Review: Episode 4 Portrait Artist of the Year 2026 PAOTY Episode 4 As usual, this review of Episode 4 follows my standard format, which covers: the three sitters the nine artists self-portrait submissions themes arising in the episode who the sitters chose the shortlist for a place in the semi-finals of PAOTY 2026 the winner the sitters for the next episode. The Arti Shah "Cheese" (what they call one of the segments) - before she chooses which finished artwork to take home. This post is a bit later again this week due to four days this week spent connecting my neck with the NHS. Those who follow on Facebook will know what I'm talking about! Yesterday I was supposed to have two more "flexion" X-rays (to be absolutely 100% sure I've not broken my neck in two places!) but that didn't happen due to a paperwork cockup. Then this morning phone calls with neurosurgery sorting it out - and they phoned me! The end is in sight - hopefully tomorrow..... Episode 4: The Sitters To me they all seemed to be very good sitters, staying remarkably still. The sitters were: Danny Beard - a British drag performer and singer who won the fourth series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK. He has also appeared on other popular television reality tv competitions and tends to do reasonably well. Danny Beard - in drag Arti Shah - a person of reduced stature (she's just four feet tall) who is an actress and motivational speaker with over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry. Her most recent roles has involved starring as Paddington in Paddington: The Musical in London’s West End - which won Best New Musical at the Laurence Olivier Awards in April 2026. She's also very active in the world of Creature FX where she with prosthetics, movement reference, and motion capture.to bring creatures to life. Manny Woodard meeting Arti Shah for the first time Yalda Hakim - an Afghan-born Australian broadcast journalist who grew up in Sydney and worked for Australian TV before moving to the BBC and subsequently Sky News as Lead World News presenter. She is also a documentary maker. She is a specialist in Middle Asia and is a fluent speaker in 5 languages: English, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, and Pashto - and she's learning Mandarin. She's the daughter of Afghan refugees and her special object was a bowl made of lapis lazuli - which comes from Afghanistan, which was wonderful to see. Episode 4: The Artists three of the artists - Sammy, Suzanne and Luke talking with their sitter - Danny Beard There is a profile of the artists on the PAOTY website. Below you get a mini profile of each artist which is missing from that page. THE ARTISTS, in alphabetical order, are: Sammy Alam (Instagram) - a fashion student from Montreal, Quebec, Canada now based in London. He completed his Foundation Diploma in Art and Design at Central St Martins in 1925. Suzanne Barton (Instagram) - A former author and illustrator of children's books based in Oxford. She has done classes with the Art Students League (New York), Sunningwell School of Art, and Heatherleys. She became interested in oil painting in 2021. Her submission for this competition was her first ever self portrait. Oliver Bedeman (Instagram) - a contemporary figurative painter who specialises in portraiture and reverse oil painting on glass. He is based in Oxfordshire and works primarily from life and also as an art teacher. He graduated from the University of Brighton in 2007 with a B.A (Hons) Fine Art Painting. Followed by the Postgraduate Drawing Year at the Royal Drawing School. He has been successful in being selected for leading awards eg Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery (See my two posts about "Artists with their Paintings" in 2018 and 2024). Prior to this he was selected for The Threadneedle Prize in 2016 and 2018. His track record to date suggests to me he will, in due course, be approved for membership of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. Oliver Bedeman - with his self portrait (reverse oil painting on glass) outside Battersea Arts Centre where PAOTY heats are filmed Harry Garner (Instagram) - Now based in Liverpool, he was Born in rural Leicestershire into a multi-generational farming family, he left the family farm to study Fine Art & Art History at the Liverpool School of Creative and Performing Arts, graduating with First Class Honours in 2019. He is now Svetlana Kornilova (Instagram) A Russian artist who now lives in London. She studied art in Russia. Luke McKenzie (Instagram) - an artist and writer based in Newcastle - with a BA (Hons) Fine Art (2024) from Newcastle University. His artwork is inspired by the high renaissance and explores themes of queer martyrdom. He is very used to painting drag queens. He very definitely got paired with the right sitter! Sebastien Shead (Instagram) - a retail associate and an art student from a village in North Yorkshire - now based in London. He has a BA in Fine Art (Bath Spa University 2024) which allowed him to spend time on his studies of the methods and materials of the Old Masters. Followed by two years spent studying observational drawing and painting at the Heatherley School of Art. Which means I attended his graduation show this summer. Minnie Themba (Instagram) - a fine art student, currently studying for a BA Fine Art at Central Saint Martins. Manny Woodard (Instagram) - Based in Arundel. She is a sculptor who has developed her drawing activities of late. She began making portraits in 2023 after being accepted into the Worthing Portrait Artist of the Year competition (based on PAOTY). In 2025, she won the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Purchase Prize for Drawing. She now draws from life every week at local art groups, finding the study of faces and character endlessly fascinating Episode 4: Self Portrait SubmissionsREAD MORE......>> https://makingamark.blogspot.com/2026/10/review-episode-4-portrait-artist-of-year-2026.html #portraitartist #episode #artishah #dannybeard #artists #sitters #paotyepisode #review #drag #instagram #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

USk Workshop – Ferrari on Paper USK Workshop with Brindarica Rose November/December 2026 (Zürich, Switzerland) About the workshop: Ferrari on Paper introduces a fast, spontaneous approach to urban sketching, focusing on drawing directly from observation with confidence and clarity. The session explores how speed, intention, and simplicity can transform everyday moments into lively sketches. Participants will complete four rapid observational sketches and two small watercolour studies within the 3.5‑hour session. Although the pace is energetic, this format has been successfully delivered by Brinda at the Swiss USK Symposiums in 2021, 2022, and 2024, consistently receiving highly positive feedback. The structure is designed to support sketchers who wish to develop quicker decision‑making, stronger visual prioritisation, and efficient watercolour techniques. This workshop is shaped by the realities of sketching with limited time — capturing scenes between commitments, during short pauses in daily life, or in those unexpected pockets of waiting. It offers strategies for making the most of 10–15 minutes on a commute, a brief moment in a waiting room, or the gap before collecting a child from an activity. Participants will learn how to work with speed, intention, and clarity, becoming more agile and confident when sketching on the go — a true “Ferrari on paper.” Learning Goals How to find focal points and draw with 4 speed sketches in 4 directions How to work with a charcoal pencil to accentuate a view point. Paint fast with two complimentary colours in big shapes. Loosen up, and see the beauty in your ‘half-finished’ sketches. Timetable 3.5 hours of instruction on either date: 28th November or 5th December 2026; 14.00-17.30hrs at Zurich Bahnhof Workshop Part 1: A5 papers with pencil How to find focal points and draw with 4 speed sketches in 4 directions. How to work with a charcoal pencil or 6B to accentuate a view point. Paint fast with two complimentary colours in big shapes. Loosen up, and see the beauty in your ‘half-finished’ sketches. Workshop Part 2: A4 paper or your USK diary with watercolours or brushpens With loose watercolours, and strategic use of ‘paper-whites’, you will colour big shapes with warm and cold colours. With a busy place like Zurich Bahnhof, with movement, colours, people, stalls, and the Christmas market, you will find enough subjects, learn to skim through them, filter out one subject with which you connect the most. Workshop Fee Per participant: 90 CHF; Participants can book through Eventbrite: November: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/urbansketching-with-brinda-in-zurich-bahnhof-tickets-2003071813716?aff=28NovUSKZH December: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/copy-of-urbansketching-with-brinda-in-zurich-bahnhof-tickets-2003073422528?aff=oddtdtcreator Cancellation: Cancellation is free up to 5 days in advance. Language The workshop will be held in English/German. Suggested Materials: Pencils (4B, 6B) Watercolours and brushes Watercolour paper or sketching diary. A comfortable sitting stool, and weather appropriate clothing. Register here Register here About the Instructor Brinda is a passionate urban sketcher and a watercolourist from Switzerland, born in India, she has sketched in the snow, sea and sand. As a working mother, she also has less free time, hence utilise every opportunity she gets to sketch on the go, like a Ferrari on paper. She mostly uses pencils, watercolours and charcoal pencils. As an urbansketching instructor in three Swiss Sketching Symposiums 2021, ‘22 and ‘24, and as an art teacher for adults, with more than 10 years of experience, she loves to share her experience with students, and help them with challenges, and keep them motivated. She travels a lot too. In 2024, she sketched with the USk groups from Wales in UK, and Scotland, then in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and also with the USk group in San Jose, Costa Rica. She is also one of the co-founders of Aargau Urban Sketchers Group in Switzerland. Any queries: Please contact Brindarica Bose: [email protected]; View her work on @artistbrinda and website www.brindarica.art The post USk Workshop – Ferrari on Paper appeared first on Urban Sketchers. https://urbansketchers.org/2026/10/29/usk-workshop-ferrari-on-paper/ #ferrari #uskworkshop #paper #workshoppart #brindaricarose #december #swissusk #usksymposiums #zurichbahnhof #watercolour #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

THANKS for getting me through my Spinal Shocker Yesterday was one of those days I will never ever forget. I walked into A&E at my local teaching hospital to get a CT Scan done on my neck. (I'd had an excruciating pain at the back of my neck the previous week - you will remember my review of PAOTY was delayed until Sunday) The first thing I was told by the doctor who saw me, who had read the Radiologist's report from the local community hospital where I had my x-Ray done on Monday was that "You've broken your neck in two places" A bit of a shocker - as I'm sure you will agree. So I had ID tag put round my wrist, a cannula put in, bloods taken, a gown put on and a hard cervical collar put on - until I looked like this Me at the Royal London Hospital yesterday morning Being all on my own, (I thought I was just going for a CT Scan for a better picture of my neck), I rang my partner and told him what I'd been told and told him not to come down until things were clearer i.e. saving him from coming and going if I needed to be admitted. Then I needed to talk, so told all my followers on my Making A Mark Facebook Page what was happening to me. Apparently, I’ve broken my neck in two places! Just waiting for a hard collar to go on (got it!) Then CT Scan. Then MRI scan. Then a chat with a neuro surgeon…. THANK YOU Thank you all your kind words of support and information and advice These kept me going through several hours of arranging a CT Scan and then waiting for the results and then getting signed off by the Neurosurgery doctors - as they could not see a fracture. I am so very grateful to all of you who commented. Your responses allowed me to reply and kept me occupied while I sat and worried about what was happening and what it all meant - and the implications were numerous and horrifying. (i.e. what do you do for the rest of your life if you sever your spinal cord at your cervical spine???) This morning, one of the neurosurgery doctors rang and said they'd like a couple of more x-rays just to be absolutely safe that there's no fracture. Which I'm very happy to do. Double checking and being super safe is my kind of medicine. So I've got to go back for two flexion x-rays - with neck leaning forward and backwards. But they're not expecting them to find anything - apart from the degenerative damage caused by my age and osteoarthritis. I'll be updating all my friends and followers on Facebook with what happened next - because you were the BEST yesterday! You got me through a very frightening experience. PS Never ever go to hospital without packing a battery charger! https://makingamark.blogspot.com/2026/10/spinal-shocker-thanks.html #spinalshocker #scan #hospital #royallondon #facebookpage #markfacebook #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Review: Episode 3 Portrait Artist of the Year 2026 Apologies for the late publication of my review of Episode 3 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2026. This is not one of my better reviews for a variety of reasons. I had a few distractions last week Tuesday: Met with Commissioning Editor of a reputable publisher and got commissioned to write a second art book, of which more in due course - but I'm excited and had started jotting things down - which was a major distraction - before... Wednesday: got up very early to escort my other half partner for his surgery - and then got sent back home because of no bed; Thursday: an excruciating pain developed in the back of my neck (fracture from recent fall or cervical spondylosis?) which painkillers did not dampen down. The only thing that worked was an Icepack - tied on with a scarf! So I went looking for solutions.... which lost a day... plus did a 111 assessment and got a GP appointment and had a very bad night's sleep despite trying every pain medication! Friday: Saw the GP - discussed what it might be; got an appointment for an x-ray and appointment with normal GP for next week. PLUS I developed a very "wet nose" sneezy cold - presumably caught from sitting around in crowded hospitals and GP surgeries! Very tired all through Friday and Saturday. Anyway, so now on to what was supposed to be one of the intended brightspots of the week - my review of Episode 3 of PAOTY Series 13. I sneezed constantly through writing most of this.... PAOTY Episode 3 "A little bit of judging" This is my review of Episode 3 which covers: the three sitters the nine artists self-portrait submissions themes arising in the episode who the sitters chose the shortlist for a place in the semi-finals of PAOTY 2026 the winner Episode 3: The Sitters READ MORE......>> https://makingamark.blogspot.com/2026/10/review-episode-3-portrait-artist-of-year-2026.html #portraitartist #episode #review #paotyepisode #very #commissioningeditor #sitters #plus #friday #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

The Aberfan Portraits Today marks the 60th anniversary of the Aberfan Disaster in South Wales. A colliery spoil tip soaked by rain collapsed down a hillside. Around 150,000 tonnes of wet slurry crashed into the village of Aberfan. The Pantglas Junior School was directly in its path and was buried. In total 116 children and 28 adults were killed in the Junior School, part of the neighbouring Secondary School and a nearby row of houses. It happened at 9.15am and no survivors were found after 11am. A new BBC programme "Unseen: The Aberfan Portraits" tells the story of how paintings were created of some of the children who were lost. (see below for how to watch it) An artist called William Richardson worked in North Wales, Llandudno, sketching visitors on holiday and celebrities. He was greatly affected by what had happened. He very much wanted to help the families who has lost children. Which is how he came to paint their portraits from family photos. In all he painted about a 100 portraits. Some of the portraits of Aberfan children lost in the disaster painted by William Richardson The paintings were not small, as these extracts from the BBC film illustrate Jeanette Keane - with the portrait of her sister Edwina Denise Morgan with her portrait of her younger sister Annette Importantly, the portraits recreated the children within the family home and enabled people to talk about them - and to them - again. They are now being passed down to the generations or donated to local museums so that this important record of their existence ensures they will never be forgotten. I don't know if William Richardson was ever honoured for what he did - but I rather think he should have been. You can watch the programme about the portraits on BBC iPlayer - Unseen: The Aberfan Portraits I remember the disaster really well. At the time I was 12, just a few years older than the children who were killed. I'll never ever forget the shock of seeing the television news and the Junior School which was submerged and destroyed by the coal slurry. Inside it were 116 children who never made it out alive. Pantglas Junior School and the efforts to retrieve the bodies of the living and the dead https://makingamark.blogspot.com/2026/10/the-aberfan-portraits.html #aberfanportraits #juniorschool #williamrichardson #pantglasjunior #southwales #bbc #secondaryschool #disaster #unseen #annetteimportantly #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

A bookstore to call home Every time I am in Darjeeling, I seem to end up in Oxford Bookstore on the Mall Road. It could be the books, or maybe the ambience of the place, or the feeling I get that makes me fond of it, but whatever it is, Oxford Bookstore has become my favorite place. I decided to sketch it down in my sketchbook this time around. As people bustled by on the Mall and the clouds floated by over the hills, I pulled out my colors and set about capturing this little piece of heaven on canvas. We all have places that hold a special place in our hearts, even if it’s just for a moment. This place, this wonderful haven called Oxford Bookstore, is one such place for me. It is a part of my little world, that I return to over and over again. And I guess that’s what kept bringing me back to it, over and over again, every time I went to this beautiful little town nestled in the lap of the Himalayas. Author Nanda Lal Debnath Artist's Website https://www.instagram.com/silentstrokes1729 The post A bookstore to call home appeared first on Urban Sketchers. https://urbansketchers.org/2026/10/19/a-bookstore-to-call-home/ #oxfordbookstore #mallroad #debnathartist #laldebnath #nandalal #darjeeling #himalayas #website #authornanda #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Istanbul, Layer by Layer Istanbul is a city you never see all at once. Every street rests on an older street, every building remembers the one that stood before it. A Byzantine church becomes a mosque, then a museum, then a mosque again. A wooden mansion built by an Armenian family now serves tea to strangers. An Ottoman gravestone, carved for someone whose name few can read anymore, disappears slowly under poppies. Between May and October 2026 I tried to draw some of these layers, in Eyüp, on the Princes’ Islands, along the old land walls and in Balat, sometimes alone, sometimes with Urban Sketchers Istanbul. My small yellow square sketchbook is always with me, so the city never has to wait for a better moment. I draw very fast. I usually skip the pencil and start straight in ink, then drop watercolour on top while the scene is still in front of me. There is no time for details, so the drawing becomes a matter of choosing what really matters. After years in animation, I still think of figures as frozen frames of movement rather than static poses. And I rarely paint the real colours; I paint what the moment feels like. Watercolour helps with that, because it never quite does what you plan. Each page becomes a small conversation between me, the paint and the place. What struck me most in Istanbul was not how much of the past survives, but how casually it lives alongside the present: taxis circling a mosque by Mimar Sinan, café tables in front of an island mansion, cats sleeping above a quiet cove. In a few drawings I let the past step back in. A man in a fast walks past a house on Kınalıada. Theodore Metochites, who appears in the mosaics of Kariye offering the church to Christ, kneels outside and offers it once more, as it looks today. I did not see them that day, of course. But in Istanbul you always feel that someone stood exactly where you stand, looking at the same wall, centuries earlier. On some pages I wrote the names in two scripts, Latin and Ottoman, because the city still seems to speak in both. Drawing here feels less like recording a place and more like listening to it. Ink, watercolour and pastel in a small yellow square sketchbook. About the artist Mehmet Saygın is an illustrator based in Adana, Turkey. He began drawing cartoons for Turkish humour magazines as a university student, then spent around fifteen years in animation before moving into mobile game design. He returned to sketchbook drawing recently, and sketches with Urban Sketchers Istanbul. Author Mehmet Saygin Artist's Website https://www.instagram.com/mehmet_saygin/ The post Istanbul, Layer by Layer appeared first on Urban Sketchers. https://urbansketchers.org/2026/10/19/istanbul-layer-by-layer/ #layer #istanbul #sketchersistanbul #urbansketchers #drawing #ottoman #watercolour #mehmet #artist #mimarsinan #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Malacca Foodie Memories 2025 Sketching my way through my favorite food stops in historic Malacca. Author Thant Swe Artist's Website https://www.thantswe.com/blog/ The post Malacca Foodie Memories 2025 appeared first on Urban Sketchers. https://urbansketchers.org/2026/10/19/malacca-foodie-memories-2025/ #sweartist #thantswe #authorthant #website #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Sketches from Puerto Rico I lived in Puerto Rico for a year and these are some of the sketchs I did walking around PR.It is very vibrant and creative place and I loved sketching some of the murals and grafetti. I would walk around Old San Juan and sit for hours and sketch the cafes and people. Author Linnea Pergola Artist's Website http://www.linneapergola.com The post Sketches from Puerto Rico appeared first on Urban Sketchers. https://urbansketchers.org/2026/10/19/sketches-from-puerto-rico/ #puertorico #oldsan #sanjuan #linneapergola #pergolaartist #authorlinnea #website #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Watercolor moments from life With help of colors i bring the moment and feeling from inside eye. dav dav dav dav Author Yağmur Çelik Artist's Website https://www.behance.net/rainartstuff The post Watercolor moments from life appeared first on Urban Sketchers. https://urbansketchers.org/2026/10/19/watercolor-moments-from-life/ #authoryagmur #yagmurcelik #celikartist #website #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit