(dramatic music) - [Frank] Hello, you join us at the impressive Lyme Park in Cheshire, just on the edge of the Peak District.

The first location in this year's search to find Britain and Ireland's most outstanding artistic talent, and this time we're heading outside.

- Eight amateur and professional artists will have just four hours to produce a painting that impresses our three demanding judges and claims a place in the semifinal.

- So, sit back and get ready to enjoy some really great art.

Welcome to a brand new series of Sky Art's "Landscape Artist of the Year."

(dramatic music) - [Joan] Over the next eight weeks we're setting up home in spectacular National Trust properties up and down the country, delving into one of the great genre of art history in a quest to discover the next Constable, Turner or Hockney.

- Over 1,000 artists applied and those considered by our judges as the very best have been invited to compete in the heats.

I think it would be good to just do that square foot of grass over there.

- Yeah.

(laughs) - [Joan] Each week, eight different artists will be given the chance to paint these inspiring landscapes.

- [Frank] All of them with one goal, to win a 10,000 pounds commission to paint one of the National Trust's most beautiful views, Flatford in Suffolk, made famous by Constable himself.

Yes, that's fantastic.

- Well, it's a start.

- [Joan] But to make it through to the semifinal, they'll have to impress our expert judges.

- [Frank] Award winning artist Tai- Shan Schierenberg, independent curator and art historian Kathleen Soriano, and contemporary art specialist Kate Bryan.

- So, that's a definite.

- Yeah, that's definite.

- It's just these two we've got to fight over.

- [Joan] But there's a twist.

Up to 50 more artists are coming along to each of the heats to try their hand as a wildcard, and if any catch the eye of the judges they could see themselves in the semifinal too.

- It's people doing something that's very personal to them, but doing it in a community.

It's a beautiful combination.

- [Frank] Whether they're painting.

- [Joan] This is cow manure?

- Yes, it's fresh cow manure from this morning.

- Where did you get the cow?

- [Frank] Sketching.

Are you a sufferer with nerves?

- A little bit.

- Because you have an enormous bucket.

I wondered if that's in case, you're overcome with nausea.

- No.

- [Frank] Or printing.

- We can't not let him finish it.

- Here we go, here we go.

(audience applauding) He did it.

Only one artist can claim the title of Sky Art's Landscape Artist of the Year.

(dramatic music) (bright music) (playful music) - [Joan] In each heat, the selected artists are a mix of both amateur and professional.

Today there are two amateur artists, Chris Robinson and Tim Galton.

- I'm very much looking forward to meeting the judges today.

I have great respect for them.

- [Frank] And six professional artists, Venetia Syms, Adebanji Alade, Marta Wakula-Mac, Sophie Levi, Sean Williams, and Jamie Hageman.

- I'm a mountain artist.

So, I'm gonna have to adapt to painting reflections and buildings.

(gentle music) - The judges select the artists purely on their talent from a digital submission of one of their landscapes.

So, today they're seeing the real thing up close for the first time.

Well, goodness me, who'd have thought when you put out the challenge landscape you'd get something so varied as this.

How does this match up to what you saw in digital form?

- [Kathleen] It's a dry point.

- Dry point.

- Yeah.

- There are some very beautiful marks, like the coppice in the back, which is very inventive, kind of, I don't know how it's done.

- [Kathleen] It's got some great color.

- [Kate] Really interesting artist.

- [Tai] I think it's a lovely piece.

- [Kathleen] And quite brave with that, sort of, completely empty sky in the background.

- [Joan] Yes, they stopped in good time.

- [Kathleen] Yeah.

- [Joan] They didn't overdo it.

Right, this one.

- When we looked at the portraiture before, we always were concerned that those people who were photo and hyper realists wouldn't be able to create a portrait in the time, but I'm also looking at the passages that aren't in the snow.

Here, for example.

They're, actually, quite loose and free.

So, I think this person possibly has an ability to do both elements quite comfortably.

- I think I should point out that there are two tiny, tiny figures there to give some sense of perspective.

Is it just showing off, do you think?

- Maybe, I don't know.

I am impressed by it.

I can't help but be.

- Well, you're meant to be.

What a deal of paint on here.

- [Kathleen] Goodness.

- A lot of palette work.

I don't remember it being so blocky.

- [Kate] Yeah.

- [Joan] Well, it's like the slate, isn't it?

I mean, the paint is like the slate.

- Yeah, I don't know what to make of it, 'cause it feels a bit too formulaic to keep using the same little blocky squares everywhere.

I wish they could loosen up a bit and make some parts much looser and allow other parts to be much tighter.

(dramatic music) - [Joan] And finally, a very delicate one.

- [Kate] Mm.

- I think they love the tree, and I think they just thought, "This tree is sublime.

The tree will be what seduces people."

- [Kate] I like the fence, actually.

I like this, kind of dirty, grubby unfinished bit there, and I'm quite intrigued by them that they would do that when the rest of it is so finished.

And given that they don't have much time today, I would hope that this artist who is proficient could undo themselves a bit.

- I do think that they will be very happy today, because they've got trees and a building.

So, they've had some practice.

- Yes, some practice.

- They start with an advantage.

So, we have high hopes of them.

(bright music) - [Joan] All facing the same view, the artists have been asked to paint a composition of Lyme Hall and its reflecting lake.

Originally a hunting lodge, the hall was transformed into a mansion in the middle of the 16th century, but such a splendid view isn't to everyone's liking.

- I think heading that way, you're looking across the building.

It's a bit more pleasing.

You're a little bit lower as well down there maybe.

Maybe this is my mountain eye coming into it.

(gentle music) - I think it's lovely.

I'm going to focus, though, on this site, 'cause I like the greens and I like the trees and this bit of water's nice.

- Water I could do without, but it's there.

I can't ignore it, and the building is quite tricky, but that's the challenge I think.

If not, it's going to end up in the lake.

(laughs) (bright music) - Artists, I hope you're ready to paint one of Cheshire's grandest houses.

- You have four hours to complete your work.

So, good luck.

Your time starts now.

(suspenseful music) - [Frank] Deciding which aspects of a landscape to feature is a matter for each artist's individual style, but for one, his day job could be influential.

- You're an architect.

- Yes.

- And you, it turns out the composition today includes a big house.

- A building, yeah.

- Does that give you a- - No.

- [Frank] An advantage?

No?

- [Chris] Absolutely not.

- [Frank] Really, why not?

- Because the last thing I want to do is draw and paint buildings.

All I'm doing is seeing an Italian building with Ionic columns and I've seen so many of them in my life.

(both laughing) My God.

I've now got to paint one.

- Chris Robinson is from Kew in London.

A self- taught artist, he likes to paint outside no matter the weather.

His submission painting is an impressionistic watercolor of the Chilterns in Oxfordshire.

It epitomizes, for him, the English landscape.

Theoretically, Chris, you could not draw the house.

- [Chris] Big risk, Frank, I think.

- Do you think the judges might be impressed by your courage, though?

- Do you think so?

- You could avoid it, though.

- You know them better than I do.

- Well, yeah, I think they'd hate you for it.

(Chris laughs) (dramatic music) - Hello, Jamie.

- Hello.

- How are you doing?

- Not too bad, thanks.

- [Kathleen] You've set yourself the most incredible challenge, because I'm guessing your work normally takes a little bit longer than the four hours you've got.

- You've guessed right, yeah.

- [Joan] Jamie Hageman lives in Fort William, Scotland.

He divides his time between climbing mountains and painting them.

His submission piece is of the mountain Blencathra in the Lake District, but it took more than two months to complete.

- I've done a very quick sketch which is fairly rubbish, but it will help me.

- I don't know, I quite like the simplicity of it.

- [Jamie] Mm, okay.

- What's going to be interesting is to see how detailed you're going to be able to become, 'cause I know that's where you feel more comfortable.

- I'm gonna focus on an area of detail, just I think this will be a little bit more of a demonstration to show I can.

Maybe the whole painting won't be finished.

- We like a sense of promise.

- Ooh.

(both laughing) - [Frank] Even though they're trying to impress the judges by painting Lyme Park, not all the artists are exclusively landscape painters.

- [Tai] Have you done portraits?

- Yes, yes I do portraits, yes.

- Have you ever had one in the National Portrait Gallery?

- Yes, yeah, I had one in, well I've had three times in the BP.

- Yeah, yeah.

Absolutely spectacular.

A very narrow faced older gentleman.

- Yes, yes, yes, Cliff.

- Very nice to meet you.

Oh, of course.

- [Joan] Sophie Levi is from London and divides her time between landscapes and portraits.

Her submitted painting depicts the rocket shaped spire of All Souls Church in London.

This was one of Sophie's first paintings using a circular canvas, rather than the traditional landscape format.

- I've only painted once on a round canvas.

It's a completely different compositional, sort of, problem, isn't it?

- It is, it is.

Yeah, yeah.

- Because you don't have the straight edges.

Does it mean sometimes you can use it as a way of bending space?

- [Sophie] Yeah, partly the bend comes from just being greedy and wanting to fit a lot in.

So, you have to squeeze it in, and partly because it's in the round to make it work compositionally.

(dramatic music) - [Frank] To create a landscape within the four-hour time limit, one artist who usually works on a large scale has had to find ways of adapting his style.

- I did some trial runs in a four-hour period, and they were disastrous, really.

So, I thought, just today in this four hours, maybe I'd be a bit more confident working this scale.

- Mm-hm.

- Mm-hm.

- It seems like you've down-scaled everything.

I mean, these are little milk for my cup of tea, and then these are, sort of, medicine packets which you're mixing colors in.

They're quite handy that mixing up acrylic in those and then sticking a bit of foil over it, rather than wasting.

You know, it doesn't come cheap, you know.

- Yeah, none of this does, no.

- [Joan] Sean Williams is from Sheffield and studied painting and print making at Sheffield Hallam University.

His submission painting is of a new building development near his father's home in Nantwich.

Today, the size of canvas isn't the only aspect of his work he's changed.

- [Sean] I've abandoned acrylics and I'm gonna go for watercolor pencils with a bit of watercolor.

- So, this is presumably a technique that you're familiar with and you've used many times to work quickly?

- Not at all, no, no.

- Okay.

- This has given me a, kind of, get out card.

If it's no good, I think, "Well, I don't like that anyway, so."

(all laughing) (dramatic music) (upbeat music) - [Frank] This year, adding a new element to the competition, we invited 50 more artists from all over the country to Lyme Park to try their luck as a wild card.

On a first come, first served basis, and no matter what their medium, experience or age, they're here to try and impress.

- Painting with all these other artists is always inspiring, but intimidating as well sometimes.

- I love the wild card area.

It feels like, sort of, a fantastic community of artists and the people just doing what they love.

- It's so refreshing just to go back to people's pure unbridled passion for art.

(upbeat music) - [Frank] And if they catch the judge's eye, they could be going through to the semifinal.

- [Tai] You've brought the whole studio with you, have you?

- I tried to.

(Tai laughing) - [Frank] That is fantastic.

- Well, you have to get a bit of violence sometimes.

- Yeah, but that, you could hang that in an art gallery.

That's a beautiful thing.

- [Joan] Now, you're still at school.

- That's right.

- You're doing A levels?

- Yeah, and I'm doing an art foundation next year hopefully.

- I like nature.

I'm a naturist.

- Okay.

- So, I'd like- - When you say you're a naturist, it doesn't mean you take your clothes off.

- Natural things.

- [Frank] Yes.

- This nature.

- Yeah.

- Not that kind, though.

- No.

(laughs) (dramatic music) (suspenseful music) - [Joan] There are still three hours of the challenge remaining but only one of the artists can claim a place in the semifinal.

- It's a bit of a slow start, a bit of a hesitant start.

If I was a race or something, a couple of lengths off the back of the pace, I think, at the moment.

(dramatic music) - I was trying to work out the last time I painted a building, and I think it was probably 2007 in Venice.

So, no, and I haven't been practicing buildings.

- I'm not over the moon about where the painting is at the moment.

It needs quite a lot of work, basically, so I'm just plowing on.

(dramatic music) (bright music) (dramatic music) - [Joan] At Lyme Park in Cheshire, we're one hour into the first heat of our new competition.

All of our artists are concentrating on their composition of Lyme Hall.

And one has quite an audible way of staying focused.

- If you watch it, you'll see it, boy, you know.

Just get into this.

Just, just take your time, baby.

Right, just all in there.

- Adebanji.

- Hey.

- I hate to interrupt your personal commentary.

- [Adebanji] Oh, yeah, sorry, I'm a bit of a maddie.

I talk to myself, yeah.

- [Frank] Is it true that you do sketches of people on the bus?

- Bus, train, Tube, yeah.

It's one of the ways I interact with people, because I don't want to be quiet in the Tube.

So, yeah, I get attention and people say, "What do you do?

Why do you do that?

Blah, blah, blah."

- [Frank] Adebanji Alade is from Kent, and alongside painting landscapes and people for a living, he's also a motivational speaker.

His landscape of the circus in Bath was made in one six-hour sitting, and features a subject he's very passionate about.

- I love trees, yeah.

I see them as human beings.

So, their creepiness, you know.

Some are, like, happy.

Sometimes weeping willows are sad.

- I am slightly obsessed.

- How does that look?

With trees?

- With trees as well.

I have hugged trees at 1:30 a.m. in the morning.

- Oh, my days.

Tree hugging, okay.

There you go.

- And you're a big man.

I mean, you could do the circumference of quite a sturdy trunk.

I have to stick with saplings.

(Adebanji laughs) (dramatic music) - [Joan] Canvas, brushes and paint are usually part of an artist's kit, but they're not the only way to capture a landscape.

- [Marta] I have some dry point needle here.

It's very sharp.

Even gentle marks.

- [Tai] They will show up.

- [Marta] They will show up.

They will print.

- How can you see what you're doing though?

Do you have to feel it?

- I have to feel it, but that's why I made this drawing so I know where I am.

- [Frank] Marta Wakula-Mac studied art in Krakow before moving to Dublin where she now has work in the National Gallery of Ireland's permanent collection.

Her landscape is an abstract representation of her favorite view in Wicklow, made by etching onto copper before printing.

- [Tai] The print you entered with, it looked like some marks had been painted on.

- No.

This kind of effect is made by sandpaper.

It just gives you nice, really subtle tones of grays.

- But you can't, I can see- - I can't see, no.

- I can see how you would see the marks you're gonna make with your drawing.

- Yes.

- But with the tones you've got to go, it's experience.

- [Marta] It's experience, yes, yes.

- [Tai] You're fearless.

- [Marta] I'm fearless.

(dramatic music) - You've recently become a full time artist, made the plunge.

- Yeah, well I finished art school last summer.

So, I decided to not get a normal job and try and make it work.

- [Joan] Venetia Syms from Salisbury studied portraiture at Heatherley's College in London before furthering her training in Florence.

Her landscape is the view towards Albania, from her aunt's house in Corfu.

- [Kate] You've got a lot blocked out here.

You've taken the distance away and you're right up there next to it.

- Yeah, I thought, to be honest, it's such a, sort of, amazing strong building that's the focus, and I want the reflection, sort of, running into the viewer.

I think that could look quite nice.

- [Kate] I was wondering if anyone was gonna take on that challenge.

(suspenseful music) (birds chirping) (bright music) - I got warned today, and they said, "When you talk to Tim, don't mention clouds 'cause he'll go on for ages."

- [Tim] That's right, yeah, but there were no interesting clouds today.

- But you knew a cumuli nimbus from a- - Fair weather cumulus.

- Yes.

Yes, from that.

I hate those fair weather cumuluses, 'cause where are they when you're in trouble?

(Tim laughs) Tim Galton is a business analyst from St Albans.

His love of art began as a child when his father, a landscape artist, used to take him on painting trips.

His landscape is of the Green Bridge of Wales on the Pembrokeshire coast.

Painted in thick oil, he used his utensil of choice, the palette knife.

What is it about that, sort of, blocking style?

- The palette knife.

- Yeah.

- My inspiration at the moment is very much the very material nature of my subject matter.

So, you know, be it tree bark, or the texture of a rock, those substances can best be described by use of a thick, loaded palette knife.

- I like the sound of a loaded palette knife.

- That's what it is, yeah.

- That sounds like something that could do a bit of damage.

(both laughing) (dramatic music) - With a possible place in the semifinal, the wildcards are embracing working so close to each other.

I love the fact you've included all the artists 'cause it's such a pretty scene, but the building is not bright red yet.

- No.

The earth will be the building to start with and then I'll point in some windows and leave about 10 o'clock at night.

- (laughs) You've only got four hours and then we throw you out.

- Yeah.

(gentle music) - Everyone's, sort of, gone 100 miles an hour and I'm just, like, you know, "It's a long day.

I can just ease through it."

- You know why, though?

That's 'cause you're cool.

- Yeah, or lazy.

- Or lazy.

It's a very fine line.

- [Artist] It is a fine line.

- [Frank] You should stick with what you believe.

- Yeah.

(phone ringing) - Is that your phone?

- Yeah, it is my phone.

- Oh, see, you're popular as well.

I hate you.

(artist laughs) (dramatic music) - We've got a watercolorist and he's done a very beautiful picture of the house.

There's somebody drawing in charcoal at the top.

It's got a great light to it, which is unusual for a drawing.

There's a young girl, her color's a bit grubby, but it's a fantastic piece of painting.

There are a handful of good artists.

So, it should be quite easy to find a winner.

(gentle music) (dramatic music) (birds chirping) - I'm becoming more and more fascinated by the painting of water.

Is it some mysterious art?

- And when it's right, it's really enticing, isn't it?

- Oh, it's beautiful when you see it.

- [Tai] The thing about water, all the edges are sharp.

So, if you get the reflection and then those ripples crisply, you get the tone of the reflection which is slightly darker than the object that's being reflected.

You get those general elements right, it cons the eye into believing it's water.

- Can I ask you one of my stupid questions?

- Yeah.

- Would you turn your canvas and paint it?

Do you know what I mean?

So, then you're painting the building the right way up.

- But it doesn't quite work like that.

If we look at the reflection, it's changing.

The water is simplifying it at the same time as it's reflecting it.

So, all the shadows are being elongated as they come down.

You can see that now, can't we?

- Yeah, in fact, the water does this, sort of, an abstract painting of the building.

It's better than the house.

- It is fantastic, yeah.

That tree's pretty good as well.

- [Frank] Yeah, I didn't even see that now.

I love walking with you.

- Stop it.

- You see everything.

And look at that man's red jacket.

It's reflected.

Can you see that?

- Ooh, yes I can.

(laughs) Brilliant.

(dramatic music) - [Frank] Our eight heat artists are battling it out for a place in the semifinal and they have just over two hours left to impress.

- That's incredible detail here.

- I want to do the reflection next, 'cause I think that's quite important.

A bit of foreground, two hours' time.

- Call it a day.

- Yeah.

(gentle music) - [Marta] So, I'm going to print yellow first.

Yeah, it's not bad.

- I'm probably a little bit behind, because there's a lot of canvas to cover still.

The house is looking a bit weedy, and that's not how it should be.

So, a little bit worried.

(dramatic music) (bright music) (suspenseful music) - [Frank] Here at Lyme Park in Cheshire, the artists who have been painting for two hours are halfway through their challenge.

- Yeah, exciting.

- But do the judges agree?

So, Chris, the architect.

- He has captured an incredible sense of mood already.

It might not be necessarily the mood of this place, but it's a very evocative piece.

- It doesn't feel like here.

- Yeah, but I don't want it to feel like here.

I'm here.

I can see it.

I could take a photograph.

I mean, it's his job to take artistic license.

- [Frank] What about Tim?

- [Kathleen] He may get there, but it feels a bit slight to me at the moment.

- I thought he wasn't gonna get there at all.

I mean, he reduced this building to this grubby little color's frontage, and then as he got there, I thought it had a little something was happening and just now he's started to produce the reflection and also the texture of the building.

I mean, I'm kind of excited.

- [Frank] Adebanji.

- [Tai] He raced off this.

- Yeah, did he ever!

- I can't believe the speed with which he got everything in place, and the water was fabulous and done with very little.

- [Frank] Jamie.

- [Kate] I like Jamie's.

I think the color choices are really unusual.

- It has no light in it.

You have the elements, but you don't get a sense of light coming from anywhere onto the elements.

- And the color scheme he's gone for is quite glacial, even though this isn't at all.

- [Kate] But, I mean, I just think I don't think we can punish someone who paints snowy mountains for bringing a bit of that to a posh building.

- Well, I think he has to compromise.

The mountain wouldn't come to Jamie, so Jamie's just gone to the mountain.

- Oh, Frank, you must have been so excited to say that.

(dramatic music) (birds chirping) - [Marta] This is amazing.

Wow.

- Oh, thank you.

- You've nearly finished.

- [Adebanji] Oh well, a long way to go.

It looks that, but because of our different styles.

- It looks good to me.

- I've been going at a steady pace, so far.

This is a wonderful bunch and everyone's way of doing it is different.

So, I wish I was ahead, but I can't do anything about that.

(dramatic music) (Chris groans) - [Joan] Chris, I just heard you say something which was, "I started to fiddle and that's bad."

- Yeah, because I had originally got what I wanted with a few brush strokes.

The colors are deadening now because I've started to put one too many washes over it.

- No, but wait a minute.

When you stand back, this cloud is terrific.

So, don't meddle with it.

- (laughs) Okay.

- [Frank] Originally used as a hunting ground, Lyme Park is known for it's 16th-century hall and reflecting lake, but there's another building that has become synonymous with the local skyline.

(bright music) (birds chirping) - You can see The Cage for miles and miles around.

Its primary function was as a hunting lodge, a viewing tower, if you like, for the ladies to watch the lords hunting.

And then they'd all come back here at the end and have a banquet.

- [Joan] Originally a timber construction, it's thought The Cage was remodeled into its current form in the 1720s and '30s by the same architect that designed the house, Giacomo Leoni.

However, the origins of how it got its name are shrouded in mystery.

- The Cage possibly got its name because it was used as a holding cell, a prison of sorts, for poachers held here overnight waiting for the local constabulary to come from Macclesfield and cart them away in the morning.

So, I guess that might be one of the reasons why it became known as The Cage.

- [Joan] After many years standing derelict, other than being used by the Home Guard during the Second World War, The Cage has now been restored and sits resplendent atop the moorland of Lyme Park.

- [Phil] Locally, it is very much an iconic landmark.

It really makes you realize you're being transported back into a historic landscape.

- Phil Stokes has devoted his working life to Lyme Park.

So, as a reward for his dedication, today we'll be giving him the chance to pick his favorite painting for himself.

You grew up not far from here.

- Not far, just in the middle of Stockport.

- And I grew up not far from here too.

So, I know this place, but I don't know it like you do.

How old were you when you first came here?

- I was 15 when I came here to serve an apprenticeship in carpentry and joinery, a four-year apprenticeship.

It wasn't just about teaching you your trade.

They taught you how to apply that to Lyme Park and care for the buildings on the estate.

- [Joan] Lyme is famous for one particular television program, "Pride and Prejudice."

- [Phil] Yeah.

- [Joan] With Colin Firth coming out of the water.

- It's legendary.

- Yeah.

- Did it happen in that pond?

- No, no, it was quite a murky little pond further back in the estate.

- You're breaking 1,000 hearts.

You're breaking a million hearts.

- I was reluctant to tell you.

- Right, you get to choose one of the paintings for yourself.

- Well, I've had a quick look round, yeah, on my way past.

There is some stunning work going on.

- All right, well, we'll let them finish before you make your choice, but once you make your choice, it's yours.

- Okay, thank you.

(dramatic music) - [Frank] Our eight artists are battling it out for a place in the semifinal, but will any of the wildcards be joining them?

- [Kathleen] Blimey.

It's positively vibrating with energy.

- [Tai] (gasps) Ooh.

- Fabulous.

- [Joan] To be in with a chance of making it to the semifinal, the judges have to agree on just one wildcard to put forward.

- [Kathleen] Hello, Celia.

I don't want to interrupt you.

You're still busy working.

- [Celia] I think I've nearly finished now.

- Well, you've made something that's quite different.

It's got a very, sort of, architectural feel to it, and we love the light that you captured coming from the orangery.

We'd like to put you through as the wildcard today, to the next round.

- Oh my gosh.

- So, congratulations.

- Thank you so much.

I'm thrilled.

- Brilliant.

- Well done, nice one.

- Well done.

- Yeah.

- [Frank] Celia is now the first person to join a pool of wildcards.

After all six heats are complete, one will be chosen to go through to the semifinal.

(dramatic music) (ducks quacking) - I'm slightly happier than I was before, but that wasn't difficult.

Yeah, it's just the time thing.

It's an issue.

- I was almost hoping you'd be struggling more so I could say to you, "You've got a mountain to climb," but you haven't got a mountain to climb.

You've got, I think, a hillock.

- [Joan] 30 minutes remain in this first heat of "Landscape Artist of the Year."

(dramatic music) - [Frank] This is print number five.

Is that right?

- [Marta] This is print number five.

The yellow was a little bit too light.

- [Frank] Okay.

- [Marta] But I'm happy about the black, but the yellow didn't work out.

So, I need to do it again.

(dramatic music) - The building still isn't strong enough, and that's what I'm worried about.

That's what's gonna let it down.

(dramatic music) - [Joan] Are you going to touch this, do you think, or not?

- Um, maybe just put dashes of flowers, just small little white dashes.

So, it's like the little, kind of, bits and pieces that might just- - [Joan] One of the dangers when you get to this stage- - Yes.

- Is to do too much.

- I know, I know, it's deadly.

- You've got to know when to stop.

- I have to.

(dramatic music) (bright music) (suspenseful music) - [Joan] Here at Lyme Park, there are just five minutes left in this first heat of "Landscape Artist of the Year."

(suspenseful music) - I'm going as fast as I can.

Yes, I've missed out all these arches here.

- [Frank] You've got the spirit of the building.

- Good, that's nice.

- [Frank] You can use that.

If the judges ask you why you haven't finished it.

- Oh, I like it.

(dramatic music) - [Tim] There isn't enough definition in it.

I know I'm panicking because you start doing stupid things.

(suspenseful music) - [Chris] How long have I got?

- There's no choice, is there?

I'm just trying to make it work last minute.

(dramatic suspenseful music) - Give me another couple of months and this would look splendid.

(dramatic music) - Artists, your time is up.

- [Frank] Please put down your materials and step away from your work.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) (gentle music) - Sheltered from the rain, before the judges look at the final landscapes, Phil Stokes who has worked at Lyme Park since he was 15 will now choose his favorite painting to keep as a thank you for his commitment.

So artists, can you please turn your easels?

(gentle music) Recognize it?

- I do, yeah, yeah.

I like the way the house is just nestled into the landscape on that one.

- [Frank] Yeah.

If you've got a big circular spot on your wall, this could be the one for you.

- [Phil] That's quite foreboding, that backdrop to that one.

- [Frank] It was a foreboding kind of a day though, wasn't it, sky-wise?

So, do you feel you have your winner?

- Yeah, I think I do.

Yeah, we talked quite a lot about the spirit of place here and I think the one that's captured that, for me the most, is this first one.

(audience applauding) (dramatic music) (gentle music) - [Joan] To help them decide which artist will claim a place in the semifinal, the judges first whittle down the eight to three.

- I'm really pleased with this one.

I think the scale of the picture, sort of, really loosened him up rather than that tight submission, and fantastic, sort of, reflection in the light and attention to detail.

Gorgeous.

- And fantastic sense of space as well.

He really has that sweeping edge of the water and the building in the distance.

- [Kate] I mean, I think it just looks like it's easy to him.

It's amazing.

- To be shortlisted would be a double blessing, but for now I'm really pleased.

I can tell my kids at home that someone chose my painting and he works here and it's gonna be with him forever.

- It's not quite as dynamic as I hoped it was going to be, and I think the sky was much more dynamic earlier on in the day.

- Yeah.

- [Tai] Which is a pity that she's lost that.

- It hasn't quite got that dynamism and energy that the other one had, and somehow the relationship between the different elements doesn't work as well as it did in the other, which, sort of, completely took you around the picture.

(dramatic music) - [Tai] The inventiveness of the little drips and stuff, it just, it makes the water very watery.

It's the only word I can think of.

- There's not much there, is there?

It's quite soft, but then I like the undone architectural drawing.

I like the aggressiveness of these trees.

It's unusual.

- Yeah.

- [Chris] It went okay at the beginning, and then it just, sort of, died away at the end.

So, I'm feeling a bit deflated.

(dramatic music) - It's got great monumentality.

That's why I'm surprised.

I just really didn't think he was gonna make it, because he took so long on the building.

- I didn't like this painting until he started making the reflection of his building.

It was a bit rougher, the way the water plays around with the sky.

It's great.

I actually like the reflection so much, I wish he'd painted the building like that.

- I think this is quite wonderful, actually, because he knew he had to compromise.

He couldn't paint the way he normally did in his submission, that fantastic mountain, but I think he's created something quite fabulous.

- [Kate] I feel like it's, sort of, David Lynch meets Tim Burton by way of surrealism.

- These very strange colors, which I thought lent it a, sort of, lightlessness to it, but it gives it a very strange, brooding atmosphere.

I think it's fantastic.

When it worked, it suddenly took me with it.

I think it's a phenomenal piece of painting.

- That experience was terrifying.

(laughs) I didn't enough time to complete my painting.

The subject matter was something completely different for me, but I produced a painting at the end of it and it's all right.

- [Kathleen] I'm having trouble deciding between the, sort of, more graphic style works on the papery style.

- Yeah.

- Whereas that is so strange, I think it's fantastic.

- It stands alone, and it's really cool.

- So, that's a definite.

- Yeah, that's definite.

- It's just these two we've got to fight over.

(dramatic music) (bright music) - [Frank] But only three can make the shortlist.

The first artist to go through is Adebanji Alade.

(audience applauding) - The second artist is Tim Galton.

(audience applauding) - And the third artist to go through is Jamie Hageman.

(audience applauding) (dramatic music) - [Joan] And commiserations to all of the artists who didn't quite make it.

Well done.

- [Frank] Yes, very well done.

(audience applauding) - I was happy about the drawing at the beginning.

But then for some reason, I couldn't get the print right so I am a bit disappointed.

- I think it's been a fantastic experience.

I don't feel down.

I don't feel indifferent.

It's great, and if anybody else sees anything like this come along and they're potential artists, I suggest they have a go.

(gentle music) - [Joan] Before they decide on today's winner, the judges chat to Adebanji, Jamie, and Tim about the work they completed today and their submission landscape.

- Did you work out your composition quite quickly, and do you normally paint as fast?

- If I was to do this on my normal basis, I would do it over three to five sittings, but there's a little bit of adrenaline and pressure and, so I, kind of, pushed myself a little bit.

That's why I'm drained at the moment, yeah.

So, yeah.

- I felt like you were, sort of, getting an energy of everybody, Adebanji.

- Yeah, I love people.

Everything about people, I just love it.

So, it helps me when I paint outside too.

It could tilt anyway because even the eight artists, they're very strong.

So, there is a very, kind of, fierce competition.

(dramatic music) - Once you got beyond the building, you freed up.

I mean, have you ever painted buildings before?

- I have.

I mean, at the moment, I guess I'm most inspired by the raw organic elements of nature.

- Did you enjoy painting the reflection more than the building?

Or do I just feel like you did?

- I always enjoy painting reflections so, yes, you're probably right, yeah.

(all laughing) I knew that the first half would be tricky and there wouldn't be much on the canvas, but it did get to a stage where they're, obviously, happy with it, very late on in the four hours.

(dramatic music) - These are both very accomplished paintings, but both very different.

Is one your style that you use from painting from life, and the other one from photograph?

- [Jamie] I think, really, they're the same style.

I paint quite realistically, and very bold colors.

- But this feels, it lives off its unfinishedness in this sense.

Would it become more and more finished if you had time?

- Yes.

If I was to work on that for a couple more weeks, then I would get into the nitty gritty, into the detail.

- I'm curious, 'cause you're clearly not very happy with it.

You're not as happy with it as you are with something like that.

- [Jamie] I think, actually, the more I look at this now, the more happy I become.

- Good.

- It's taken a while.

I think they understood the fact that I really had a rush on, couldn't complete the painting but I think, actually, they found some positives in that.

So, I was quite relieved at that.

Yeah, yeah.

(bright music) - Interesting, with your shortlist, I think I prefer what they did today, all three of them, with what they actually submitted.

- Yeah.

- Yes, I think we all do too.

- We do, yeah.

- Completely.

- Today, they're allowed to break the rules that they've set for themselves.

A lot of people get a great deal out of that.

- But I don't think Jamie's quite come to terms with what he made today yet.

- And also understand what is compelling Jamie to finish his paintings always to this high finish.

It might be quite an interesting thing for him to think, "Actually, it's something I do because I've always done it and people think it's great."

Actually, maybe art is found in a slightly different style.

- I think that applies to Tim as well.

I think that the journey he's made, from the painting that I love very much, which is the great Welsh slate cliffs, he's moved a long way from that.

- Yeah, yeah, I think all three finalists did as well because Adebanji was saying that he was responding to the time constraint, and the people.

You know, he, sort of, sprinted a marathon.

It was so impressive.

- So, we're providing a service.

- [Frank] So, I suspect you have your winner.

Was it a unanimous decision in the end?

- I think it was.

- Yes, it was.

- I think it was, yeah.

- Pretty clear.

(dramatic music) - Adebanji, Tim, Jamie, congratulations to each one of you.

Your work has really impressed the judges, but as you know, only one of you can go forward.

- Yes, and the judges have made their decision.

They felt that the person that they are sending through to the semifinal has inventively adapted their style to create an unconventional and evocative work.

And that person is (suspenseful music) Jamie Hageman.

(dramatic music) (audience applauding) - Congratulations.

You can breathe now.

Well done, well done.

- I'm thrilled for Jamie because I think he deserves to go through on this occasion.

(audience applauding) - [Frank] Well played, mate.

- Thank you.

- [Adebanji] It's not athletics or sports.

You don't win because you were first to cross the line, it's all down to the judges and what they look for.

- [Kate] It's a beautiful painting.

- Thank you, thank you.

- I've gained belief that I can paint really quickly and produce something that is a decent finished painting, I suppose, and that I can paint something other than mountains.

(bright music) (gentle thoughtful music) (bright music)