Passionate amateur artists undertake an intensive, six-week, artistic boot camp in a bid to perfect their skills and be crowned the overall champion.
Mariella Frostrup and Rev Richard Coles host a competition in which amateur artists compete against one another. Each episode sees the contestants face two challenges, with a mentor to help guide the way, before a panel of judges scrutinise their work and send one of the artists home. In this episode the artists are taking on still life. The first challenge sees them facing a table laden with objects. The mentors, Diana Ali and Pascal Anson, demonstrate some handy tips. In the second challenge the artists have to tackle still life on a much larger scale. Half of them must tackle a set based on Vincent van Gogh's Bedroom in Arles painting, and the other half must interpret Roy Lichtenstein's Interior with Waterlilies. Wrestling with oil paint, sightlines and proportions, the artists set out to express their artistic personalities on canvas. At a private viewing the results are seen by members of the public, who can give their favourite artist an automatic pass through to the next round. Then it is up to the judges, Lachlan Goudie, Daphne Todd and Dr David Dibosa, to deliver their verdicts and decide which of them will be sent home.
Mariella Frostrup and the Rev Richard Coles are once more on hand to oversee the battle of the brushes, as the nine remaining amateur artists face their next challenges. In episode two, the amateur artists are on the English south coast to tackle landscapes, battling the elements in Hastings as they paint outdoors. Their first test is a tricky one, as they must accurately portray the straight lines and diminishing perspective of Hastings' newly refurbished pier. The next day there is a sea change, and it's four seasons in one day as the meteorological muses throw everything they have at the intrepid artists. This time they are on the pier itself as they face the shoreline to take on the landscape, architecture and beachfront that makes Hastings such an iconic town. Once again the mentors are on hand to help them navigate the challenge to capture perspective, composition and sense of place, but some artists are more receptive than others. The public panel is made up of Hastings locals, who vote to keep in their favourite for one more week, but it's up to the judges to decide who goes.
There are eight amateur artists still in the frame, and they take a walk on the wild side as the competition once again gets trickier. This time they're heading to ZSL Whipsnade Zoo and are asked to paint animals. Capturing that spark of life while stood in front of a living, breathing wild creature is incredibly tricky, and mentors Pascal and Diana are on hand to help every step of the way. First up, they get in a flap as they face the flamingos, and the deceivingly simple form of these feisty birds trips some of our artists up. As ever, the judges don't spare anyone's blushes when they pass comment on the efforts. From graceful birds to lumbering animals, the easels move to the elephant enclosure, and the artists come face to face with these magnificent creatures. With the judges looking for the artists to convey a sense of life, the texture of the skin and the sheer size of the elephants, who will rise to the challenge and whose efforts will be more Dumbo than dramatic? The public panel vote to keep one artist in the competition, and the judges decide whose time in the competition is up. Mariella Frostrup and the Rev Richard Coles are the hosts.
With the competition hotting up, our seven remaining amateur artists head to the world-famous National Portrait Gallery in London and face two portraiture challenges as they fight for their place in next week's semi-final. Portraits are notoriously difficult as everyone can tell if the human face looks right or wrong, so there is nowhere to hide if they want to secure their place in the competition. They first have to produce a self-portrait that is not only a realistic representation but also conveys some of their character and emotions. For some, unsurprisingly, their main emotion appears to be fear, particularly as judge Daphne Todd OBE is a world-renowned portrait artist herself. The mentors, Pascal and Diana, are on hand to guide their teams and help keep the nerves under control. The pressure is then ramped up another few notches as they are presented with undoubtedly their hardest challenge so far. The artists are given just five hours to produce a portrait of a celebrity sitter, something that an established artist would take weeks, if not months, over. Pascal's team must paint the inimitable Angela Rippon OBE, and Diana's artists have to capture the indomitable Baroness Floella Benjamin. The tension in both rooms is palpable as the artists struggle to translate such familiar faces, and many very nearly crumble. Who will be saved by the public panel, and who will the judges take through to next week's semi-final? With Mariella Frostrup and Rev Richard Coles.
Mariella Frostrup and Rev Richard Coles host the semi-final of the amateur painting competition, and the five remaining artists are facing their toughest challenge yet - capturing the human body in movement. For two hours, a solo dancer spins, plies and pivots in front of the artists. Mentors Diana Ali and Pascal Anson are on hand to help, but all of the painters are pushed out of their comfort zone. For the second challenge, a troupe of ballerinas appear and perform selected extracts from Swan Lake. Even the judges admit that this is a challenge they wouldn't want to have to tackle. All five amateur artists step up to the plate and give it their best shot, with some stunning results at the end. But only four of them can make it through to the final. Who will the public viewing panel choose to go straight through, and who will the judges send home?
With the winning post in sight, the amateur artists have two nail-biting challenges remaining. With Mariella Frostrup and the Rev Richard Coles overseeing proceedings, it's the last chance for the finalists to impress the judges with everything they've learned throughout the series. The starting point is Queen's House, Greenwich, where there's 400 years of history and art to soak up in the magnificent surroundings. There is a surprise in store for the artists as they are given their first test. They have to paint a portrait, but their sitters are only revealed to them at the start of the challenge. Will all of the artists be happy with who they come face to face with? For the final challenge of the series, not only are the artists' skills put to the test but also their sea legs, with a trip on the Thames. They are faced with the magnificent view of the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, practically unchanged since it inspired Italian master Canaletto over 250 years ago. If that wasn't enough to contend with, mentors Pascal Anson and Diana Ali take a step back to see who has absorbed their artistic advice and who will completely ignore it. Judges Daphne Todd, David Dibosa and Lachlan Goudie have the tricky task of deciding who will be the winner of the Big Painting Challenge 2017.
