Alice Kwan, who lives in Oxford, was selected as one of just 48 artists to appear on the prestigious art competition show, and the episode featuring her will air tonight, Wednesday, January 21.
Landscape Artist of the Year is aired every Wednesday on Sky Arts and puts a special selection of artists forward to compete in a series of heats, four hour painting sessions of a chosen landscape, before the ‘best’ of the group is decided in a semi-final and final.
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This year, Ms Kwan was selected to compete in the heat competition in St James’ Park from an artist’s ‘pod’ in the park, and whether she made it to the semi-final of the show will be revealed tonight.
The artist said: “The experience was a whirlwind. Filming at St James’s Park was incredibly intense.
“I had four hours to capture Buckingham Palace while the weather shifted from toasty sun to sudden showers.
“As a non-native speaker, the added pressure of being interviewed while trying to compete a competition was quite daunting and it made me very self-conscious of my accent.
“Under that kind of pressure, my usual loose style became much more detailed than I usually do as I fought to control the painting against the ticking clock.
“But the camaraderie with the other pod artists and the cheers from the crowd made it a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
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She’s been working as an artist since 2021, when lockdowns during the Covid pandemic gave her the chance to commit to it, and was encouraged by friends to apply for the show.
“Many of them have been long-time fans of the show and kept telling me that my style would be a great fit for the competition,” Ms Kwan said. “Their belief in my work gave me the push I needed.
“It meant stepping far outside my comfort zone and putting my work up for national critique.”
Although the hard part is done, the artist said she’s “very nervous” to see the episode aired, as she’ll be finding out in real time what the judges thought of her work, but she’s also “excited for everyone to see the work we all put in”.
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Ms Kwan added: “Landscape Artist of the Year is a massive opportunity to share my work with a much wider audience.
“It’s really affirmed my professional journey so far. As someone who often struggles with ‘imposter syndrome’ in the art world, being selected for a pod was a huge confidence boost.
“I hope this platform allows me to connect with more collectors and encourages me to keep pushing the boundaries of my practice.”
The episode of Landscape Artist of the Year featuring Ms Kwan will air at 8pm on Wednesday, January 21 on Sky Arts.
The semi-final will air at the end of February and the final on March 4.