Landscape Artist of the Year: Sky Arts

I haven't been impressed with many of the artists chosen 'paintings' this year.
The judges obviously see something that I can't.

I didn’t think any of the three artists should have been in the final and I can’t imagine the Manchester Art Gallery will hang the picture for very long. I felt sorry for the judges having to come up with a load of waffle.

We haven’t watched this yet but I agree, the judges seem to have chosen the wrong finalists! A couple of years ago the winner was Olivia Redfearn, whose work was superb.

Very disappointing result. There were more deserving artists. I assume the fire was a nod to the mill fire. The judges waffle for waffles sake. They have some very odd ideas ?

I thought it was beautiful. The fire, maybe, represented the burning of the mill and the horrors of the mill workers life versus the beauty of the country side. Also, strangely, her style was very like the other painter in the gallery.

It would have been interesting to see what the man in the final would have produced as his style was more brutalist.

Ladyleftfieldlover

We haven’t watched this yet but I agree, the judges seem to have chosen the wrong finalists! A couple of years ago the winner was Olivia Redfearn, whose work was superb.

Redpath!

LullyDully

I thought it was beautiful. The fire, maybe, represented the burning of the mill and the horrors of the mill workers life versus the beauty of the country side. Also, strangely, her style was very like the other painter in the gallery.

It would have been interesting to see what the man in the final would have produced as his style was more brutalist.

I didn’t like his work at all. I ‘m beginning to realise that the judges have a good idea of the sort of winner they want right from the beginning.

I agree MayBee70.
To my mind someone who can't paint and who gives the judges verbal diarrhoea.

I still think the woman who made pictures with old ties would have been an original winner. The woman working on brown paper would have been a challenge also.

A bit underwhelming I thought. There were others just as good if not better.

I enjoyed the programme very much but was left feeling there had been a mismatch between the commission and the artist chosen to carry it out.

The result was a pretty and atmospheric impressionist painting but whereas with Valette and Lowry you know exactly what the paintings are of and about, Elisha Enfield’s painting seemed far too vague. She was presented with an enormous amount of material to draw on but the resulting painting could be any valley from a high viewpoint. Her other paintings in the competition show that she can take any setting and turn it into an ethereal scene but I’m not convinced that was appropriate here.

I felt the discussions with architect Tom Bloxham about the rejuventated Castlefield Basin and when Manchester Art Gallery curator Hannah Williamson took Enfield to the locations Valette had painted to compare before and after, were attempts to steer her towards what was wanted. Williamson talked about seeing “a new take on the industrial landscape - our city - our canal - to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the regeneration of the Rochdale Canal” - but that isn’t what the painting conveys. Bloxham and Williamson, indeed every person Enfield met along the way, talked about the importance of people in the landscape then and now but where were they?

I think judge Kate Bryan was completely wrong when she said the commission was perfect for Enfield. I felt she was somewhat overwhelmed by it all. I suspect we would have got a more interesting and vivid painting from either of the other two finalists. Enfield’s painting will sit alongside the Valettes and the Lowrys and won’t jar but at the same time it doesn’t tell us anything about what has changed in two hundred or even twenty years.

On a lighter note, I am craving the paint chip shawl dress that Enfield was wearing for the unveiling.

Nornally the judges say they want artists who grow through the series but all her pictues looked the same, i didn't like any if her works. I liked the guy in the finals who lost, can't remember his name. I far prefer the portrait artist of the year

I haven't seen it yet.
I'm really looking forward to watching it .
I'm envious of the portrait painters as it's not my forte .
It's my daughter's gift .
I sometimes find that there seems to be prejudice against traditional artists and the judges seem to want something different for the sake of it .

Landscape painting is my speciality and I hope to enter one day .
I was hugely disappointed with Watercolour Challenge - not only did I find Fern unbelievably irritating ,but the quality of the art work was poor .

Neither DH or I liked the painting and definitely didn't think it fulfilled the brief

I didn’t think it fulfilled the brief either. It was meant to be a celebration of the canal but it was more of a generic landscape imo.

I prefer Portrait Artist, too. Annoyingly I hadn’t realised that Sky Arts were showing an old Portrait Artist series just before the new landscape one so I missed most of that as I don’t have Sky catchup.

I quite liked her other work in a quirky sort of way, bit the commission was rather "meh" and sticking a fire in it - other than the fact that she likes.painting them was just odd. I'd have preferred a more canal type view

The fire seemed to dominate to my mind so the rest became a bit of a blur. Wish I'd seen Olivia Redpath's programme as the winner, but missed it and there doesn't seem to be a second chance. Really enjoyed the young man who painted the violinist's portrait last year (but thought his submission was even better). Thoroughly enjoyed the recent Michael Ball et al Portrait Artist of the Year (but please could they bring back Steven Managan...)

b1zzle

The fire seemed to dominate to my mind so the rest became a bit of a blur. Wish I'd seen Olivia Redpath's programme as the winner, but missed it and there doesn't seem to be a second chance. Really enjoyed the young man who painted the violinist's portrait last year (but thought his submission was even better). Thoroughly enjoyed the recent Michael Ball et al Portrait Artist of the Year (but please could they bring back Steven Managan...)

That portrait was astounding! Yes, I like Stephen Mangan (sp) and, yet again must see if Green Wing is on catchup. The people in it have all gone on to great things.

I haven’t watched the series for a while,I prefer the Portrait Artist of the year. Having read this thread I was curious so just caught the great unveiling on catch-up. Had a cursory look at the commissioned painting which, to me was just a muddy daub with a fire. What caught my eye was Steven Mangan’s hair, when did it go grey? Last time I looked he had a luxuriant crop of curly dark hair. Now it’s grey, and worse still he’s sporting a nasty little bristle of a moustache. Steven, how could you ?

Maybe it’s for a role he’s playing? I didn’t spot the moustache. Maybe it was filmed in Movember?

Stephen Mangan has three things in post production so I'm expecting him to pop up in one with grey hair - The Inn at the End of the World, perhaps?

I tend to record Sky Arts programmes on my Humax box so I can whizz though the many ad breaks. Always worth keeping an eye on the schedules for repeats. Otherwide catch up with past series via the Now app.

You can watch Green Wing on All4 or without ads on Britbox if you have it.

Am afraid me & husband also underwhelmed by the finalist painting....I thought that she would have put in the disused mill, ghostly mill workers that people described in the programme, that amazing bridge...and a closer view of the canal ...so much there as subject matters but just ignored!!!

I don't think she should have been the winner. There were others artists who were better, such as Desmond Downes. Her painting of the Forth Bridge was awful - his was great.

Having said that, I liked her commission better than her other paintings (not saying much) but I agree that it didn't suit the brief and the fire was an odd addition.