If you’ve ever sat in front of a blank canvas or even just doodled on a napkin, you know that terrifying feeling of the first mark. Now, imagine doing that while a camera crew hovers over your shoulder and a celebrity sits four feet away, looking slightly bored but also expectant. That is the heart of every single one of the portrait artist of the year episodes that have graced our screens since Sky Arts launched the show back in 2013. It shouldn't work. On paper, watching paint dry for four hours sounds like a punishment. Yet, here we are, over a decade later, and it’s become a cult powerhouse of British television.
The Chaos and Quiet of the Heats
Every episode follows a specific, almost meditative rhythm. We start with the heats. Usually, it’s a stunning location like the Wallace Collection or the Battersea Arts Centre. You’ve got Joan Bakewell and Stephen Mangan (who took over from Frank Skinner) wandering around, trying to make small talk with artists who are clearly vibrating with anxiety.
The format is simple but brutal. Three celebrities sit for three groups of artists. They have four hours. That’s it. In the world of fine art, four hours is nothing. It’s a blink. Most professional portraitists want forty hours, maybe eighty. Watching a classically trained oil painter try to block out a likeness in forty-five minutes is basically high-stakes gambling with pigment.
What makes these portrait artist of the year episodes so addictive isn't just the talent—it's the failure. Sometimes, a really gifted artist just "misses" the sitter. They get the nose wrong, or the eyes are slightly too far apart, and suddenly the sitter looks like a distant, slightly melted cousin of themselves. The judges—Tai Shan Schierenberg, Kathleen Soriano, and Kate Bryan—don't hold back either. They’re looking for "the soul" of the sitter, not just a photograph in paint. Honestly, watching Tai squint at a canvas and whisper about "brave mark-making" is peak television.
Why the Celebrity Sitters Matter
Let's talk about the sitters. We’ve seen everyone from Nile Rodgers and Sophie Ellis-Bextor to high-ranking politicians and actors like Daniel Mays. The dynamic is weirdly intimate. You have these famous people, used to being photographed and filtered, sitting perfectly still while strangers scrutinize their every wrinkle.
In one of the standout portrait artist of the year episodes, we saw the legendary actor Brian Cox. He sat there with this simmering intensity that terrified half the artists. It creates this pressure cooker. If you’re an amateur artist and you’re painting a legend, you don't want to be the one who makes them look like a potato.
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The conversation between the hosts and the sitters often reveals more than a standard talk show interview. When Stephen Mangan asks a sitter how they feel about their face aging, the answers are usually raw and surprisingly vulnerable. It’s not about the latest movie project; it’s about how they see themselves.
The Mystery of the Judges' Decision
How do they choose? Honestly, sometimes it feels like magic or complete madness. You’ll see a painting that looks exactly like the person—a perfect likeness—and the judges will pass it over for a messy, abstract smudge that barely looks human.
Why? Because they value "artistic voice" over technical mimicry.
- They want to see a "new way of seeing."
- They look for artists who take risks, even if the result is slightly "off."
- They hate anything that looks like a "chocolate box" portrait—too sweet, too commercial, too safe.
This is where the show gets its edge. It’s an education in art history and theory disguised as a competition. You learn about impasto, chiaroscuro, and why some artists choose to use a neon green underpainting for a skin tone. It shouldn't be fascinating, but when you see that green disappear under layers of flesh tones and suddenly create a luminous, lifelike glow, it’s like watching a magic trick.
The Commission: The Real Test
Winning a heat is one thing. Winning the whole series is a different beast. The finalists eventually compete for a £10,000 commission to paint a major public figure for a national institution. We've seen winners paint Sir Tom Jones for the National Museum of Wales and Kim Cattrall for the Walker Art Gallery.
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This is where the portrait artist of the year episodes transition from a "speed-painting" contest to a professional documentary. We follow the winner as they spend weeks with their subject. The pressure is immense. This isn't just a TV show anymore; it’s a piece of art history that will hang in a museum long after the credits roll.
One of the most moving commissions was Christian Hook’s portrait of Alan Cumming. Hook, who won in 2014, has since become a global star in the art world. His style is frenetic, layered, and deeply psychological. Watching him navigate the ego and the essence of a performer like Cumming was a masterclass in collaboration. It showed that the show isn't just about finding someone who can draw; it’s about finding a "capital-A" Artist.
The Evolution of the Show
Over the years, the show has branched out. We now have Landscape Artist of the Year, which is arguably more relaxing but less intense. But the portrait version remains the flagship.
The diversity of the artists is the real secret sauce. In any given episode, you might have:
- A self-taught teenager who paints on their bedroom floor.
- A retired GP who took up watercolor two years ago.
- A professional who has been exhibited in the BP Portrait Award.
And the crazy thing? The teenager often wins. There’s no snobbery in the selection process. If the work is good, it’s good. The show has democratized art in a way that the traditional gallery system hasn't. It tells the viewer that their face is worth painting and that they might have the skill to do it.
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Technical Skill vs. Emotional Resonance
You'll notice in many portrait artist of the year episodes that the judges often argue. Kathleen might love the color palette, while Tai thinks the drawing is "lazy." This is crucial. It shows that art isn't objective. There is no "perfect" portrait.
I remember an episode where an artist spent three hours on the background and only ten minutes on the face. Everyone was panicking. The hosts were hovering. The audience was yelling at the screen. But in the end, those ten minutes produced something so raw and honest that it blew everything else away. It’s those moments of "artistic bravery" that the show lives for.
How to Watch and What to Look For
If you’re diving into the archives, don't just look for the winners. Look for the "artists' artists"—the ones who do something so weird the judges don't know what to do with them.
- Check out the early seasons to see the raw energy of the format being born.
- Pay attention to the "Self-Portrait" submissions. Each artist has to submit a self-portrait to even get on the show. These are often the best works of the series because the artists had unlimited time and their favorite subject: themselves.
- Watch the hands. Most artists on the show struggle with hands. If you see someone nail a pair of hands in four hours, they’re probably going to the final.
The show has also adapted to the times. During the pandemic, they launched Portrait Artist of the Week on Facebook and YouTube, where celebrities sat at home and thousands of people painted them live. It was a beautiful moment of connection during a dark time, and it proved that the appetite for this kind of slow, thoughtful content is massive.
The Legacy of the Series
What stays with you after watching hundreds of portrait artist of the year episodes is the realization that everyone is "paintable." There is beauty in every wrinkle, every asymmetrical feature, and every tired eye. The show stripped away the elitism of the art world and replaced it with genuine curiosity.
It also launched genuine careers. Winners like Curtis Holder, Samira Addo, and Gareth Reid haven't just disappeared; they’ve become staples of the contemporary art scene. They’ve proven that a reality TV show can actually be a legitimate springboard for serious fine art.
If you’re feeling inspired, the best thing you can do isn't just to watch another episode. It's to pick up a pencil. The show’s biggest success isn't its ratings; it’s the thousands of sketchbooks that have been filled by people who realized, after watching a heat at the Wallace Collection, that they might have something to say too.
Actionable Steps for Aspiring Artists and Fans
- Analyze the Winners: Go back and watch the final commission episodes. Note how the artists transition from the four-hour "sketch" style to a multi-week "finished" style. It’s a completely different mental game.
- Study the Self-Portraits: The Sky Arts website often archives the submission pieces. Use these as a benchmark for your own work. What story does your face tell when you aren't trying to look "good" for a camera?
- Practice the Time Limit: Set a timer for four hours. No cheating. Try to complete a portrait of a friend or a mirror image. You’ll quickly realize why the artists on the show look so exhausted by the end of the day.
- Focus on the Eyes: As the judges frequently point out, if the eyes don't "lock in," the portrait fails. Spend the first hour of your practice just getting the placement and "gaze" right before you worry about skin texture.