In addition to the final celebrity sitter, finalists are required to make a portrait of a loved one - in this case, I painted my housemate and best friend, Matt. In this blog post and in my desire to teach people about monoprinting, I wanted to discuss this portrait, including the process, challenges and certain decisions I made before painting Brian Cox in the last leg of the competition. Matt, Housemate 2025 Mixed-media (monotype, watercolour and pastel) on Hahnemühle paper Image size: 100...

So, the final is here, and if you've already watched the episode, you'd know that I am honoured to have been named the winner of this year's Portrait Artist of the Year competition! I've made a separate post about the commission piece I made of my housemate and best friend, Matt, which you can read here . Before getting into the thick of my portrait of Brian Cox, I wanted to talk a bit about making a monotype for the finals. Like my other posts, I've broken up my blog into the following...

For the semi-finals, the heat winners and I walked into the main hall of the Battersea Arts Centre; what was once a segmented stage was now a beautiful set that reflected English heritage, a love of baking and grand floral arrangements. When we were speculating on who our sitter would be, our guesses were pretty unanimous, and from my many years of watching Bake Off, I was excited to have Mary Berry walk on the platform and sit down in front of me. Like my blog post about the heats, I've...