Fine Art student features on Portrait Artist of the Year
A BA Fine Art student has reflected on the “surreal moment” that he featured on Sky’s Portrait Artist of the Year.
Robert McLeod, a third year student, will feature in the twelfth season of the popular TV show, with his episode airing on Wednesday 5 November.
The competition takes portrait artists from across the country and assigns them the task of painting a mystery celebrity in real time before facing a panel of three judges.
This year's lineup ranges from politics, to pop, science, to performance, and includes popular names such as Brian Cox, Mary Berry, Yungblud, and astronaut Tim Peake.
The winner is in with a chance to win a £10,000 commission from The Royal Society and will paint mathematician and broadcaster Hannah Fry.
Robert took part in a total of four hours filming and painting against two other artists in his group earlier this year. He was also up against two other groups of three who painted different celebrities.
Each artist took a different approach to the task. Robert decided to photograph the celebrity and based his painting off the photo, whereas others painted directly from the live view.
Robert McLeod on the set of Portrait Artist of the Year
He said: “It was very weird to be on the set with all the cameras, and I felt like an imposter because I’m just a university student going up against these professional artists.
“We were all very different in my group, but they were all supportive and lovely, so it didn't really feel like a competition, more like I was painting amongst friends.”
The cameras weren't the only pressure Robert faced as a live audience sat behind him throughout the process watching the artists at work.
He added: “I’ve always been shy but since applying to the show, my confidence has grown a lot.”
Robert’s art has developed over the years at Salford. He began his journey focusing on realism portraits, but he has since explored the world of stylism, where he expresses his own artistic identity through his work.
The Salford student has watched the show since he was a child and knew he wanted to apply for many years. Whilst we cannot say how he got on during his performance, we can say that his mystery celebrity model did end up buying his portrait.
The exposure he will receive from the episode is a valuable opportunity for Robert as he hopes to become a full-time, self-employed artist following graduation next July.
Portrait Artist of the Year airs on Sky Arts every Wednesday night at 8pm.
Banner image courtesy of Sky Arts.
For all press office enquiries please email communications@salford.ac.uk.
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