In 2022, I was lucky enough to be selected as a wildcard in Sky Arts Landscape artist of the year competition in the heat at Compton Verney, Warwickshire. Here are a few of my tips for the day!
Weather: you are outdoors no matter what! My heat turned out to be a blazing hot day and there was no shade where I had chosen to set up my easel. Take sunscreen and a hat. However the day before, another heat in the same place had suffered torrential rain! Lots of watercolourists had their work diluted and dripped, and any collage workers needed weights to hold down their equipment to stop the wind from blowing it away. You can’t guarantee that there will be rocks nearby so take everything you may need with you.
Rain: there were no many brilliant ideas for shelters on show just in case it rained. I bought a cheap tarpaulin shelter with poles from Decathlon for about £40 – although if it had been windy I would not have had a hope of it surviving. Some people had toilet tents that they sat in on upturned buckets, and some diehard plein air arists had bespoke umbrellas fixed to their easels. I liked that idea as it also gave them some shade from the sun on the day.
Food & Drink: I didn’t know what would be available at Compton Verney especially as we were mid pandemic so I took all my food and drink with me for the day. Turns out you could access the cafe at the venue but as you’ve only got 4 hours to complete the painting, you won’t want to use it up by traipsing to get a cuppa! You do get time to have lunch so its not a 4 hour straight painting session.
Start time: It’s an early start! You need to register and expect to be at the registration place by about 7am. I went down the night before and stayed in a local pub but some people set their alarm and left their house at 4am to get there. Try and get there the nigth before if you can – you don’t want the stress of traffic or of being tired on the day.
Equipment: As I said before, you need to take everything you will need with you, including food, drink, and weather precautions. You are likely to have to walk from registration to where the production crew will direct you to set up your easel so make sure you can carry everything you have. There were some amazing, ingenious ideas to carry everything, from wheelie suitcases, to homemade sack trucks, to expensive looking stacked boxes on wheels. I went with bags with straps that I could stack on my shoulds, and a rucksack. Top tip – if you are using a portable easel, they can be heavy. Mine was and only had a handle. I wished I has fixed a strap to it so it could go over my shoulder.
Finally: it is such an amazing experience! I met so many lovely artists and the judges are so approachable and interested in what you are doing. The production crew take such joy in your excitement. It’s clear they all love doing this show. Have a wonderful time and good luck!