Sky Arts Portrait/ Landscape Artist of the Year

[sultanasofa]

I've been struck recently by how properly diverse these programmes are.

Three judges - two female and one male. They're all quite opinionated, speak freely and each of their opinions seems to carry equal weight.

The contestants come from all walks of life. They're judged on their artwork, not their appearance. It's refreshing to see middle-aged or older women wearing practical clothes, short hair, and no make up. The artists are praised for being bold, for taking risks, trying new things, seeing the subjects in a new way. Also for their skill and sensitivity. I love that the focus is completely on the art.

I love these two shows

I love how they are All looking at the same ‘thing’ but the pictures are so different When they are finished

I hadnt thought about how diverse they are but i think you’re right

The portrait one was particularly interesting, as a lot of the sitters were also black or from ethnic minorities, as well as being male/female and young/old.

It was obvious that some of the artists struggled with painting portraits of people with different ethnicities (both ways, black to white and vice versa) and also different ages. I found that when an artist had really captured skin tone and expression it was often when they were painting someone "similar" to themselves (sex, age and race).

I found myself really admiring shadows and wrinkles and frown lines and different hair patterns just as much as the actual shape of the face or colour of the portrait.

The combination of diversity of artists and diversity of sitters gave a fantastic variety to the entire programme.

When they show the paintingS Of the portraits i sit there going

Theyll deffo pick that one

And they virtually always get it wrong!!!

But i agree jackie the skin tone is very interesting, especially some of the colours the artist sees in the face...

Yes of course, you're right - the sitters are diverse too! And the artists are happy when they have an older subject with lots of character to paint, because youthful beauty is so difficult to capture.

I love this programme, and the respectful debate between the judges.

Some of the contestants have struggled with some skin tones but I thought this year they generally did better. They have a wonderful range of sitters.