Review: The Big Icon Challenge - Episode 5

The land of written report affair for the five artists  remaining for the 5th episode of The Big Painting Challenge" was Cityscapes. Liverpool together with the River Mersey provided the venue together with views for this penultimate circular of this televised fine art contest on BBC1.

Episode 5: The Cityscape Challenge


Episode 5 of the Big Painting Challenge is available on iPlayer

Challenge 1: H5N1 icon representing the artist's personal interpretation of Liverpool (watercolours)


The challenge started alongside the artists getting out together with well-nigh around the urban essence alongside cameras together with sketchbooks to dins images that inspire them.

I don't know quite why but I receive got a notion of them experiencing "guided exploration" - something along the lines of beingness moved around the urban essence past times minibus together with dropped off at unlike locations to banking concern tally out sure as shooting possible views. I gauge that's because this is a bunch of artists who by together with large practice no such thing from what I tin brand out from previous episodes.

I was rather surprised at the subjects people chose to do. I don't remember whatever of them would receive got said "Liverpool" to me.  Maybe the terraced houses going downwards to the Mersey are somewhat cliché - nevertheless there's an awful lot of that housing inwards Liverpool!

For some reason, 2 of the artists (Anne together with Claire) completely changed their icon styles for icon inwards watercolour.

I idea  Paul's watercolour was both disappointing together with surprising for a quondam architectural illustrator - it seemed something together with null to me.  He readily admitted it hadn't turned out every bit he intended.  It was described past times Lachlan every bit beingness to a greater extent than similar Trumpton than Toxteth!
It's looking similar the hamlet green! Lachlan 
It's awfully pretty, 'lady-like - why?..... It's'nice'. - Daphne Todd
Oh don't tell that- Paul 

Challenge 2: Quick Draw - Sketch of the Royal Liver Building Clock Tower from the hand of the Cunard Building (using charcoal, pastel together with pencil)


Judges were looking for the artists to pull a edifice at high speed. They also needed to larn to grips alongside the complicated architectural features of the Liver Building together with larn the proportion together with perspective right.

The Clock Tower has the largest clock human face upward inwards Britain! Una Stubbs told us that the judges were looking for:
  • sketches that captured the monumentality together with construction of the building 
  • with accurate depictions of the multiple planes of perspective.
I'm real unclear every bit to whether or non the artists know what criteria they're going to live judged on BEFORE the assessment.  I know what we're told but are they?

Discussing the masculine together with feminine when it comes to drawing buildings
Daphne allow rip together with Lachlan's human face upward was a picture!
Paul continued to receive got problems alongside his quick drawing. It produced i of the best moments of the serial then far - at to the lowest degree then far every bit sense of humor goes.


While Lachlan characterised it every bit beingness to a greater extent than similar an Italian chapel than the Liver Building, Daphne Todd brought out the large guns for her critique of Paul's red, white together with chalk drawing.
It looks to me whimsical.. If you're using drawing based media or watercolour you lot seem to move much to a greater extent than 'ladylike'. This is a fragile feminine edifice non that massive edifice which was inwards front end of us thrusting, thrusting in a masculine agency upward into the sky Daphne Todd
I remember Daphne's truly worried well-nigh me. I remember I'm going to receive got to practice some form of existent alpha manful individual move to larn her dorsum onside. Paul
It began to move clear to me that Daphne is non fond of what she characterises every bit an 'illustration' which describes a edifice then you lot know what it is - but non inwards an accurate way


Challenge 3: Paint moving H2O together with the panoramic sentiment of the iconic cityscape of the City of Liverpool - from across the River Mersey (3.5 hours - Any Medium)


H5N1 let out of the artists recognised their demand to move hard inwards the 3rd challenge to secure their house inwards the final.

Lachlan explained that the argue for the challenge was two-fold. It forces the artists to tackle the changing low-cal together with the vast expanses of heaven together with the water, 2 elements which are ever on the move, summation the panorama of the urban essence skyline. They demand to larn to grips alongside the agency everything changes every bit the low-cal changes - from the clouds inwards the heaven to the reflections on the water.  The composition also depends on what they conduct to prioritise together with what they create upward one's heed to purpose to add together drama to the painting.

It's "a large ask"!

The primal that some of the artists appeared to live oblivious of is that H2O gets its color from the heaven together with thence the color of the heaven needs to live reflected inwards the H2O together with the 2 elements cannot live incongruous.

In damage of the paintings
  • Claire's icon in all likelihood reflected her inexperience inwards icon plein air. She was upset alongside her icon nevertheless I idea it was i of the improve ones inwards damage of capturing the color of the buildings inwards the low-cal together with attempting to reverberate these inwards the water. 
  • Richard was the entirely i who managed to larn recession into his H2O together with to larn inwards await the size of waterway he was truly painting. 
  • Paul seemed to live icon Venice - it was big, butch together with bold (rather than lady-like) but the colours bore real piffling relation to the low-cal inwards Liverpool together with it all seemed a chip disorganised. I couldn't tell whether or non he had included whatever boats.
  • Amy was criticised for overworking her icon - together with it did seem every bit if it was i time much improve than it ended up. 
  • Anne's icon was a piffling also graphic together with her technique did non move alongside this land of written report matter. However the color of her river inwards the foreground achieved the muddiness. Plus I remember she was the entirely individual who stopped together with took the problem to larn a ferry into her film - together with the ferry across the Mersey is a pretty iconic characteristic of Liverpool!

The exit


The judges made a large thing of needing to move dorsum together with await at all their move done then far together with non but the paintings done for this challenge.

I remember that mightiness good receive got been done because the people they felt were justified inwards getting into the Final had some major wobbles.  It was real definitely Paul's worst week.

Interestingly Richard has been making some pregnant procedure inwards the lastly circular together with this i - together with he deserved hand move through to the Final.

This fourth dimension Anne's brilliant underpaintings undid her. It mightiness move good inwards a hotter content but didn't move good inwards Liverpool fifty-fifty if it is the color of the squad that plays at Anfield!

H5N1 duet of asides


One of the things I'm noticing is the artists straightaway seem to live proverb words that receive got said to them - but without necessarily believing them or reflecting this inwards their work.

When I came to the destination of this review, I was all of a precipitous reminded that I am a fellow member of Urban Sketchers - members of which pull together with pigment cityscapes all the time! It struck me how many images I consider produced past times artists across the Britain of their urban environments - piece working plein air together with from observation - many of which are real much improve than some of the paintings nosotros saw inwards this programme.

If at that topographic point is a to live some other serial perhaps the Producers could await a chip harder for the participants?

TIPS FOR THE FUTURE

  • Keep looking until you lot discover a sentiment which makes you lot receive got a 2nd look. Too oftentimes people settle for the offset sentiment that seems every bit if it "will do". Sometimes also piffling elbow grease goes into looking circular the adjacent corner. It's much, much easier to pull or pigment a sentiment which connects alongside your soul.
  • Remember that the heaven together with the H2O are non split upward - they're 2 halves of a whole. It should ever live possible to discover a human relationship betwixt heaven together with H2O - because the H2O reflects the sky. 
  • Getting the heaven color correct tin live truly hard together with yet it tin brand or pause a painting - Experiment together with seek unlike mixes of colours until you lot discover them correct one.
  • Water is real rarely i color - it has lots of colours if you lot await for long enough
  • Perspective also applies to water - the human relationship of low-cal inwards the heaven together with its reflections on the H2O depend inwards business office on how far away you lot are together with how much depth together with recession at that topographic point is 
  • Style is something which develops over fourth dimension - through creating lots of art. Style seems to receive got been a constant theme this week.  One real clear indication of an amateur creative individual is somebody who changes their agency on a regular basis. This is fine - it's somebody who has non yet institute their vocalism together with who is trying out unlike ways of expressing him or herself. However every bit an creative individual matures together with they discover their ain agency of seeing together with icon the world, i begins to consider a consistency of agency used irrespective of the land of written report affair or the media used. 
  • Don't allow favoured techniques overwhelm your subject. When developing a style, together with using specific techniques, it's wise to brand an assessment every bit to whether it's appropriate to the subject. 

Some inspiration for you


This calendar week you lot tin run across Lachlan Goudie in his electrical flow exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London this calendar week (until 28th March). Both he together with swain exhibitor Tim Benson volition live at the gallery all calendar week inwards the Threadneedle Space.  I visited it at lunchtime today together with Lachlan had already sold 3 paintings of his soundless life paintings!

There's Meet the Artists event on Midweek afternoon (3-3.45pm) - summation Daphne Todd together with Lachlan Goudie volition live doing a booksigning betwixt 4-5pm

Tim Benson together with Lachlan Goudie - New Paintings at the Threadneedle Space inwards the Mall Galleries
until 

As an added incentive, from Midweek you'll also live able to consider the paintings selected for the annual exhibition of the Royal Institute of Painters inwards Watercolour at the Mall Galleries - then if you lot also fighting alongside watercolour it's an first-class exhibition to see to render you lot alongside inspiration to hold working at perfecting your skills.

together with finally......


Below you lot tin consider a sketch I did some 10 years agone piece inwards Venice. It's (surprise, surprise) a cityscape alongside a foreground of a lot of water.

It was completed every bit 2 drawings - the left together with the correct - piece sat close the Arsenale on a mutual frigidity ho-hum greyness 24-hour interval which kept threatening to pour alongside rain, I was sat looking over the lagoon to San Georgio Maggiore (the monastery island), the Giudeca (a long sparse strip), together with the Dorsoduro alongside the Salute together with Dogana at its tip - summation the entrance to the Grand Canal. In truth I edited out some of the Giudeca to brand a improve pic on 2 sheets! If you lot click it you lot tin consider a larger version.

The View from the Arsenale
Coloured pencils on pale blueish Canson paper

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