The Big Painting Challenge

Deedaa your opening statement 'I should like a few days with Pascal' made me splutter into my tea as I find him rather dishy, but once I'd recovered I saw the whole sentence and found myself agreeing. I think he's inspiring and thinks out of the box and tries to get the painters to relax and approach their tasks in a different way. He's also supportive of them when the judges are being critical, judging by his facial expressions.

Bit of an irritating programme otherwise, I'm sure there are many talented painters out there, you can see them in every local gallery and craft shop.

Is that on Sky? I haven't seen it so guessing it is I don't have Sky

Sorry thats for Deedaa

No it's not Sky. It's on BBC 2.

The portrait painter of the year was on Sky Arts Bluebelle

I know what you mean Azie09 but as I must be old enough to be his mother I've resigned myself to only being interested in the art

Well the right person won - she was out in front from the start.

But why make them paint on a boat for goodness sake? - I bet Canaletto was somewhere a bit more comfortable! It just made the painting difficult and hindered them all from giving of their best. And poor Jennifer felt seasick - how grim.

I think Suman was a deserved winner however I thought Davids painting of his Dad was excellent and his seascape ok too I just don't get Jennifer, back to the hair again and I didn't like her portrayal of her mum at all I think Alan's portrait was not bad although the blob of yellow on her cheek drew my eye to it all the time I wasn't very keen on his Canaletto
I don't think apart from Suman that the standard was that high and I cannot for the life of me see any attraction in Pascal

I ll miss it though

I agree Suman was a worthy winner.

David's portrait of his dad was possibly the best thing I'd seen on the whole series.
I hope he got to take it home.

I think Suman's dad portrait was the best of the lot. Yes, she was the right winner.
Couldn't make out why Jennifer's portrait was praised to the skies! I couldn't make it out at all.
....sorry the series is finished!

The attraction of Pascal, aside from physical attractiveness which is a personal mattress, is that he is clearly a very good teacher.
I thought he was a supportive and imaginative teacher. He was patient and took the time to look and listen before offering concrete suggestions. He also encouraged the painters to move out of their comfort zones, one of the reasons that Suman improved so much. I am glad she won and so very glad that Jennifer didn't. I thought the latter would in some kind of reality show stitch up sort of way! ?

Personal matter not mattress. Oh how I loathe auto correct!

Someone asked about the Rev Richard Coles. This month's Cotswold Life magazine has an article about him. He was a star of a 1980s group call The Communards. I don't remember them but do remember their hit song 'Don't Leave me this Way', was a leading gay campaigner and writes successful books. Nothing about painting though!

I couldn't argue about the winner but, on the evidence of the final, I found it hard to choose between the 2 leading contenders.

Richard Coles has also appeared on 'Have I Got News For You'. He has a a good sense of humour, gentle with enough cutting edge. I suspect he has about as much experience of painting as Sue Perkins has of baking. I am not sure that he fitted as neatly into the role of presenter as she does [did].

Still chuckle thinking of the bit in the zoo when Pascal said "It's not a pond" and Camilla said "What is it?" "It's a flamingo". Both with a deadpan delivery and so funny!

Just read most of this thread. I'm surprised so many people disliked this programme as I thought it was excellent although I agree there were too many presenters/mentors/judges. The reason I liked it so much was because the painters were obviously amateurs and some of them not very good at all so I could relate to them, especially when they just did not know where to start, which is usually my problem! I was surprised there was only the one abstract painter (Jennifer) as abstraction has surely become mainstream by now? All through the programme I was thinking how difficult it must be to work with a mentor looking over your shoulder and it was interesting at the end, when the mentors were not there, that two of the painters (David and Jimmy) reverted to their own way of painting and more or less ignored advice given to them throughout the programme. Suman, however, had obviously taken her mentor's advice to heart and it showed. Like others, I think she was a worthy winner.

I really enjoyed this programme and also liked that the artists were obviously amateurs and could show improvement during the series, and as you say NotTooOld easy to relate to. Although I like Richard Coles on his "Saturday Live" radio 4 prog I thought he (and dog collar) seemed odd on this show. I thought Suman's portrait was really good, but I liked David's seascape the best. I think the challenges they had were very difficult, and think it would have been better to build up to more difficult exercises over more weeks. Hope they do another.

I enjoyed this programme overall but I think they should have been given a variety of mediums to use for different challenges to test their wider artistic skills more rigorously ...so one challenge to be completed in watercolour; another in oils; another in acrylics etc. Then for some of the challenges, free choice. They did that in the last series and it added another aspect to the challenges

Nottooold you say surely abstract painting is mainstream I don't think there's a problem with abstract painting it's just that that is obviously the only way Jennifer can paint so really taking part in most of the challenges was pointless as she dealt with them all with the same method she should not have been in the final she would probably hold her own in an Abstract painting challenge but all her pictures looked the same
I don't think many people said they disliked the programme but plenty found parts of it to critise which is fine We re all Tv critics