls the winners end up in. They end up all being pretty similar (even to Tai-Shan's own style). It can be disappointing is maddening.

What is interesting to a critic, much like all art, isn't necessarily going to translate well in posterity. It would be great to get new judges, and do some episodes of how the contestants are after a year or two.

Still, fun for most of each episode..

They always select 8 artists with unique styles and its a pleasure to watch them work. The best part is watching as a blank material is transformed into a work of art, how each artist interprets the scene and create an atmosphere. The part i dislike is how the judges always seem to pick the same type, style of artist to win. All the winners (to me) seem to end up with a very traditional end product. Yes, the artist puts paint on the canvas in a contemporary way but the final product is so very traditional.

Another high point is the wild card artists, so wonderful to see such a large group of artists just enjoying doing their work.

Just like the Portrait Artist of the year, Great watching the artists and seeing their different styles but oh dear, the judges really let it down, that affected portrait artist, Thai-Shan Shierenberg, whose paintings are all done in the style of Lucien Freud is awful, plus a curator and an art historian, same judges for the Portrait one. Agree with other reviewers, they always pick some posh Sloane type who speaks the same affected language and often some talented art graduates and artists are overlooked. Focuus too much on the clunky coarse style that Shierenberg uses in an obvious attempt to be "contemporary " but sadly behind the times by about 15 years now. New judges needed, perhaps some Art school professors and tutors and relevant artists, please. After first couple of series, got too predictable and irritating to watch, you knew which picture they'd pick before the end of the show.

They should replace the judges with objective ones. Those judges are biased to modern art bordering to abstract. I wonder if the organization or sponsor of the £10,000 commission has rejected some works since some do not jibe with the existing collections displayed in their museum. Most of the collections are classic or impressionistic but the commissioned work is sometimes too abstract like in the earlier season where the painting highlights a glob of green mass in the middle, you can't even decipher what it was.

They should stop wasting the time and effort of great artists if they will only pick their personal choices who are sub par those participants who turned out great works. Artists using etching, decoupage, print, etc., will never get a chance to win even if they make it to the semi finals or finals coz their works are not what the commission sponsors are looking for, and definitely, not the choices of the biased judges who I think already have pre-determined winner in mind before the start of the season's production, since they already have the list of artists and their submitted works before the season starts.