Episode 7 Show Me the Monet

Britain's top artists make big money.

Their works can go for millions.

9.5 million. 10 million.

10.5 million. 11 million.

Up and down the country, thousands of ordinary people

are also trying to get a piece of the action.

They're putting their necks on the block for the chance

to sell at the hottest exhibition in town.

It really means a lot to me.

This one would be incredible. I'd love it.

It would mean a hell of a lot, putting my work out there for different people to see.

These artists could stand to make some serious cash.

-£5,000.

-1,500.

The price I'd put on this would be £1,400.

But first they need the seal of approval

from three of the art world's toughest critics.

I'd like to be able to say something positive to you about it.

But I can't think of anything.

Their hopes are in the hands of the Hanging Committee.

Fantastic piece of work. The best thing I've seen so far.

But I think you're one to watch for the future.

It's time to Show Me The Monet.

Hello and welcome to Show Me The Monet.

Over the past few months, ambitious artists, both professional

and amateur, have been facing our rigorous judging panel,

the Hanging Committee.

Their aim to be chosen to show and sell their work

at our prestigious London exhibition,

at The Mall Galleries, just down the road from Buckingham Palace.

But to find a spot on the walls at The Mall Galleries,

they had to impress three of the art world's sharpest critics.

Hanging judge David Lee prides himself

on cutting through the hype when it comes to modern art.

Good technique through practise is essential.

Without it they'll get nowhere.

Roy Bolton values art

for some of the world's most exclusive auction houses.

He knows that great art must have something new to say.

Originality is the backbone of a great artist.

If it's been done already, why should anybody pay attention?

And Charlotte Mullins has written ten books on contemporary culture.

She knows what it takes to cut it in the modern art world.

The key thing is that how a work is made communicates effectively

what it's trying to say.

Coming up on today's programme...

one artist goes head to head with David...

I think you're harming the contemporary art world.

I think YOU are.

I think it's people like you who get contemporary art a bad name.

..and a sculpture hits the wrong note for Charlotte.

To me it looks like some extreme floristry.

Eltham Palace, South London, was the home of society couple

and patrons of the arts Stephen and Virginia Courtauld.

They built their art deco mansion next to the ruins

of the medieval palace and it was here, in the magnificent Great Hall,

that our judges set up their Hanging Committee.

Artists from all over the country arrived in the hope

of landing a place in the exhibition.

To go through they needed at least two yeses from the judges.

Our first artist to brave the Hanging Committee was 46-year-old

Texan Broose Dickinson.

Broose moved to the UK two years ago to study fine art

and he's looking make his mark on the British art scene.

It's a second career for Broose, who up until now

has been focussed on the music industry.

I'm a singer-songwriter as well.

And in the '90s and then around 2000 it kind of switched

and visual art became in the forefront.

Did you have some hits in the '90s?

No. We were regional in Texas.

Kind of regional hits, but never beyond that.

So what are your ambitions then?

Now I maybe would like to make a more substantial living

from being an artist.

What would you do if you go to the exhibition and you sold

and you got some money, some cash in the pocket?

-I'd buy a motorcycle.

-You'd buy a motorbike to travel around the UK?

So I'd have some sort of transport here,

other than public transportation.

-All right. Good luck, sir.

-All right, thank you.

-The judges are through that door.

-Thank you.

This is a great chance for Broose to raise his profile in the UK.

He's chosen to show this curious piece.

But I'm not really sure what it is.

Broose welcome to the Hanging Committee.

-Thank you.

-Of all the works we've seen so far, I think this needs an explanation.

So would you give it please?

This is the Mona Lisa In Literary Form

and what I did is I took an image of the Mona Lisa.

I converted it to HTML.

Can you just explain what HTML is?

HTML's computer code.

Thank you.

And um I filed it with the Library of Congress as a literary work,

and therefore I own the copyright to the Mona Lisa,

at least the literary copyright.

If you put the HTML in an internet browser,

what appears to be a picture shows up in the internet of the Mona Lisa,

but it's not actually a picture,

it's just, you know, computer code HTML

telling where to put background colours in a table.

So if you try to right click and save the image, you can't.

What value do you put on this?

For this piece right here I said £1,500.

Let's have a closer look at it and discuss it further.

Hmm, I'm gob-smacked.

The Mona Lisa here on Show Me The Monet.

But not as we know it.

I'm confused. The judges look confused.

And Broose, well, he wants to sell it and buy a new motorcycle.

To get through, the judges are looking for originality,

technical skill and emotional impact.

Will Broose's work tick these boxes?

Broose, sorry for sounding facetious,

um, do you think this is clever?

I think it's partially clever.

But I also think it has a lot of relevance to what's happening now.

It's got nothing to do with photographic images

on the internet of the Mona Lisa?

-This is a...

-It does a little bit.

I mean it comments on that sort of indirectly.

What does it comment about?

The fact that you can get images,

images are so accessible on the internet and there are

so many of them and you can pretty much take what you want.

-So it's about copyright?

-Definitely.

-In a way.

That you, you know now it's very hard as an artist working,

you can't copyright your image, once it's online anyone can drag it

to their desktop and then use it for their own purposes.

Right.

Charlotte and Roy seem intrigued by the issues of copyright

Broose has raised.

But the Mona Lisa's legendary smile doesn't seem to be

rubbing off on David.

The question is could Broose sell it and make some cash?

Who would buy it, and why?

I don't, I don't know. That's why I'm, you know...

Have you sold other artworks?

Mainly paintings.

So you are a painter by, by trade?

Yes.

And what do your paintings sell for?

I generally barter them. So I...to get a flight...

Do you swap them for lemons and chickens, or something?

Well, to get a flight over here to England I traded a painting.

To... I'm also a singer-songwriter,

and to get some studio time I traded a painting.

So, while he may not be a selling artist,

Broose's work certainly has a value.

I wonder if David will be up for swapping

a place at the exhibition for a page of the Mona Lisa?

I'm a simple country boy. I need something to look at.

I don't need somebody trying to be clever.

-I mean, it's blindingly obvious to anybody with a...

-What's obvious?

-..with a brain larger than a peanut.

-What is obvious?

That there are copyright issues with the internet.

We read about them every day in the newspaper.

Why do we need somebody to make such an obvious point?

I don't think that you feel that anything can be more than an idea.

But for you to close off to that is just insulting.

No. I think you're harming the contemporary art world.

Because unfortunately a lot of people...

No, I think YOU are.

I think it's people like you who get contemporary art a bad name.

Now he's being facetious.

Well, I am in a sense as well.

Broose, we have to judge by three criteria. One is originality.

Well, to me this all about originality.

It's very relevant to the world we live in today.

And I do feel artists can and should respond to the time they live in.

I think the ideas behind this are interesting.

I just think what's letting it down for me is how it's presented,

because it's difficult to get perhaps the sense what

I can see in this from the work itself.

Is it me, or is it just getting a little bit tense in there?

Broose may have locked horns with David,

but a yes from Charlotte and Roy would see him

through to the exhibition and a chance to buy that motorbike.

David?

I think the shredder is too good for this. No.

Charlotte?

It's an interesting idea, but not clear enough for this exhibition.

-It's a no.

-OK.

Broose it's a no from me as well, I'm afraid.

Yeah, thank you for your feedback. It was very helpful.

Thank you very much.

So, with three noes, Broose won't be going to the exhibition,

but he has sparked an interesting debate

with the judges about art in the age of the internet.

And on the plus side, he does own the Mona Lisa.

Sort of.

That was quite tough in there.

As far as the feedback, I mean it's feedback

and that's what I want.

He didn't get your idea, your concept at all,

you know "Too good for the shredder". That's pretty tough.

Yeah, but I mean he made,

he's making his statement before I even walk in that room.

His opinions are based on an old-school perspective.

So he's not going to get it.

You know he just won't.

Even you know I could explain it for another five days with him

-and he would still say no.

-That doesn't bother you?

No, no.

I mean, there will be people like that all the time.

To get to the exhibition,

artists from all over the country entered with everything

from sculptures, photographs and drawings to paintings.

Only the finest though made it through to the show in London.

27-year-old Victoria Fan dropped out of her art degree

after just six months and went to work for a bank.

But the world of high finance isn't where her heart lies

and her passion for art keeps pulling her back.

If she gets through to the exhibition and sells her work,

she wants to go to China, to explore her roots.

But first she'll have to impress the three very tough judges.

I'm going to say you're confused. Because you started an art degree.

-I did.

-And then gave it up. Why?

-They took us to a gym.

They gave us a roll of loo roll and they told us

to map out our journey home on this gym floor.

And at that point I thought, slightly airy fairy for my liking.

You said, "This degree stuff is rubbish. I'm going to do something else."

So what are you doing now?

I work as a business development executive.

But your parents must be proud. You're working, got a proper job.

-Yes, I have a proper job.

-Obviously you're still doing art.

-Yes.

-You're still, I suppose following your passion.

-Yes.

So do you want it to be a profession then?

Is that why you've come to us at Show Me The Monet, someone say,

"Do you know what, you're really good?"

I would like, in the future, to do portraits and commissions full time.

-Well, I just get a sense that if you get two yeses today...

-Yeah.

-It might be the recognition and the shove in the right direction.

-Yeah.

-Well, I certainly hope you get it.

-Thank you so much.

Really lovely to meet you

-and they're waiting for you through those doors.

-Thank you.

Victoria has gone down the safe route.

A sensible job with a regular salary.

But it's not where her heart lies

and she dreams of making a living from her art.

And she's hoping the judges will tell her she's got what it takes.

But will her pencil drawing of a Chelsea pensioner

stand up to their scrutiny?

Hello, Victoria. Welcome to the Hanging Committee.

-Thank you.

-Would you introduce your drawing to us please?

This is the Chelsea Pensioner.

It's basically inspired by my friends

who are currently in the Forces

and I also wanted to reflect my hope and wish that the men and women

in the Forces currently would leave and lead long and full lives.

Have you got any connection to the Services?

A lot of my friends are in there currently.

So you know just, there's just the constant worry.

Could you tell us how much you charge for a drawing like this?

£1,000 was my guide price.

-Have you sold a lot of work?

-I've sold a few bits and pieces.

For that kind of sum?

Not for that kind of sum, no. The most I've sold is 500.

-You consider this one of your better works then, do you?

-Yes.

-That's great. Can we have a look, closer look?

-Yes, of course.

Victoria's doubled her asking price,

and I just hope the judges think her drawing is worth that much.

She'd like nothing better than to jack in the day job.

But can she convince the Hanging Committee that she could make it

as a professional artist?

What do you do for a living?

I work at HSBC Global Asset Management.

Umm, a banker.

Um, not quite.

THEY LAUGH

How big's your bonus, by the way?

Ignore him.

David, it's art, not bonuses that motivates Victoria.

But for the chance to exhibit at The Mall Galleries,

she'll have to get past these tough gatekeepers.

Can we just get this right?

Yes.

Is this fellow a pensioner from Chelsea?

Or is he actually a Chelsea Pensioner from the Royal Hospital?

-He's a Chelsea Pensioner from the Royal Hospital.

-OK.

I'm somewhat surprised you haven't chosen to draw him in uniform.

You're telling us what is driving you is that connection with

the armed forces and,

but what you chose was an image that does not give us that.

I didn't want it to be a cliche.

Because, you know, when you go to these barracks and things,

a lot of what you see are ex-serving military personnel

in their uniforms, all their regalia.

But with this, it, it did show a bit of vulnerability in the man

that used to you know fight wars and things

and I thought that was quite a, that was very interesting story.

So Victoria wanted to portray an old soldier.

But will her decision not to draw him in his uniform be her downfall?

Makes perfect sense, it's taking the man out of the Forces

and out of uniform and back to our level, rather than the, the,

the very grand status that anyone in the Forces should have.

So, a bit of division amongst the judges over the emotional message.

I wonder how they'll rate Victoria's technical ability.

It's meticulous in technique.

Don't you ever want to break out of the stranglehold of appearances?

I do.

And I've tried to become more free in how I work, but I can't do it.

I'm a great perfectionist and I won't let anything go

until I feel it's perfect and, a lot...

-You can get a lot more perfection through freedom.

-Yes.

Because being meticulous can be, can be a great asset,

but it can also go over the cliff and become laboured.

And that's when it starts looking a little bit weak.

This isn't what Victoria was hoping to hear.

She left her degree because it was too airy fairy

and didn't place enough emphasis on technique.

Now she's being criticised for being too technically perfect.

I think we're probably ready to cast a vote now.

Roy?

Victoria, you're an excellent draftswoman,

but if anything you need to spend more time on your art as a whole.

So I'm afraid Victoria, for this work I'm going to have to say no.

Victoria, I can see how upset you are.

I can see how much therefore art means to you, so don't give up.

But do use this opportunity to go away and get even better.

I'm afraid it's a no from me.

OK, thank you.

It's also a no from me, Victoria.

But I agree with Charlotte, I think you have the most perfect

foundation on which to build and experiment.

-OK, thank you.

-Thank you.

It's a bitter pill for Victoria to swallow.

She really wanted the judges' approval, so she could wave goodbye

to banking and concentrate on her art full time.

But ultimately, her drawing just didn't meet

the judges' high standards.

That was hard.

-Hiya.

-Hi, there.

-Are you all right?

-Yeah, I'm well.

-Are you sure?

-Yeah.

At one stage I thought you were going to cry.

Are you upset, or are you just in shock?

-How are you feeling?

-Um, I'm a bit sad. I am a bit sad.

But um, it will just push me to, you know,

challenge myself in ways that I haven't before.

Because they want you to go "Wey-hey!"

I know.

Express yourself. But is it in your nature?

I don't think it is.

Really?

I've literally just had this, you know, habit of doing something

so laboured and time consuming.

I don't know. I just need to get out of that habit, I guess.

-It's been a real pleasure meeting you. Good luck.

-Thank you very much.

Artists from all over the country

brought their masterpieces to show the judges.

Making it through to the exhibition and selling their work,

would be a dream come true.

But only the selected few were good enough.

Professional artist Fiona Winning's abstract beach painting,

called Tide Turns, elicited a wave of approval from the judges.

It's lovely to see an artist painting the coast, the sea,

without seagulls, beach huts.

-Yes.

-Yes.

Three yeses, Fiona. You are sailing through to our exhibition.

Thank you.

With such support, Fiona was hopeful her painting would find a buyer.

So did she receive any bids?

Well, Fiona, you wanted £1,400 for this.

Yeah.

-But we didn't get any offers.

-OK.

Some people a little bit shy of anything that's abstract,

or semi abstract.

Well, I'm sad you didn't get an offer,

but that was just the icing on the cake.

To be at our exhibition and to see you in your element has been,

reward enough for us, I hope it is enough for you.

-It is.

-All right. Well, lovely to meet you.

-Thank you.

Give her a round of applause. Bad luck.

CROWD APPLAUD

Next up was retired bank manager, Barry Harrison,

with his pencil drawing of a fantasy woodland scene.

I like to keep a simple toolkit.

The picture was a couple of pencils, a putty rubber

and some bits of tissue paper.

Although she admired his drawing skills,

some of the magic was lost on Charlotte.

The coat at the back looks paler than the coat at the front,

but it looks like a different coat.

It just confuses the reading of the work.

I don't give a monkey's what the difference between the coat

going in and the coat coming out.

So it changed, so what?

And then that old chestnut reared its head.

Does illustration have a place at a fine art exhibition?

William Blake's an illustrator

and he has a room to himself in the Tate Gallery. Yes.

But unfortunately for Barry, David's support wasn't enough

to put him through.

Cookery teacher Mary Davis brought her still life picture.

And the initial feedback seemed promising.

I like to see a still life that has no meaning other than

an arrangement of forms. You're doing good work.

That gleam of a ripe cherry is beautiful and you've used them

as kind of counterpoints to the gleam of pewter.

But the cherries weren't a fruitful addition for David.

Mary, I think this is a bit sterile for me.

I can't understand what function those cherries serve.

They don't serve any compositional function.

I like having something organic in my images,

whether it's fruit, or flowers, or twigs.

Hmm, organic or not,

Mary's cherries didn't help her to a spot at the exhibition.

Art student Hannah Wilmshurst's photograph, Night Bus,

divided Charlotte and David.

The composition is very well thought out.

You're looking in, like looking into a stage set.

She couldn't have known she was going to get that composition.

I didn't put the it on automatic.

It's something I actually composed myself.

Roy liked the emotion in Hannah's work.

I like the people in it.

For me, it's sort of an entrance into a moment in time

of people's lives that I'm interested in. Hannah, it is a yes.

But Roy's was a lone vote.

Hannah and her Night Bus didn't make a stop at The Mall.

Next up in front of the Hanging Committee

was National League hockey player Oliver Jones.

He's made his name on the hockey pitch

and now his next goal is to become a successful artist.

With a first class degree from art school in Birmingham,

26-year-old Oliver has made a good start.

-Welcome, Oliver. Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you too.

I suppose as a sportsman you're quite used to quite loud,

vociferous criticism if you get things wrong?

It's going to get like that, is it?

Someone shouting, "You're useless, get off."

No, well, you know, um, it's, it's always very nice, people going,

"Oh, yeah, nice picture", but you know to use something a little bit

more critical is, is, yeah, that's much more useful.

Well, we've got quite a prestigious exhibition and you could sell there.

-What would do with the money?

-Well, we've just got a new Labrador pub,

who seems to be taking up quite a bit of my money at the minute, so.

Oh, really, eating, chewing?

Eating and chewing, yeah, that's quite good.

-So er, you know, perhaps a gum shield for him.

-A gum shield. What's his name?

-Reuben.

-Reuben. OK.

So for a gum shield for the dog Reuben, good luck.

-Super.

-Through that door. The judges await.

-Thank you.

Well, truth to tell,

Oliver's got bigger plans than just spending on the dog.

He dreams of going on a road trip around America,

but needs some cash to fund his holiday.

If he sells this chalk pastel drawing,

it could be his ticket to ride all the way to the States.

But is it what the judges are looking for?

Oliver, hello. Tell us about it.

This is a drawing of mine, called Shrink Wrapped Flesh,

and it's from a series that looks to...um...

it's sort of a retort on how the media and industry advertises flesh.

It's an attempt to try and readvertise it as a sort of

a more everyday notion of what we respond and interact with each day,

rather than the sort of idealised presentation that we have.

It's kind of flesh that hasn't got the trimmings, basically.

You know, it's not er, it's not vamped up in any way.

-How much would you charge for this?

-About £2,500

OK, we'll take a look.

Do, please.

So, Oliver wants to strip the glamour away

from how flesh is advertised.

But will his stark look at a chicken make it on to the judges' menu?

Oliver, I see this drawing as pornographic.

It has been said.

It's obscene in so many ways.

The full frontal fleshiness of this wrapped up product is so immediate.

How do you intend people to view this?

How do you expect them to view it? Is there a political statement in there?

No, not, not so much.

It's not really a comment on you know the consumerism

or anything like that.

I mean it's about the flesh and how you know its structure.

So it's got nothing to do with over packaging, factory farming,

the unappealing colour of mass produced meat or anything like that?

Well, yeah, in that, in that respect, I suppose it kind of does,

because, you know, that is the way that industry and the media

sort of flaunt us this image of, of flesh.

You know, it becomes a product.

Well, I think without any associations with dead birds,

packaging, it stands alone brilliantly

as an incredibly beautiful image.

It makes you feel queasy.

I find it a really disturbing image.

You know, I read the, the chicken as human flesh.

The kind of bondage-like elastic round the legs,

the shrink wrapping over the top.

Hmm, the judges seem to be positively clucking over this picture.

Will Oliver's chicken come home to roost?

Could I play devil's advocate?

I am imagining we're all standing in the exhibition

and we have selected this and people are going to come in and look

at it and go, "It's a chicken in shrink wrap, I see that every day."

Are we convinced there's enough to this to stand next to it

and for everyone to get Oliver's message?

You might say that about any portrait.

"Oh, it's another person, I see those on the street."

This is why I'm saying I'm playing devil's advocate.

Because we are being judged by the work

we select for this exhibition in a way.

Well, never try and second guess the opinions of the public.

Well, I can't second guess how David may vote.

But Roy has found beauty in Oliver's chicken

and Charlotte's been nauseated and disturbed by it.

So, will Oliver make it through? It's time for the vote.

Charlotte?

Yes.

Yes.

That's a yes from me too. Thanks, can't wait to see that again.

Yeah.

That's great.

Oliver and his chicken are on their way to The Mall Galleries.

If he makes a sale,

his dream of going to America will be one step closer.

The Mall Galleries, London.

And Oliver's chicken was certainly the dish of the day

in a glittering menu.

He got the chance to mingle with members of the public,

buyers and gallery owners.

It's exciting really to suddenly get to

the culmination of the whole show really.

I feel strangely nervous, even though I've done the hard bit.

You know, it's, I don't know, it's a strange sort of feeling.

After his triumph at the Hanging Committee,

Oliver upped his price by £500 to £3,000,

10% of which he'd have to pay to an independent agent as a commission

if he sells.

The public could make sealed bids for his work,

which were kept secret even from me, until it was time to reveal

to Oliver and his family whether any offers were made on his painting.

-Oliver, great to see you.

-Hi, how's it going?

-And your chicken.

-And my chicken. Yeah, he's here.

In The Mall Galleries. How was it for you last night?

Good, good. It was busy. Yeah, got to do a bit of schmoozing.

Are you good at that?

Not particularly. It's just a job that has to be done really.

You find that uncomfortable, trying to say,

"Buy my work. I'm great." I can see your mum nodding away.

-That's, this is Mum behind you?

-Yes, this is, this is Mum.

Now, I did hear you say, Mum, a little bit earlier,

you paid for all of this, you're the patron of this.

-Patron of British arts I think.

-Right, I see.

Yeah, she says that, but her cupboards were always empty.

Oh, I bet that's not true. So we could do with getting a bit of cash

back into the household, couldn't we?

I think he deserves to be recognised.

Yeah. Let's see if all the schmoozing did any good.

How much did you want?

It was three it was down for.

£3,000. Let's find out. Moment of truth.

OK.

You didn't get any offers.

-Oh, really?

-We can't believe that, can we?

ALL: No.

-I'm really sorry about that.

-Yeah. It's a funny old time

and I thought there was a lot of vegetarians around.

A lot of vegetarians around, yeah, I know.

Well, it's good to see that Oliver still has a sense of humour.

Now he didn't get any offers on the night.

But the great news is that Oliver has been asked to show his work

at another London exhibition and auction.

Pauline Gill, from West Yorkshire, is 58 and a latecomer to art.

She loved art at school, but let at 16 and became a psychiatric nurse.

It took her 35 years to build up the confidence to go to art school.

May I say, you look spectacular.

Oh, thank you.

You're oozing creativity. Have you always been like this?

Have you always had a creative imagination?

I didn't go into university till in my early 50s, which was a bit

scary because I never even passed my 11-plus at school.

So if you did manage to get to the exhibition, right?

What would it mean to you then?

It would be like the icing on the cake really.

But getting this far is brilliant and I'm just so pleased

to think that someone likes my work.

That's meant a lot. That's given me confidence.

OK. If you did get to the exhibition and sell.

Yeah.

What would you spend it on?

Um, I think, well, I love travel, adventures.

So it would go towards travel and adventures.

And it would be nice to have my own studio,

-but I don't think that would cover it.

-No, OK.

Well, I am so excited about you going in there.

I'm really looking forward to it. Give as good as you get, right?

I'll try.

-All right. Good luck.

-Thank you very much.

-They're just through that door.

-OK, thanks.

Pauline got her degree in fine art.

But she's still working as a carer, looking after people in their homes.

She longs to be a full time artist and she's hoping the judges

will spot that she has the talent to make it.

Hi.

If the judges take to her sculpture,

it could be the start of a thriving new career for her.

Pauline, would you please introduce your large bird?

This is my sculpture of a peacock, made from twigs

and natural materials.

I've always loved birds.

I've always loved trees and I've always loved foraging,

finding things and doing kind of what the birds are doing

at the moment, gathering things and sculpting their nest.

This is my nest, if you like.

How much do you charge for your birds?

This one's taken a long while to do, so I have put it rather high at 750.

-We'll come and have a look at it then.

-Yeah, of course, yeah.

Pauline's poured all her passion for nature into her work.

But she's set a high price for it.

Will these experienced art critics think it's worth that?

They will scrutinize every inch of her work

before they pass judgment, and they can be hard taskmasters.

Pauline, this could be taken as to be quite beautiful to some people,

but others might think it's a scatty, skeletal version of a bird.

What would you say to that?

In essence, it's a pile of twigs.

It is what it is.

But some people like them, some people don't.

And, and that's fine.

But, um, this is just my art.

Now there's a straight talking Yorkshire lass for you.

Do they last long?

It can vary. The decay process is also part of it.

Not if you've invested £750 in it.

No, no, in that case it would have to be inside.

Possibly contained in a large glass,

or just, just out of the way.

About ten years ago bought something not unlike this

for a balcony in a flat in London and it cost me £85.

But I left it there when I moved out, because it was sort of half rotted

and got very mossy. I think it is very difficult asking

a significant amount of money for something

that will collapse in on itself given time.

Certainly be true outside.

Inside, they last surprisingly longer than you think, actually.

So, now we know Roy's partial to bird sculptures.

But what about Charlotte and David?

The way it's made, to communicate a feathery, soft, dramatic blue bird.

This is like a decayed corpse of a bird.

It's still recognizable as a peacock, isn't it? It's quite clever.

It's the essence of peacock. But it's not...

Take things and stick them together and make the essence of a peacock.

It is, but it's a swan neck. It's goose legs. The tail is up as wings.

I mean, it's, it's very structurally wrong.

It's not meant to be an exact representation of a peacock.

Ah, so a little artistic licence works for David.

But Charlotte's after something more accurate.

My stumbling block is, to me it looks like some extreme floristry.

I mean, I think there would be a market for this,

as a piece of decorative kind of wow factor in a kind of themed event.

Well, I don't think this bird is going to nest

in Charlotte's house any day soon.

But will David and Roy give Pauline a chance?

Pauline, not, not for me I'm afraid.

Charlotte?

No.

-Not for me either.

-Yeah, OK.

-But thank you very much.

-Thank you for your comments as well.

Thank you.

It took them out of their sort of comfort zone really.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Because they're used to paintings, photography,

-but suddenly, oh, a peacock.

-I should have done a painting. It's a lot easier to carry.

But, you know, I just do what I do

and people like it or they don't like it.

It's been a good experience and it could still give me

the bit of confidence to get on and do some more work.

Our last contender is 40-year-old Paul Regan.

As the director of an art school in London,

Paul is usually the one doling out criticism,

but it's his head on the block today.

So what are your ambitions? Would you like to be a full time artist,

or are you really happy where you are?

You know, if I got 20 years on

and I hadn't given a good go at being a full time artist,

then I think I'd be a bit disappointed.

It's a big risk for someone like you,

who's very happy with what they're doing,

and suddenly you're going to immerse yourself

-in what can be quite a tense experience.

-Thanks for reminding me.

-I need to make sure you're ready for this.

-Well, it's a bit late for running out the door now.

But if you see me screaming then, then just console me.

If you got to the exhibition and sold, what would you spend the money on?

I like to buy art, but I don't feel with a young family

and running a business it's a really affordable thing to do.

So I do have a rule with myself,

if I sell paintings then I usually then buy art with those paintings.

And that's quite, that's quite a nice treat.

Brilliant. The judges are waiting through those doors.

Good luck and away you go through that door.

Now, I'm sure Paul's art students will want to know

what the judges think of the oil on canvas painting he submitted,

called Park Road Two.

-Hello, Paul.

-Hello.

Please tell us about your painting.

This painting is part of a series of suburban night scenes.

This particular scene is of a local library.

They always seem to have a light on, which I felt that created this

sort of cinematic sense of suspense and mystery.

And could you tell us how much you value this work at?

-I value this painting at £800.

-Let's take a closer look.

Will the judges get the moody feeling Paul's after.

He's been ploughing all his money into the art school he founded.

So, if he sells, buying some art for himself would be a welcome treat.

That picture looks like an oil sketch.

Do you do larger paintings than that, which are more finished?

Um, with regards to my lifestyle, with other commitments,

I had to make a decision to work in a smaller way for a few years.

I'm quite happy for it to be an oil sketch and to present it as

a completed painting in this, this state.

Maybe if we think about Constable's oils, oil sketches,

they are much more elevated in the way that people appreciate them.

When you're working in that kind of dark, this is,

this is the suburbs at night style, we need detail.

And there simply isn't enough detail it seems to me in the paint.

I actually thought it was badly painted, I didn't...

The detail for me is um,

is the small area in the centre of where the tree cuts through

the window, and, and my intention was to draw people to that

and to make people inquisitive about what's going on in that window.

I'm drawn to that bit on the left. I love the way you've painted that.

I think, I think you're wrong.

It's too imprecise to give us any, any hint of what's afoot.

But isn't this the point in a way?

That it's more about an atmosphere, rather than a place.

That actually the fact we can't make out where it is

and what it is, gives it that sort of uneasy edge

that we're not quite sure what we're looking at.

Paul, for me, this has a warmth and an easiness.

I love the sketchiness about it.

It works as a very, very simple pleasant piece of work for me.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

David?

Your technique is...

Is not what it should be for this particular kind of statement.

It's probably cruel,

but I think Constable would be turning in his grave

at the thought that that was influenced by his sketches,

because his are beautifully precise.

-OK.

-So, Paul, it is crunch time.

I'm going to go to David first for his vote.

No.

Roy?

Paul, it's a painterly little sketch, with emotion. So, yes.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Oh...decision time.

It's a yes from me.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much, Paul.

Thank you.

Paul's through to the exhibition.

And he can hold his head up high in front of those students.

And he may even be able to afford a bit of art for himself.

The Mall Galleries, London,

and Paul's atmospheric landscape proved to be quite a draw.

It's the mystery that attracted me to it.

I've no idea what it's about.

I haven't even looked at the title yet.

But it's the one that made me

at least cross the room to have a look at it.

And Paul got the chance to catch up with a familiar face.

It's been nice chatting to the judges again.

It's been nice seeing people who are interested in the painting

and talking about the painting.

So I feel it's a real celebration of um, of the journey we've been on.

So the all-important question,

would any of the crowd be prepared to part with cash

and take Paul's moody landscape home?

Just remind me, how much did you want for this,

it was called The Little Painting, wasn't it?

People started referring to it as The Little Painting. Which is nice.

-Yeah. So how much did you want?

-£800 is my guide price.

And what were you going to do with the money?

Um, I tend to, if I sell art, I like to buy, like to buy art.

That's my treat.

So if I sell it, I'll put the money aside

and when something catches my eye, I'll probably buy it.

The answer is in this envelope. Do you think you got any offers?

I've no idea.

I can tell you that you got two offers.

-Well, that's really good news.

-Two offers. OK.

-I'm going to give you the lowest one first.

-OK.

-And that was for £500.

-OK.

-But I can see you...

-No.

-Not interested in that.

-No.

OK, we had another offer. The highest offer on the night.

And that was for £900.

Ah, well, that's fantastic, isn't it?

-I'm so pleased for you. Big round of applause.

-Thank you.

CROWD APPLAUD

Well, that was a brilliant result for Paul and his Little Painting.

He accepted the higher offer of £900 which,

less the 10% sales commission he'll pay to the agent,

still made him more than his guide price.

Well, that's it from us from The Mall Galleries,

but join us next time on Show Me The Monet, where the judges

will be meeting more artists in search for success.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd