The Big Painting Challenge

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 Goghs Bedroom in Arles painting, and the other half must interpret Roy Lichtensteins 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.

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 weeks 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. Pascals team must paint the inimitable Angela Rippon OBE, and Dianas 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 weeks semi-final? With Mariella Frostrup and Rev Richard Coles.