We're already missing Sky Portrait Artist of the Year, but Sky Landscape Artist of the Year is equally brilliant. As the show embarked on its ninth series, the contestants were challenged to create artworks inspired by a variety of landscapes around the UK in their chosen mediums.
Landscape Artist of the Year always inspires us to get outside armed with pencils, pens, brushes and pastels! There's something very relaxing about settling down to draw or paint en plein air and we always look forward to making our own outdoor artwork when the weather improves.
Whenever we watch the show, we feel as though we're getting a masterclass in different techniques and styles – and we pick up so many tips for our own work. This is a great programme to watch if you're feeling in a creative rut. It will get you to look at the world with fresh eyes and you'll learn so much.
If you're not an artist, watching others create amazing works of art is still incredibly soothing. It's always interesting to see if your favourite painting is the same as the judges – and the finished works of art can be astonishing.
Looking for more art programmes to watch? Check out our guide to The Great Pottery Throwdown.
Read on to learn more about the Sky Landscape Artist of the Year 2024 competition…
When is Sky Landscape Artist of the Year on?
Sky Landscape Artist of the Year is usually aired on Wednesdays at 8pm.
When will Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year be on television?
The new series of Landscape Artist of the Year in 2024 began on 10th January.
Where can I watch Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year?
You can watch Sky Arts Landscape of the Year on Sky Arts (Freesat 147, Sky 130 SD/HD and Sky 826), Freeview and Now.
Where is Sky Landscape Artist of the Year filmed?
Landscape Artist of the Year is known for its stunning locations and the ninth series was no exception. The new batch of artists needed to capture everything from seascapes to ancient castles.
Series nine featured the medieval ruins of Dunnotar Castle, Hever Castle and lake (Anne Boleyn's childhood home) and the picturesque harbour town of Stonehaven. As usual, urban landscapes made an appearance with the artists heading to Liverpool's bustling docks. For the semi-final, the contestants visited Buckler's Hard in the New Forest.
The finalists were positioned on top of the Royal Opera House in London at night and asked to capture Covent Garden in the West End.
Sky Landscape Artist of the Year 2024: What to expect
The artists are usually asked to produce images of both urban and rural landscapes. In each episode, eight artists compete, with the winner moving on to the next round.
The artists are usually given about four hours to complete their piece in their choice of medium – for some artists, that can prove to be very challenging. The subject matter can also present challenges – one week they can be asked to produce a piece based on a rustic landscape and the next they can be asked to work with a more complex urban scene.
It's always interesting to see how they cope with the landscape that they are given – especially when the weather is very changeable! Artists who are used to painting outside are at a definite advantage here, but it's a good test of the skills of all of the contestants. Luckily they work in pods with a roof, so you won't see anyone's work getting ruined by the rain.
It's really refreshing to see the wide range of materials used by the artists, from paints to textile art and linocut printing.
This season’s Landscape Artist of the Year winner received a £10,000 commission from the Science Museum to create an artwork inspired by Orkney, spotlighting the islands’ place at the forefront of pioneering sustainable energy.
Artists who were not selected as contestants had a second chance to get involved by competing as a wild card alongside 50 others. The wild card artists are often hugely talented too and we loved seeing their work. The judges assessed their work nominating one best wild-card artist each week, picking their favourite to go through to the semi-final.
The show's presenter Stephen Mangan said: "It’s surreal that this is our 9th series, it’s testament to how popular the show is I suppose. It’s a highlight of the year for me, and it was really remarkable to see how many members of the public turned out this series to come and watch the show being filmed.
"The viewing figures tell us that more and more people are watching the show each year, and more and more people are discovering it. It's such a graphic way to illustrate that when you turn up at somewhere like Buckler's Hard and there are, you know, two or 300 people there to come and watch the opening film. I'm so pleased, the show seems to be going from strength to strength."
Set the scene with our acrylic landscape tutorial
Acrylic painting is a fantastic medium for landscapes, as it has vibrant colours and dries quickly. Get started with Gathered's acrylic landscape painting guide.
Landscape Artist of the Year episode guide
Landscape Artist of the Year is over for another year! If you missed it, you can catch up with all of the excitement with our series 9 episode guide.
Episode one
Landscape Artist of the Year 2024 got off to a strong start by choosing the dramatic Dunottar castle in Scotland as its first location.
The ancient ruins are surrounded by sweeping cliffs with a wide expanse of ocean in the background. It's a scene that's both challenging and irresistible for artists to capture.
It was an exciting beginning for the new series and the first batch of artists were certainly up for the challenge. The group included painters, a print maker and a textile artist.
As usual, the artists had to contest with the changing light and weather. This presented additional problems for some of the artists: textile artist Alison Whatley's fabric kept blowing away in the wind, while printmaker Kristina Chan was forced to change her plans.
Kristina had intended to print her castle scene, but ended up drawing and painting over her initial print. Her resourcefulness paid off and the judges were impressed with her finished piece.
The artists also had to cope with the shifting daylight as the initial burst of sun faded and the skies became grey. This didn't deter Polish artist David Schab, who wanted to keep the earlier sunshine in his work.
Cat Croxford made the bold choice to work onto a black backdrop, which made her colours shine. She said: "I'm like a magician, conjuring this light into existence."
I'm like a magician, conjuring this light into existence
Cat Croxford, landscape artist
Artists always need to know when to stop and this was a problem for Jess Gale, who completed her work too quickly. Sadly, the judges felt that she'd overworked her initial canvas and should have stopped sooner.
It's always fascinating to see the different ways artists depict a landscape and Henry McAlpine gave us a futuristic canvas. He broke the clouds and the landscape down into shapes and created a harmonious piece.
While this was happening, the wild cards were hard at work on a neighbouring headland competing for the chance to snag a place in the semi-final. Rebecca Paterson's inky night sky caught the judges' attention and she was named the wild card winner.
After a busy day, the judges picked Henry McAlpine, Jen Maidment and Kristina Chan as their shortlisted artists, before naming Kristina as the overall winner.
Tai Shan Schierenberg was impressed by Kristina's work for its expressive and organic qualities. "I've never seen anything like it and that's very rare. I can't wait to see what she does next," he said.
Episode two
In episode two, the artists headed to the bustling waterfront in Liverpool to paint the city's historic docks. The scene presented plenty of challenges for the contestants with a mix of modern and historic architecture to work with.
This week's contestants came from a variety of backgrounds with the line-up including two teachers, a chef and a mural artist.
First, the artists needed to decide how to tackle the scene in front of them. Some of them were more used to working with rural landscapes, so needed to adapt their style to suit the view in front of them.
Wesley Smith, a chef from Brighton, decided to narrow down his painting to just one building: a former GWR shed. This meant he avoided painting the complicated tangle of new and old buildings in the background.
Other artists like Georgina Saunders, a primary school teacher from Hertfordshire, decided to paint the wider scene.
It's always fascinating to see the different approaches taken by the artists when presented with the same view. Some like to dive straight in with their paintings, while others feel more comfortable once they've made a few preliminary sketches. Matthew Timmins-Williams spent the first hour working on quick studies of the docks before settling on his final composition.
Georgina chose to work with a large brush on her painting, which prevented her from getting too caught up with fussy details. This is a brilliant tip for anyone who wants to loosen up their painting style.
It's also intriguing to see the array of mediums the artists choose to work with. Rose Jones, a former textile artist, likes to work with pencils on black paper, making use of negative space in her art.
After a hectic day of drawing and painting, the judges picked Nathaniel Fowles, Wesley Smith and Georgina Saunders as their shortlist, with Wesley taking the winning spot.
Episode three
This week the show was transported to the picturesque gardens of Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn. The pods were set up overlooking a sweeping 30 acre manmade lake with a beautiful Italianate loggia.
The day started off rainy and dull and brightened later, meaning that the artists had to cope with the changing light throughout the day.
As usual, there was a wide range of techniques on display. Printmaker Louise Stebbing worked to create an intricate lino print, which is a challenging method to do in the time limit!
Fitness instructor Deepa Goswami chose to depict the scene in a flowing Impressionistic style, which worked beautifully. Meanwhile, Sheffield-based art teacher Craig Longmuir brought his trademark use of impasto brushstrokes and vibrant colours into his work.
Rydal Hanbury likes to include people in her art, so she incorporated the castle's visitors into her work. She even managed to work the show's host Stephen Mangan and judge Tai-Shan Schierenberg into her painting!
Evelyn couldn't resist featuring a glimpse of Hever Castle in her painting, using the shape of the lake to lead the viewer's eye back towards the historic building. Her distinctive approach was produced using a combination of oil paints and ink pens.
It's like a conversation between the pen and the paint
Evelyn Chambers
One of the great things about Landscape Artist of the Year is that it gives amateur artists to compete alongside professionals. Joe Mayhook, a parks manager from London, couldn't afford to attend an art school so he learnt to paint as a hobby. His skilfully painted triptyph (trio of canvases) earned him a place on this week's shortlist.
The shortlisted artists were Deepa Goswami, Joe Mayhook and Rydal Hanbury. Deepa took the crown as the winner of this week's heat.
Episode four
The beautiful Aberdeenshire town of Stonehaven welcomed eight eager artists competing for a place in the Landscape Artist of the Year semi-finals.
The pods were set up overlooking Stonehaven's picturesque harbour. Although the landscape was undeniably beautiful, there were plenty of details that could trip up an unwary artist: the changing tides, the shifting weather and an intricate tangle of fishing boats.
"The whole thing is impossible – that's the joy and the awfulness of plein air painting"
Tai-Shan Schierenberg
As usual, the eight contestants were determined to tackle to scene in their own way. Cornwall-based artist Andrew Barrowman made the choice to work entirely in charcoal. This meant that he didn't need to worry about matching colours and could focus on the tonal values of the harbour instead.
In contrast, Amy Auld's painting of the scene introduced colours that weren't even there: vibrant pinks and turquoises that gave her work a distinctly exotic feel.
Meanwhile, Sophie Parr decided to focus on capturing the reflections of the fishing boats before the tide went out. Her painting concentrated more on the water than the land.
As the day progressed, cartoonist Kieran Meehan said he was struggling to know how to finish his painting. He was saved by a shower of rain, which allowed him to add colourful umbrellas and raindrops to his piece.
Tony Griffin, an electrician from Glasgow, was also finding it difficult to know how to complete his painting and asked presenter Stephen Mangan if he had any ideas. "If you want inspiration from me, you really are in trouble," Stephen said.
Despite his creative block, Tony completed an incredible painting of the scene in greens and purples.
The shortlisted artists were Tony Griffin, Amy Auld and Daniel Roy Sharples, with Tony being chosen as the episode's winner.
Episode five
This week the show returned to Liverpool to focus on the city's iconic Three Graces: a trio of historic buildings on the waterfront.
This striking view was complicated by an unusual feature: a giant pink inflatable octopus. The judges were interested to see which artists would incorporate the octopus into their work and who would choose to ignore it.
The artists also had to contend with the heat and dazzling morning sun at the start of the day, making the show a physical challenge as well as a creative one.
Magnificent architecture is always a conundrum for artists on Landscape Artist of the Year. They have to make a call on whether to try to capture the whole scene or narrow it down to a small section.
A few artists, such as Monica Popham from Gibraltar, did this very successfully. Monica chose to concentrate on a small section of one building so she could do it justice. Art student Ruqqaya Aftab also opted to paint just a slice of the architecture, which was very effective.
Meanwhile, Ciaran Meister from County Wicklow in Ireland felt that his painting needed a natural element, so he introduced some foliage to frame his view. Ciaran liked to work in short vertical brushstrokes to achieve his own signature painting style.
Some of the artists did make the choice to paint a wider scene. Quentin Martin had just finished training as an architect, so he seemed comfortable painting the buildings (although he mentioned that he usually prefers painting rural landscapes).
It's always fascinating to see how artists prepare their work. Mural artist Chris Doning likes to start with a bright red canvas, which gives his art a bold, graphical finish.
Kerry Doyland felt the scene was lacking colour, so introduced her own to make an iconic, almost psychedelic, painting.
I think the judges will think that I've dropped acid this morning before I've started
Kerry Doyland
The shortlisted artists were Quentin Martin, Ruqayya Aftab and Monica Popham, with Monica named the overall winner for this episode.
Episode six
It's time for the last group of artists to attempt to earn a coveted semi-final spot. This week's treacherously beautiful scene is Hever Castle, Anne Boleyn's childhood home.
Spectacular landscapes are often tricky to paint and this week judge Tai-Shan Schierenberg said that he'd struggle to find an angle of the castle that would suit his painting style. Kate Bryan agreed that it was a difficult scene to paint and said she didn't want to see anything too pretty.
However, the eight artists in this week's show were determined to give it a go. As usual, they all took vastly different approaches.
Giles Davis, for example, snipped magazine pages to make a wonderfully textured collage of the castle. He brought some pictures of Henry VIII with him: "I might slice him up a bit and encase him in the stonework somewhere. Sweet revenge!"
Animator Jasmine Hewitt, this week's youngest contestant, drew on her love of cartoons to break down the scene into manageable sections. Meanwhile, graphic designer Andy Ashdown added a cruciform window to capture a portion of the castle in exquisite detail.
A good approach to tackling such a complicated landscape is to find a way to simplify it. Rebecca Howard drew on her background as an illustrator to reduce the level of detail needed in her work.
Denise created a beautiful painting of the scene in oils, using red to give her painting some warmth.
While some of the contestants struggled with the time limit, watercolourist Brian Smith was able to produce two finished paintings in four hours. He even finished early!
There's a point at which you should get off the bus, and I should get off the bus on that one
Brian Smith
The shortlisted artists were Denise Fisk, Brian Smith and Jasmine Hewitt, with Denise going through to the semi-final.
Episode seven: the semifinal
Can you believe it's already the semi-final? Seven artists returned to the pods to paint the picturesque village of Buckler's Hard in Hampshire.
The semi-finalists were joined by Rebecca Patterson, who the judges picked as their wildcard winner.
Buckler's Hard is a spectacular scene to paint, but challenging in its own way. There was a large gravel path taking up much of the foreground with a winding river in the distance. The river was packed with boats and, as one of the contestants pointed out, Tai hates boats.
As always, the judges were not looking for pretty paintings, but a unique interpretation of the landscape.
Tony Griffin chose to work on a wide canvas to capture a broad sweep of the landscape, but this meant that the gravel path leading to the water would take up a lot of the foreground. Wesley Smith made the clever decision to add the shadow of a tree to his path to make it more interesting.
Deepa Goswami was drawn to the water, as she felt it broke up the greens in the landscape, but was unsure about whether or not to include the boats.
Monica Popham gave some Mediterranean warmth to her painting by starting with a red base. This worked beautifully with the red-coloured cottages.
Kristina Chan worked on a mixed printing and drawing approach. This was something she struggled with in the first round, as the site was very windy! Fortunately the milder weather was in her favour and she was able to work on her prints without the paper blowing away.
Meanwhile, Denise Fisk wanted to avoid painting a scene that looked too sweet, but her autumnal palette gave the village landscape a dream-like feel.
Wildcard winner Rebecca Patterson was working in mixed media and was worried that her work wouldn't dry in time. Luckily Stephen Mangan stepped in to save the day with a hairdryer borrowed from his hotel!
Later in the day, the village became more crowded presenting challenges for the painters, who had to decide whether to include the tourists in their work or not.
At the end of the day, Kristina Chan, Denise Fisk and Monica Popham were named the three finalists. We can't wait to see who wins in next week's episode!
Episode eight: the final
It wouldn't be Landscape Artist of the Year without a show-stopping final and the setting for this week's episode couldn't be much grander: the roof of the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.
The final three artists were presented with a dramatic landscape with a mixture of ancient and modern architecture. As an extra challenge, the contestants were asked to start work two hours before sunset, meaning that they would finish painting in the dark.
As well as completing their final painting, the artists were allowed to complete an extra commission over two to demonstrate what they could achieve when given more time. These pieces were judged alongside their Covent Garden paintings.
Kristina chose to paint the view from her studio window, where she often saw foxes playing. Monica had recently moved from Gibraltar to Oxford, and opted to paint a view of a residential street near her house. Denise stayed even closer to home and painted her garden.
Kristina Chan, Denise Fisk and Monica Popham were given a little time to roam Covent Garden and make prelimary sketches before the four-hour challenge began.
For Denise, who loves to painting natural landscapes, working on a city scene was out of her comfort zone. She had to think of a way to bring an organic feel into her work, so tried to identify curving shapes in the architecture.
"It's a complicated scene and I really want to capture it all," she said.
Meanwhile, Kristina decided to embrace the complex architecture and capture all of the details in her mixed media work. She had to make a call on which aspects to focus on and which to ignore.
Monica made the creative decision to work on a tight crop of the landscape in her signature illustrative style, but the time pressure began to get to her.
"I'm really aware of the time because of the final," Monica said. "I've done about four of five layers of painting, then I blended it a bit with paint and put detail back with pencil. The atmosphere's getting a bit more lively, maybe the painting will too!"
As the sun began to set, the artists had to make a call on whether or not to reflect the changing light in their work. Monica decided to stick to warmer sunset colours, while Kristina's work reflected the gloom of dusk. In contrast, Denise preferred to show the light of day.
Finally, time was up and the judges left the exhausted artists to make their decision on the winner. They judged the commissions alongside the final paintings and used that to choose the winner.
And the winner is… Monica Popham! "Honestly, I'm genuinely so shocked," Monica said in reaction to the news.
Monica won the chance to paint a life-changing commission for the Science Museum.
It's kind of thrilling to think that this winner's 25, at the very beginning of their career and the've got this museum commission. I feel really thrilled for her.
Kate Bryan, Landscape Artist of the Year judge
Who presents Sky Landscape Artist of the Year?
Sky Landscape Artist of the Year is presented by comedian Stephen Mangan. He will mingle with the artists and discussing their work as it develops. Stephen is also the host of Sky Portrait Artist of the Year.
Journalist and broadcaster Joan Bakewell previously co-hosted both shows with Stephen Mangan, but has now left the franchise.
Who are the Sky Landscape Artist of the Year judges?
The judges of Sky Landscape Artist of the Year are Kate Bryan, Kathleen Soriano and Tai-Shan Schierenberg. They also judge Sky's sister competition Sky Portrait Artist of the Year.
Kate Bryan is a British art historian, curator and arts broadcaster. She has contributed to a number of TV shows, including The Culture Show on BBC 2, the Sky Arts programme The Mystery of the lost Caravaggio and many more. Kate has contributed art articles to TimeOut and The Guardian. She also mentors young women in the arts.
Kathleen Soriano is a respected British art curator, writer and television broadcaster. She has worked at a range of renowned art institutions including the Royal Academy of Arts and the National Portrait Gallery in London. She joined the Sky Arts Artist of the Year shows in 2013 and has continued in her role as a judge ever since.
Tai-Shan Schierenberg is a portrait artist based in London. He has produced portraits of numerous famous public figures including Professor Stephen Hawking and the Queen. He studied at Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, as well as St Martin's and Slade School of Art in London. He is currently the Head of Painting at the Art Academy in London.
Who won Landscape Artist of the Year 2024?
The winner of Landscape Artist of the Year 2024 was 25-year-old Monica Popham from Gibraltar.
Who won Landscape Artist of the Year 2023?
The winner of Landscape Artist of the Year was Finn Campbell-Notman, a contemporary artist from Norfolk.
Who won Landscape Artist of the Year 2022?
The 2022 winner was Elisha Enfield, who said it was a complete shock to hear her name called out!
How do I enter the Sky Landscape Artist of the Year competition?
If you feel like putting yourself forward for the next season, you're in luck! Entries are now open for Sky Landscape Artist of the Year series 10. Enter here.
Why everyone should watch Landscape Artist of the Year
Landscape Artist of the Year is one of the most relaxing shows on our screens. Is there anything better than watching some of the country's best artists creating incredible artwork? If you're an aspiring artist, it's a brilliant way to pick up tips and inspiration, or you can simply watch the artists at work.
We're always inspired by the art we see on the show and it makes us want to pick up a brush and get painting.
Get into watercolor landscape painting
Caught the painting bug after watching this year's series of Landscape Artist of the Year? Watercolours are a beautiful way to capture any scene, wherever you're painting an urban scene or a rural view.
Professional watercolour artist Oliver Pyle has created a brilliant tutorial to demonstrate landscape painting techniques. Learn how to paint a watercolor landscape with Gathered.
Photography by Steve Peskett © Sky UK Limited.
