0:00:02 > 0:00:03Welcome to The Big
0:00:03 > 0:00:05Painting Challenge, the show that celebrates all those
0:00:05 > 0:00:07who have a passion for painting.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10We've found ten enthusiastic amateur artists
0:00:10 > 0:00:12to join our artistic boot camp.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Are you looking forward to being painted by this lot?
0:00:14 > 0:00:16Very much, yes.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20They're hoping to hone their skills...
0:00:20 > 0:00:22You're going to start painting with these mops.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26..in a series of increasingly difficult artistic challenges.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28ELEPHANT ROARS
0:00:29 > 0:00:33Along the way, they'll be supported and guided by their two mentors,
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Pascal Anson, an artist and designer and guest lecturer
0:00:36 > 0:00:38at the Royal College of Art...
0:00:38 > 0:00:41A good artist is somebody who's a troublemaker.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43Right, let's start again.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45OK, everyone pick up your bamboo sticks.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48..and Diana Ali, art educator, curator and artist.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50'It's really important for an artist to be experimental'
0:00:50 > 0:00:53and then make their work exciting.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57Our artists will need to impress the judges, to avoid being sent home.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01Last week, landscapes got the better of Maud
0:01:01 > 0:01:04and Jennifer won the public vote for the second time.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09But the pressure's on for all eight artists
0:01:09 > 0:01:12if they want to remain in The Big Painting Challenge.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25This week, it's animal antics
0:01:25 > 0:01:26and our eight remaining artists
0:01:26 > 0:01:29will be getting up close and personal
0:01:29 > 0:01:33with some of nature's most exotic beasts.
0:01:33 > 0:01:34We're at the zoo!
0:01:34 > 0:01:36I can't believe it, I've seen three rhinos
0:01:36 > 0:01:38and I'm really excited!
0:01:38 > 0:01:39You'd think I don't get out at home.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43I do genuinely get out, but this is just... This is class.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46It's brilliant being here. I really like animals.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48I just hope to God they've had a good dinner
0:01:48 > 0:01:51and they're laying still or something for a while!
0:01:53 > 0:01:55Our artists will be guided, but occasionally goaded,
0:01:55 > 0:01:57by their two mentors.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00This week, I hope the artists take lot more risks,
0:02:00 > 0:02:02because they're working with a subject they don't deal with,
0:02:02 > 0:02:06so hopefully it's going to really get them out of their comfort zone.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Painting animals is really difficult. It's really challenging.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11The animals move and you can't control them,
0:02:11 > 0:02:13so you need to work really quickly.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18'I did try to paint our two greyhounds once,'
0:02:18 > 0:02:20and both my children just said,
0:02:20 > 0:02:22"Mum, that's awful! Scrub it."
0:02:24 > 0:02:27Welcome back. You've had a couple of weeks now
0:02:27 > 0:02:31working with your mentors and gaining insights from the judges.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34We've bought you to ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.
0:02:34 > 0:02:35The challenge is two-fold.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39First of all, we want you to capture a flamingo...
0:02:39 > 0:02:41- on canvas only.- Not literally!
0:02:41 > 0:02:43The judges will be along in a couple of hours.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Mentors, kindly make your way towards the wild side.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54SQUAWKING
0:02:55 > 0:02:59Diana and Pascal each have four artists left in their teams.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05OK, everybody, we've got these incredible animals to paint today.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07You've got two hours for this challenge.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09Try and get a lot of information from sketching -
0:03:09 > 0:03:12about the shape that they are, the form that they are. Let's go.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18The flamingos are putting me on edge with their squawking.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22Think about movement of your paintbrushes to get energy in there.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24OK? Good luck.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Painting something that's alive is a bit daunting.
0:03:27 > 0:03:28It might look a bit flat
0:03:28 > 0:03:31and it might look like a school child's done it.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37I once tried swans and gave up
0:03:37 > 0:03:39but this is far, far, far more interesting.
0:03:43 > 0:03:48As ever, it's our judges who the artists will need to impress.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52Daphne Todd OBE, a former winner of the BP Portrait Award...
0:03:52 > 0:03:55We're asking them to paint a very jolly subject, flamingos.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00Wonderful, pink, lively creatures, with their extraordinary necks.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03You know, all sorts of interesting observations to make.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Award-winning figurative painter Lachlan Goudie...
0:04:06 > 0:04:09I'm looking for the artist to give me a sense of
0:04:09 > 0:04:10the life of this animal.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13The fact that it's moving, it's got a character.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17And art historian and researcher, Doctor David Dibosa.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19Think about accuracy of observation.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23It's all too easy to use cliches,
0:04:23 > 0:04:27but to actually look at a flamingo and how one might turn that into
0:04:27 > 0:04:31a convincing painting, that's very difficult, indeed.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36SQUAWKING
0:04:36 > 0:04:38Renaissance artists, like Albrecht Durer
0:04:38 > 0:04:41and Leonardo da Vinci, studied animals
0:04:41 > 0:04:43with an almost scientific approach.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Animal painting was a specialist skill.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51Even masters like Rubens collaborated
0:04:51 > 0:04:54with experts, to add fur and feathers
0:04:54 > 0:04:55to their masterpieces.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59These artists were known as animaliers.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06I haven't actually painted a live animal before.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09It'll be interesting to see how that develops.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12They're really colourful and bright
0:05:12 > 0:05:15and a little bit more aggressive than I remember them being.
0:05:15 > 0:05:16They're just moving too fast.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18They've gone from here to over there in five minutes.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20Unless you've got photographic memory,
0:05:20 > 0:05:22it's very difficult to capture that.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28This week, David is considering ditching the dots,
0:05:28 > 0:05:29for a different approach.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31There probably won't be pointillism, we'll see!
0:05:31 > 0:05:34I'm going to go for a more realistic style of painting today
0:05:34 > 0:05:35with these, I think.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43Camilla has decided to get stuck in to her painting.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46I don't want to waste endless time sketching the flamingos.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49I'd rather almost get the thing mapped out.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51'With Camilla, she tends to ignore the things
0:05:51 > 0:05:53'that she doesn't like confronting.'
0:05:53 > 0:05:56I'm really hoping that the difficulties here,
0:05:56 > 0:05:59which is about the animals moving, doesn't, kind of, overwhelm her.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02What's your strategy for dealing with this?
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Well, this is the kind of background of that,
0:06:04 > 0:06:06and I'm just working on the colouring,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09and then I'm going to put the pink... Penguins!
0:06:09 > 0:06:11The pink penguins in here.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13Because I want to work on the reflections,
0:06:13 > 0:06:14that's what I wanted to do.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Remember you're not painting a pond.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20- What is it?- It's a flamingo.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23- So, a pond is not going to give you...- I know.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27..observational accuracy and spark of life.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35Suman has decided on a composition of just one flamingo.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37It's, kind of, a gamble just doing one, I guess,
0:06:37 > 0:06:41but it was just a really nice pose that I was able to capture.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44I'm doing my usual, where I make sure the drawing's perfect,
0:06:44 > 0:06:45then I'll put it through onto the canvas
0:06:45 > 0:06:47and then I'll plot all the colours down.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53Suman is a very meticulous and careful painter.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Capturing one is quite a smart move,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59because it means that she could get some texture and she could get some
0:06:59 > 0:07:00shape and form in one painting,
0:07:00 > 0:07:04rather than painting several of them.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08On Diana's side of the pond, Angela, the least experienced painter,
0:07:08 > 0:07:10is struggling to get started.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14I'm still not knowing what on earth to say to you,
0:07:14 > 0:07:16because I don't know what I'm doing.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22But get stuck into it now, I think, is the thing.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Be brave. Put pencil to paper.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28At home, her favourite subject is animal and dog portraits,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31but the flamingos have got her flummoxed.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33To be honest, the animals that I've painted before...
0:07:33 > 0:07:36If you can get their eye right, then you can bring them alive.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40Now, with a flamingo, you actually can't see their eyes, at all.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44It is down to some real light brush strokes over the top of them,
0:07:44 > 0:07:48to try and create that feathery feeling.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51I've got that feathery feeling in my belly at the minute,
0:07:51 > 0:07:53because I've got the butterflies!
0:08:01 > 0:08:03I'm a bit worried about getting life into the bird.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05So, if you think about blending in paint,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08if it's all blended in it's quite smooth, it's quite calm, isn't it?
0:08:08 > 0:08:10- Yeah.- So, the spark of life would be something
0:08:10 > 0:08:16a bit more quick moving. So, think about your mark making.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18'Well, I've just done my base colour.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21'I, kind of, want to keep that real acidity, but,'
0:08:21 > 0:08:25then still try and remember that the brief's about
0:08:25 > 0:08:27observation and not about colour,
0:08:27 > 0:08:32so I'm working to the brief and putting in my, kind of, style on it.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Yeah, I think that's dirty enough.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37Jennifer needs to stop and actually think about the criteria even more
0:08:37 > 0:08:41this week. Expressive as she is, she needs do a lot more looking.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43Oh, look at his wee head in his foot!
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Weird, weird angle.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50They're quick sketches, so don't think about making this right.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53Start again.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Curved.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57Not straight lines, like this.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59They are not made of rectangles.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07I'm just popping a layer of charcoal on the back of this drawing,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10so that I can transfer it accurately.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15Suman traces her drawing of the bird onto the canvas.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18And it should transfer over.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20The drawing is really the most important part.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24And it hasn't worked.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26Well, we'll just draw it on.
0:09:31 > 0:09:36Ruaridh is pulling out all the stops with a vivid palette of pinks.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38My aim is colour. I have to focus on that because
0:09:38 > 0:09:41there's lots to work with and it looks beautiful.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46So, it's making sure that that pinkness of the flamingo stands out.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50No, I'm quite confident in myself and my ability
0:09:50 > 0:09:52and I know that I can do it, so I'm just going for it.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13It's half-time, already, artists.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15One hour to go.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22I'm just trying to get the bill right, cos that's quite difficult.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24I don't want to get that wrong.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27So, I keep having that image of Alice in Wonderland
0:10:27 > 0:10:30where the queen's playing croquet with them!
0:10:35 > 0:10:38As the challenge progresses, Jennifer wants to make sure
0:10:38 > 0:10:41she's correctly observing her flamingos.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43What's your feeling for these flamingos?
0:10:43 > 0:10:45I'm just going to roll with what I can see
0:10:45 > 0:10:48and, hopefully, it will look like a flamingo at the end.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51I can't help but look at people's work and be like,
0:10:51 > 0:10:53"Oh, God, what have I done?"
0:10:53 > 0:10:58Would you like to be able to create a more realist image?
0:10:58 > 0:11:01I know I want to. It's just getting that from my brain to my hand,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04to make something realistic.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12How's your flamingo scene going?
0:11:12 > 0:11:15- I've hardly seen flamingos before. - That's right, you're up in Scotland.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18You don't get many flamingos walking down Sauchiehall Street,
0:11:18 > 0:11:20I'll tell you. You get plenty of other animals walking down
0:11:20 > 0:11:22Sauchiehall Street, but never flamingos!
0:11:22 > 0:11:24I'll try to get some colour into this, in a minute or two,
0:11:24 > 0:11:26because I'm going to get lots of contrast,
0:11:26 > 0:11:27and one will zing against the other,
0:11:27 > 0:11:29and I'll try and get some life into it.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32- Oh, you're on a mission?- I'm on a mission.- You're on a mission.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34- I'm on a mission.- Well, I wish you luck with that mission.- Thank you.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37Jimmy may be pinning his hopes on colour,
0:11:37 > 0:11:41but David is showing unusual restraint.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43The technique, it's like a pen and ink drawing.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46I'm doing black-and-white and then applying the colours on top.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50I'll see where I get to. I may run out of time, as well.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56It looks like you're not doing what you have done in the past,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59- which is put on blobs of paint...- I may yet.
0:11:59 > 0:12:00You never know, do you?
0:12:00 > 0:12:04I'd like to get more of the criteria right in this particular session.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06Is time an issue? You look like you're not as far advanced
0:12:06 > 0:12:09- as some of the others.- Well, I spent more time doing the drawing,
0:12:09 > 0:12:10that's one of the issues.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13How about the flamingos, have they behaved themselves?
0:12:13 > 0:12:15No, they haven't. Can you sort them out for me?
0:12:15 > 0:12:16- I'll do my very best.- Put a word in.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22With 30 minutes to go before brushes down,
0:12:22 > 0:12:24there's a flurry of flamingo finessing.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33Alan, just be careful of the face. Can you actually see it?
0:12:33 > 0:12:35Does it look like that or are you assuming it?
0:12:35 > 0:12:39So just be careful, because we don't want it looking too cartoony.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42Yeah, yeah. I don't think it's far off.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44You "don't think"? You need to be certain, mate.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55It's quite a difficult subject to be that accurate on,
0:12:55 > 0:12:57especially when it's moving.
0:12:57 > 0:12:58I think the judges would say,
0:12:58 > 0:13:02"Camilla, I don't think you've done much observation here."
0:13:02 > 0:13:03Right, OK.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08Just trying to put in some detail,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11because I think I've definitely lost a bird in here somewhere.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14If you've lost the bird, how's the viewer going to find them?
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Oh, no, I haven't lost them. I know where they are.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20- But what about the viewer?- Oh...
0:13:20 > 0:13:22Because you can probably see with your head.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25- But you can't?- I can't see it. - That's fine. Right, OK.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28Definition, quite a big thing that's missing at the minute.
0:13:33 > 0:13:38With 20 minutes to go, Ruaridh is concerned about his painting.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41When I sit back and look at it, I feel like so far it's not working.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Do something radical to this, to move it on.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49It looks very flat, very static and not animated.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53I think it's about your energy, in relation to your canvas
0:13:53 > 0:13:56and those living creatures.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59- OK?- Yeah, yeah, I agree.
0:14:00 > 0:14:0315 minutes, everybody.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11My plan is to use my knife and scrape
0:14:11 > 0:14:13and try to bring a bit of life to it.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Yeah, we've got 15 minutes left, so I'm now in panic mode.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22Just trying to push out the colour, with a wee bit of darker tone.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24I'm hoping I'm not destroying it.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33I'm using some acrylic markers to add some highlights to the birds.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41I think it's fairly obvious that it's flamingos.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45I think there's some movement in there, but it looks a scruffy mass.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53You've got some on your forehead!
0:14:56 > 0:14:59I just wanted a decent bird and I think I've done a decent bird,
0:14:59 > 0:15:01so that'll do for now.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05Time's up, everybody. Step away from the easels.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09OK, everyone, time's up.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12The judges are on their way.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14That was one I wanted a bit more time for.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20It is the most I've seen him stressed out.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22It's slightly unnerving.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26- Is it awful, now? - Yeah, I really hate it.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28Oh, shut up, Pascal!
0:15:28 > 0:15:31It's only a painting. Someone will think you'll have a heart attack.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34Never, ever say, "It's only a painting."
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Will the finished flamingos get our judges in a flap?
0:15:42 > 0:15:44Pascal's proteges are the first
0:15:44 > 0:15:46to find out, starting with Ruaridh.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50Ruaridh, this is not a subtle painting,
0:15:50 > 0:15:52but I do think it has got energy and it's got life.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56I think that these flamingos do look rather over-pinked,
0:15:56 > 0:15:59but what's extraordinary about when you look at the real flamingos
0:15:59 > 0:16:00is that they're so orange
0:16:00 > 0:16:04and that's not coming out of your painting, at all.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08But what is coming out of it is this endless, constant movement.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11They're moving around, they're squawking, they're boisterous
0:16:11 > 0:16:13and in the texture that you've given - the ruffled feathers,
0:16:13 > 0:16:15I can feel that.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21Well, Suman, you've done a lot of work here
0:16:21 > 0:16:24in this short space of time.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27It is a portrait and, by deciding you're going to do a portrait,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30we get a sense of a character, to give it the spark of life,
0:16:30 > 0:16:35which is a thing that we were really looking for in relation to the work.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42Camilla, I think your observation lets you down.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45I got quite excited with the observation of other things
0:16:45 > 0:16:48- other than the birds, to be honest. - Yes, you observed the colour.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50I was trying to do this and this.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52I would have gone back and worked on the birds a lot more,
0:16:52 > 0:16:54given more time, but....
0:16:54 > 0:16:56I'm not sure you would, really, because I think
0:16:56 > 0:17:01you go for that total effect and it may be that, really, to progress,
0:17:01 > 0:17:05you just need to hold back and really look.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10'I can't say my observation of the flamingos was good.'
0:17:10 > 0:17:12No, it was poor, but I do consider my observation
0:17:12 > 0:17:14of the overall surroundings, in two hours,
0:17:14 > 0:17:16it was satisfactory, for me.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22David, this has the kind of quality of almost a Chinese wood print
0:17:22 > 0:17:25or a watercolour. There's a nice elegance to it.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27And I did notice this flash of purple,
0:17:27 > 0:17:29as if you just couldn't help yourself.
0:17:29 > 0:17:30A bit of purple came out...
0:17:30 > 0:17:32"I'll stop it, I'll stop now, I'll stop now..."
0:17:32 > 0:17:34But I think you've done a nice job, an elegant job.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37You've gone for a very cool approach here,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40which I like very much, because in the past,
0:17:40 > 0:17:42we've seen you do all kinds of visual pyrotechnics
0:17:42 > 0:17:45with your pointillist techniques and those colours
0:17:45 > 0:17:49that you've used and, here, you've decided to keep it calm.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51I find it a bit too muted for my taste.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54It was difficult to restrain myself but I realised they wanted something
0:17:54 > 0:17:56more realistic and accurate so, at this point,
0:17:56 > 0:17:57just keep the judges happy.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02Now, it's Diana's disciples in the spotlight.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07Angela, your flamingos for me are full of life, they're moving around,
0:18:07 > 0:18:12they're preening themselves. They're perhaps not all that accurately
0:18:12 > 0:18:15observed, I think. They're slightly cotton-woolly.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17Look perhaps a little more closely at your subject
0:18:17 > 0:18:18- in the next challenge.- Yeah.
0:18:21 > 0:18:26Well studied, well observed, but you need to work on that problem
0:18:26 > 0:18:30of the flatness of your approach, to make the whole thing more vital.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34You're alive, they're alive. Bring it to life.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37Sorry, Alan, but I don't think they're well observed, at all.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42I don't really think that you've observed the sort of shapes
0:18:42 > 0:18:46that these particular birds make with their necks.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48It looks to me as though you've had an idea of the shape
0:18:48 > 0:18:50and you've then coloured it in.
0:18:54 > 0:18:55Jimmy, you're playing to your strengths
0:18:55 > 0:18:57with all this lovely, rich colour.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59I think you've got lots of energy.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03There is vitality in the image, particularly in this flamingo here.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05This one here, not so good, and the chaps in the background look like
0:19:05 > 0:19:08we're in a kind of fairground, we're going to shoot them all down.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10They're all bunched up together.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17Well, Jennifer, we've got your signature here with this work.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19That playfulness of colour is something
0:19:19 > 0:19:22that brings us to the painting, but for me, it's where the painting
0:19:22 > 0:19:25starts and where it ends, I'm afraid.
0:19:25 > 0:19:30I've got the sense that you want to bring something of your own thoughts
0:19:30 > 0:19:34and ideas to your work and, actually, this is an opportunity
0:19:34 > 0:19:38for you to step back and observe.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41I'm sorry, Jennifer, but I struggle to find good points in this painting
0:19:41 > 0:19:43because the worst thing about it, and I'm sorry to say it,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46but it's the lack of observation.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48They just look like little lumps...
0:19:48 > 0:19:52and you really need to see the colours that are out there
0:19:52 > 0:19:55and the shapes that are out there
0:19:55 > 0:19:59and tell us something about what you've seen.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04That was fully cut to the bone, brutal, there, like,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07especially when you think you've done something that's half decent.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11But you see, I think the craic is that they can't see what I'm seeing,
0:20:11 > 0:20:13so in the next challenge I am going
0:20:13 > 0:20:15to smash it and they're going to know
0:20:15 > 0:20:18what they're looking at, because I will take in every single detail
0:20:18 > 0:20:20on that brief and I will put it in my painting...
0:20:22 > 0:20:23..100%.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37Well, the flamingos may have got you in a flap,
0:20:37 > 0:20:40but the next challenge is elephantine in difficulty,
0:20:40 > 0:20:42because you are going to be painting
0:20:42 > 0:20:47those great, big, wise giants, the elephants.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52The judges are going to be looking for your sense of scale -
0:20:52 > 0:20:54how big they are in relation to everything else.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56We want texture, the wrinkle of an elephant's skin,
0:20:56 > 0:21:00and of course, we want the spark of life. We want to see elephants,
0:21:00 > 0:21:03we want to hear elephants, Mariella wants to smell elephants.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06The judges will deliver their verdicts,
0:21:06 > 0:21:08as will our public viewing panel
0:21:08 > 0:21:11and whoever they choose will, of course,
0:21:11 > 0:21:12be catapulted through to next week.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16Unfortunately, Diana can't be with us for this challenge,
0:21:16 > 0:21:19but Pascal is here to help and support you.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22You have the whole day ahead of you, so let's get cracking.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Elephants. Flipping elephants!
0:21:27 > 0:21:29How do you make it not look like Dumbo?
0:21:29 > 0:21:30Yeah, I thought they would be grey,
0:21:30 > 0:21:32they're actually a, kind of, browny-grey.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35Different colour. A lot darker than I thought they'd be,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38- And they're fairly hairy, aren't they?- How can you tell them apart?
0:21:38 > 0:21:42It's just like, how do you make something massive and grey look like
0:21:42 > 0:21:43anything other than a rock?
0:21:43 > 0:21:45I think I might find this a bit of a challenge.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48Most of my work is soft and flowing.
0:21:48 > 0:21:53This is a heavy, solid animal. This is going to be a nightmare.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58Before the artists gets started on their paintings,
0:21:58 > 0:22:01Pascal has an exercise, to help them focus.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05Right, team. So, we're going to work on your observational skills.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09Something that's so important for every amateur artist is to look for
0:22:09 > 0:22:1290% of the time and draw for 10% of the time.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15So, you're going to be looking for 60 seconds and you're going to be
0:22:15 > 0:22:19drawing for six or seven seconds.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Right, so I'm looking at the shape of the back of the elephant.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28Back legs, the underneath and then the shape of the head. I'm trying to
0:22:28 > 0:22:31make the brush, kind of, describe that.
0:22:31 > 0:22:32That's all I want you to do.
0:22:32 > 0:22:33- Cool.- OK.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36If you want to improve your accuracy,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39this exaggerated observation exercise -
0:22:39 > 0:22:43where you look for nine times as long as you paint - could help.
0:22:44 > 0:22:45OK, is everybody ready?
0:22:45 > 0:22:49- Yeah.- Right, your 60 seconds of looking starts now.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54'It might feel strange to start with...'
0:22:54 > 0:22:56Is this helping me with observation?
0:22:57 > 0:22:58Probably not.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02'..but the more you look, the better your accuracy will be.'
0:23:02 > 0:23:04And your seven seconds starts now.
0:23:08 > 0:23:09So, has it started?
0:23:09 > 0:23:11Yeah, oh, yeah, started ages ago.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16Five, six, seven, stop.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23OK, no matter what that looks like, I don't care what it looks like,
0:23:23 > 0:23:25just unclip it and put it behind you.
0:23:26 > 0:23:27Not an elephant, anyway.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31- Yeah!- I literally don't know what's the front and back of the elephant!
0:23:31 > 0:23:32We have to look again now.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35OK, everybody, round two, start looking.
0:23:35 > 0:23:3760 seconds starts now.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42'For the next 15 minutes...'
0:23:42 > 0:23:44Lots of lovely looking, please.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46'..Pascal drills the artists.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48'Intensive looking...'
0:23:48 > 0:23:50Oh, my God, we've only got bums.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52Shall we just do bums?
0:23:52 > 0:23:55'..followed by seven-second paintings.'
0:23:55 > 0:23:57Six, seven, stop.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01- Stop, stop, stop, stop.- Oh, my God, it goes through so quick.
0:24:03 > 0:24:04That's a good backside.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09I'm getting into this, Pascal.
0:24:09 > 0:24:10Back-ends are easier.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12Yes, nice, good, good, good.
0:24:12 > 0:24:13Round five.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18This will help make your brushstrokes more descriptive
0:24:18 > 0:24:24and you'll find that, with so little time, every mark has to count.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27That was just brilliant. I really, really enjoyed doing that.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29It's going to make it a bit looser and freer,
0:24:29 > 0:24:30which is the thing that I need,
0:24:30 > 0:24:32because I think my paintings are rigid.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36With their observation skills firmly honed,
0:24:36 > 0:24:39it's time for the artists to get stuck into the challenge.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43OK, everybody, the challenge starts now.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48After an inspiring exercise from Pascal,
0:24:48 > 0:24:52the artists are keen to spend enough time sketching their subject.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57I'm trying to take on board what Pascal was saying about
0:24:57 > 0:25:01observation and just making a rough plan as to where I'm going to lay
0:25:01 > 0:25:06all the colours down and where I'm going to try and get the texture.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08I'm really intrigued by the trunk,
0:25:08 > 0:25:11so I think it's going to be in the forefront.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24I've spent more time observing this time, because that was one of my bad
0:25:24 > 0:25:25comments for challenge one.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30I've also written down things like, "That's the sandy area,"
0:25:30 > 0:25:31"Tufty bits on its ears,"
0:25:31 > 0:25:35and they're not as Dumbo-like as I thought.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40The artists have five hours to complete their paintings and fulfil
0:25:40 > 0:25:42the brief set by the judges.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46We're looking for them to really capture the, kind of, wrinkly,
0:25:46 > 0:25:48crinkly texture of these elephants.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50We want a sense of physicality and scale.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52These are big beasts. I don't want transparent animals.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54I want animals that are going to
0:25:54 > 0:25:56thunder out of the canvas towards me.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59To move away from a cartoonish effect
0:25:59 > 0:26:02to something that's convincing
0:26:02 > 0:26:04is going to be a real challenge.
0:26:04 > 0:26:05They are sometimes at distance from
0:26:05 > 0:26:08the artists and sometimes they're close to
0:26:08 > 0:26:10the artists, but they can only do one painting.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14So, they're going to have to make a selection of how to bring
0:26:14 > 0:26:15out the character, how to bring out
0:26:15 > 0:26:19the massiveness of these particular animals.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21The size and the weight of this beast is really
0:26:21 > 0:26:23what I'm trying to capture.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27It's going to be big and heavy and strong.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30The artists must decide how many elephants to include
0:26:30 > 0:26:31in their painting.
0:26:31 > 0:26:36I'm doing this big, bad boy here, eating his hay.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39He's about to finish, so I'd better hurry up a bit.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41How many are you going to paint?
0:26:41 > 0:26:43I'm just going to do one, at the moment.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45But I want to try and get an impression of their size.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49Right. Imagine that this was the canvas.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53And you could do that, then.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Bursting out the canvas, so it doesn't even fit in.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58- Mm.- I just love that.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00You don't feel that would be a bit contrived?
0:27:00 > 0:27:03Have a go at doing that. I think it would be really brilliant.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Well, I'll draw it out and see if I feel convinced by it.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11This challenge, the artists are faced with the crucial decision
0:27:11 > 0:27:13of which size canvas to go for.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17I would go up a scale, to that massive canvas,
0:27:17 > 0:27:21so that you can't stand there this far away from the canvas. Shut up!
0:27:21 > 0:27:22You'll have to get a bit more gestural,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25which is, I think, what you need to do, really.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28If I crash and burn, are you going to help me with this?
0:27:28 > 0:27:29It weighs more than me!
0:27:33 > 0:27:37I'm freaking out. I'm freaking out. Oh, my God!
0:27:41 > 0:27:44It's going to be really sweeping marks and quite gestural.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46I've never worked this large before.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48I think it'll be a really big challenge.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51I want the elephant to cover round about here.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53Yeah.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56With the addition of, possibly, a baby elephant.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59I don't know if there'll be enough room, though, that's the thing.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02Don't confuse scale with size.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06The elephants are big in size, but don't automatically assume that
0:28:06 > 0:28:10a big canvas is a way to create big scale.
0:28:10 > 0:28:11It's just a big canvas.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13See, now that you explain that to me,
0:28:13 > 0:28:15at first, I didn't look at it that way.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17I thought, "Big canvas, that can be the only way."
0:28:22 > 0:28:24OK. So, you're doing its bum.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28Maybe I can get more texture in, to concentrate on the skin more,
0:28:28 > 0:28:29and the heaviness.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32Pascal is worried the viewer's eye level is too high
0:28:32 > 0:28:34for that of an elephant.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37The danger, I think, with that, at the moment,
0:28:37 > 0:28:38is it doesn't look heavy enough.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41I think it looks a bit like a cow.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43And a cow is much more human scale, isn't it?
0:28:43 > 0:28:45So, there's your eye level.
0:28:45 > 0:28:50- I think by extending this and making that bigger...- Yeah, yeah.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53- Absolutely. - It makes it a bit heavier.
0:28:53 > 0:28:54OK.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01After her indistinguishable fluffy flamingos,
0:29:01 > 0:29:05Jennifer is concerned she needs to create a recognisable elephant.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08I feel like I have a lot to prove, but I'm hoping that,
0:29:08 > 0:29:14through just observation, texture, I can maybe pull it together.
0:29:14 > 0:29:19She glues down hair, which she will then drip ink over and allow to dry.
0:29:19 > 0:29:20When she removes it later,
0:29:20 > 0:29:24the imprint left behind will create a textured effect.
0:29:24 > 0:29:25The hair is back.
0:29:25 > 0:29:29I feel like this is my lucky hair now, because I got really good
0:29:29 > 0:29:31results with the challenge the last time.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40Suman's enjoying trying out
0:29:40 > 0:29:43new techniques on her super-sized canvas.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46I'm just using solvent straight onto that toned bit that I did.
0:29:46 > 0:29:47I think it will help the texture.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52When you put it on, it just whips off and I like the mark making,
0:29:52 > 0:29:54I've done it before with charcoal,
0:29:54 > 0:29:56but not with solvent, so this is new.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04How are you going to use this texture? Are you going to use it
0:30:04 > 0:30:07- as a description of the skin? - Yeah. Yeah.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11So, what I'm hoping is, because I've put darker ink in,
0:30:11 > 0:30:14the ink will attach to the hair, which will create lines.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17I'd try and make it, so it's a bit more descriptive
0:30:17 > 0:30:20and not just this, kind of, superficial layer slapped on
0:30:20 > 0:30:21as an effect.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25Think about the edge of the animal and think about how the skin kind of
0:30:25 > 0:30:28goes across the head or across the back.
0:30:28 > 0:30:34And you can use that to paint the background over this line,
0:30:34 > 0:30:36to scribe that trunk.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39It doesn't fill me with joy.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42After following Pascal's advice on scale,
0:30:42 > 0:30:45David is still sceptical about the composition.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49It just feels like I'm making a big deal of it being stuck to the edge.
0:30:49 > 0:30:50Looks a bit too art-schooly to me!
0:30:53 > 0:30:57He decides to start again on another canvas.
0:30:57 > 0:30:58We're nearly an hour through.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00Seeing how far everybody else is, that's not great.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06David's not the only one doubting his painting.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08It's the first time in the competition
0:31:08 > 0:31:10I haven't felt comfortable, to be honest.
0:31:10 > 0:31:11I'm just stuck in a dilemma.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14Should I start again or carry on and see how it develops?
0:31:14 > 0:31:18I feel like the scale is right, the composition is there,
0:31:18 > 0:31:21but my instincts are telling me, no, there's something not right.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23- What's up?- To be honest,
0:31:23 > 0:31:26I'm finding it difficult to answer that question.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28I've got a bad feeling about it.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30I don't know what it is.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33I think, with this challenge in particular, there's two things.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36We're very, very used to seeing animals in picture books
0:31:36 > 0:31:38as illustrations.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40And I think this is heading towards
0:31:40 > 0:31:42a romantic fairy tale...
0:31:43 > 0:31:46..picture, rather than a painting
0:31:46 > 0:31:48about elephants and really observing
0:31:48 > 0:31:50characteristics of elephants.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52- Yeah.- Don't worry.
0:31:54 > 0:31:56Yeah, I think I'm going to have to get rid of this.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05Whilst Ruaridh goes back to the drawing board...
0:32:07 > 0:32:11..Jimmy is trying to crack the colour of the elephant's skin.
0:32:11 > 0:32:17I'm using oil paints because of the vibrancy and identity of colour.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19Acrylics dry too quickly.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21This, you can move about.
0:32:21 > 0:32:23I'm using cobalt blue and cadmium orange,
0:32:23 > 0:32:25to make some lovely brownie-greys
0:32:25 > 0:32:28just now. But it's a brownie grey or a grey-grey.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30I'd always imagined that elephants were grey,
0:32:30 > 0:32:32but they're not grey, at all, especially these ones.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37Having had a good stab at painting number two,
0:32:37 > 0:32:41David has to decide which one to proceed with.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45I wish I'd done this a little bit bigger, but I feel happier with...
0:32:45 > 0:32:47this approach. I can go forward.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50I find it difficult to know where to go with that. So...
0:32:50 > 0:32:52I really need to get on with one of them.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54I think it's going to be this one.
0:32:56 > 0:32:58The artists have all been inspired
0:32:58 > 0:33:01by Pascal's pre-challenge tips on brush strokes.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04Usually, I'm like this.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06This, I'm really sweeping.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08Trying to not overcomplicate things.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13I'm, kind of, using directional strokes for the skin.
0:33:13 > 0:33:14It's working on the trunk,
0:33:14 > 0:33:17but on the back of the legs, I'm not really sure.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19So, it's looking a bit blocky at the minute.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23Every time I put a paint stroke on,
0:33:23 > 0:33:28it's got to be in the direction that I want the skin folds to be in,
0:33:28 > 0:33:32to try and tell a story of how the elephant is made up, really.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46I must say, it is jolly hard, this elephant thing, to be honest.
0:33:46 > 0:33:47But anyway...
0:33:48 > 0:33:51Unlike the others, you've chosen an elephant in retreat,
0:33:51 > 0:33:53which presents a rather arresting image to the viewer.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56That's very polite way of putting it. So, you've chosen
0:33:56 > 0:33:57the elephant's bum.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00And the observational thing that the judges were talking about...
0:34:00 > 0:34:03Do you feel that this is perhaps a better manifestation
0:34:03 > 0:34:06- of the creature at hand? - Well, not really.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08I've got so much to do on it yet.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10And your palette knife is out again.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12How about that texture, that wrinkled texture?
0:34:12 > 0:34:14Well, this is it. I'm just slowly working into it.
0:34:14 > 0:34:18Like, just here, I'm beginning to work in the textures.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21So, I'm just going to put on so much texture, literally,
0:34:21 > 0:34:24and try and get it so the skin is just sagging down.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26I'm trying to observe it, but it's not there.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28Where are they? They've gone!
0:34:28 > 0:34:29They're asleep.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32As she waits for the ink to dry,
0:34:32 > 0:34:36Jennifer goes back to observing the focal point of her painting.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38Just looking at the elephant's eye,
0:34:38 > 0:34:41just to try and see what shape it is,
0:34:41 > 0:34:44cos that will be quite a major part of mine, once it dries.
0:34:47 > 0:34:49Ruaridh, how are you?
0:34:50 > 0:34:52- INTERPRETER: - I feel a lot better, now.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55Definitely, compared to painting number one.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57I'd be happy to see it burn.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59Now, I'm playing catch up.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01Ruaridh, you've made some big decisions under pressure.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04Your first version, you had an elephant and a calf.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08- Why did you lose the calf?- I don't feel it's really reflecting
0:35:08 > 0:35:11the elephants that are there. Now,
0:35:11 > 0:35:15I'm looking at it as a real-life elephant.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18I often say, a picture's never finished until you've had
0:35:18 > 0:35:20- a major tantrum.- Do you?
0:35:22 > 0:35:25I'm trying not to panic and run away in tears.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28I'll just have to focus on the task that's in front of me.
0:35:28 > 0:35:29It's as simple as that.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32The artists are approaching the halfway mark.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36The painting here is starting to look so beautiful.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40There's a lovely lightness of treatment, but it suggests kind of
0:35:40 > 0:35:42weightiness. Don't overwork these.
0:35:42 > 0:35:43Just keep them, kind of, as they are.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47- More and more layers.- OK. OK.
0:35:55 > 0:35:56Of course I've got second thoughts!
0:35:56 > 0:36:00I always have second thoughts. Third, fourth, fifth.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05Just watch these marks round here. They're stopping there.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07What's that's doing, it's flattening out the form.
0:36:07 > 0:36:12Those marks should suggest that the flesh goes AROUND those thighs.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16See if you can find the elephant.
0:36:16 > 0:36:17Wow! Looks awesome.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19- I really love the colour. - This is the problem.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22I don't think people can see what I'm seeing.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24It's really something that you know
0:36:24 > 0:36:26like, where to put the hair and things.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28We'll see when it settles.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35It's rare that artists get the opportunity to paint
0:36:35 > 0:36:37such exotic creatures.
0:36:37 > 0:36:38Like many painters,
0:36:38 > 0:36:41Lachlan is accustomed to painting more familiar animals.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46When I was young, we didn't have ready access to elephants,
0:36:46 > 0:36:49but what we did have were nearby stables,
0:36:49 > 0:36:52where I used to go and absolutely love to draw the horses as they were
0:36:52 > 0:36:54being groomed. And,
0:36:54 > 0:36:57although it's kind of quite intimidating to be near a horse,
0:36:57 > 0:37:00cos they're so enormously powerful, when you draw them,
0:37:00 > 0:37:03you begin to realise they're actually quite fragile animals.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07And their legs, those legs that power them at such high speed,
0:37:07 > 0:37:09are immensely delicate.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12Now, that mixture of elegance and delicacy,
0:37:12 > 0:37:14that was something that George Stubbs,
0:37:14 > 0:37:18the 18th-century English horse painter, knew absolutely.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23In my opinion, he was the greatest
0:37:23 > 0:37:24painter of horses in history.
0:37:27 > 0:37:28And the canvas for which he's best
0:37:28 > 0:37:30remembered is one that depicts
0:37:30 > 0:37:32a beautiful Arab stallion, painted
0:37:32 > 0:37:35life-size, and named Whistlejacket.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39He was owned by the wealthy
0:37:39 > 0:37:41Marquis of Rockingham.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44When Whistlejacket won York Races in 1759,
0:37:44 > 0:37:46old Rockingham decided that it was
0:37:46 > 0:37:49time his stallion had his portrait painted.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52So, of course, he turned to George Stubbs.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56Now, anatomical accuracy is really important
0:37:56 > 0:37:57when you're drawing a horse.
0:37:57 > 0:38:02What Stubbs understood was that, to create a really great painting
0:38:02 > 0:38:04of an animal, you have to actually study their personality,
0:38:04 > 0:38:06just as you would a human.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09Stubbs could do all of this in his sleep,
0:38:09 > 0:38:13but what he could also do was he could create the illusion under that
0:38:13 > 0:38:17shimmering coat and those bulging veins, there's a real living,
0:38:17 > 0:38:20breathing animal, right there on canvas.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26It's said that a stablehand would parade Whistlejacket back and forth
0:38:26 > 0:38:28for Stubbs to paint. One day,
0:38:28 > 0:38:30Stubbs supposedly removed the picture from its easel
0:38:30 > 0:38:32to put it against the stable wall
0:38:32 > 0:38:34and have a good look at it.
0:38:34 > 0:38:36When the horse caught sight of its portrait,
0:38:36 > 0:38:40he became so incensed by this rival stallion
0:38:40 > 0:38:41that he tried to charge it.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46It had been the Marquis of Rockingham's intention
0:38:46 > 0:38:48to have a portrait of the king - George III -
0:38:48 > 0:38:50painted on to the back of Whistlejacket.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53Once he heard this story, he was so impressed,
0:38:53 > 0:38:55he decreed that not one more brushstroke
0:38:55 > 0:38:57should be added to the painting.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59Well, that's the story.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02The reason that Whistlejacket remains so iconic
0:39:02 > 0:39:04is because every time you encounter it,
0:39:04 > 0:39:06you're engaged by this animal's character -
0:39:06 > 0:39:08its fire, its spirit.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11A real living being, there on canvas.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18At the zoo, the artists have two hours left
0:39:18 > 0:39:20to get the character of their bestial subjects
0:39:20 > 0:39:22onto their canvases.
0:39:27 > 0:39:32Just want to use little twigs to put some eyelash stuff in and to scratch
0:39:32 > 0:39:33away at something.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38So, I'm just trying to use the palette knife, to get a little bit
0:39:38 > 0:39:41texture into the actual colour of them.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44Such weird colours they are.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52Don't know whether it's there yet. I need to sort out the head somehow.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54It's a bit awkward.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56I just went up there and, guess what? They turned round,
0:39:56 > 0:39:58faced the other way!
0:40:02 > 0:40:05Despite the positive start on his second painting,
0:40:05 > 0:40:08Ruaridh is now struggling to see his way forward.
0:40:09 > 0:40:11- INTERPRETER:- I feel that my painting
0:40:11 > 0:40:13is now verging on a children's painting.
0:40:13 > 0:40:16I think I'm going to have to adapt and improve.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23Jennifer, too, is at a critical stage. As she removes the hair,
0:40:23 > 0:40:28she hopes to see if her observation of an elephant has been successful.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30I think at the minute it's kind of looking like just a blob of colour.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40- Is it a head?- So, if I describe, yous might be able to see.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43So, this is the eye, this is the trunk,
0:40:43 > 0:40:46- and it's trying to turn away from us.- Oh, yes!
0:40:46 > 0:40:48And this is the back, so...
0:40:49 > 0:40:52- It is there. - I can see it when you say that.
0:40:52 > 0:40:58The judges said that they wanted to recognise the creature.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01Do you feel you're going to be giving them what they want?
0:41:02 > 0:41:04I really don't know any more.
0:41:04 > 0:41:08I've only got my style, so, if it doesn't adhere to what they want,
0:41:08 > 0:41:10I can't really help that.
0:41:10 > 0:41:11That's a risk you're prepared to take?
0:41:13 > 0:41:17I don't know if I'm PREPARED to take it, but I'm taking it, so...
0:41:19 > 0:41:22We look forward to seeing your elephant emerge!
0:41:22 > 0:41:25So am I! Honestly!
0:41:27 > 0:41:29As Jennifer works on FINDING her elephant,
0:41:29 > 0:41:32Angela's busy adding more to her herd.
0:41:33 > 0:41:37I suggested painting a really big one over the top of all this,
0:41:37 > 0:41:40to bring it really forward. But I've just realised I've not done it
0:41:40 > 0:41:42half big enough, because I've not been brave enough to do it.
0:41:44 > 0:41:45So, I need it...
0:41:46 > 0:41:48..manning up a bit.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51And I'm really worried now!
0:41:53 > 0:41:55Does it look like an elephant at all?
0:41:55 > 0:41:57- Yeah.- It's legs are still too short.
0:41:57 > 0:41:59They are too short.
0:41:59 > 0:42:00I know, but he made me put them shorter.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02- Who did?- Pascal.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05What do you mean? How could he MAKE the legs shorter?
0:42:05 > 0:42:06I mean, he told me!
0:42:06 > 0:42:09One minute, you're like, "I don't listen to a word he says.
0:42:09 > 0:42:10"He really gets on my nerves."
0:42:10 > 0:42:13And the next minute, it's his fault that your legs are too short.
0:42:13 > 0:42:14It is!
0:42:14 > 0:42:17They look like my legs on an elephant.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21- That's really helping, isn't it? - That's not a good look!
0:42:34 > 0:42:37Ruaridh's elephant is still getting the better of him.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42So, go for broke with texture.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48Because that's the weakest point at the moment.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52Be calm. Take your time and just focus on that.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54You can do it.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59I have a lot of confidence in your ability.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02You'll get through it.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08Suman, how are you feeling about the massive canvas?
0:43:08 > 0:43:11I'm feeling a bit more relaxed now.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15- So good.- Well, thanks, for giving me a gentle push.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18- A kick up the bum.- Yeah, it was, more a kick up the bum.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20Is it a baby one?
0:43:20 > 0:43:21It is now!
0:43:23 > 0:43:24It's got a, kind of, baby face to it.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27- OK.- Well done.- Thanks.
0:43:28 > 0:43:29Got a little pat!
0:43:30 > 0:43:32OK, everybody. So, one hour to go.
0:43:32 > 0:43:33One hour.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38I'm really feeling under pressure now.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41I feel like I'm losing it again.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44I'm really worried now that people aren't going to see the elephant.
0:43:46 > 0:43:47Yeah. A bit stressed.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05It doesn't work for me, this elephant.
0:44:05 > 0:44:06Pascal, please don't give me...
0:44:06 > 0:44:08Just a bit more tone now.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11Tonal variation is getting a bit muddy.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14- I know it is. - It's looking better than it was,
0:44:14 > 0:44:17but I want you to just think of one hour
0:44:17 > 0:44:20and what you can do in that time.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23Which stands out for you immediately that I need to work on?
0:44:23 > 0:44:25Tone and the ear.
0:44:28 > 0:44:30I'm going to stop, because if I overdo it,
0:44:30 > 0:44:32I'll kill what's already there.
0:44:35 > 0:44:36Dave, what are you doing now at the moment?
0:44:36 > 0:44:38I think I'm just about done, to be honest.
0:44:38 > 0:44:41It looks a bit bland at the moment, doesn't it?
0:44:41 > 0:44:42You know what you could do?
0:44:42 > 0:44:44Stop now and just go mad on that one
0:44:44 > 0:44:47and really enjoy yourself on that one.
0:44:47 > 0:44:53David switches back to his original canvas he discarded at the start.
0:44:53 > 0:44:56Pascal told me he likes this one more than the other one!
0:45:06 > 0:45:10Ruaridh? Keep going, it's looking fantastic.
0:45:10 > 0:45:11It's looking really, really good.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13Keep going, you're going to save it.
0:45:17 > 0:45:18David, masterpiece.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23David now has two finished paintings.
0:45:23 > 0:45:25Let's put them next to each other. Come on.
0:45:25 > 0:45:27But he can only submit one.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32It's so interesting to see 4½ hours versus...
0:45:32 > 0:45:35- 20 minutes, I don't know.- Mm. So, the question is, which one are
0:45:35 > 0:45:37you going to put in front of the judges?
0:45:37 > 0:45:38I don't know.
0:45:38 > 0:45:40I have no idea.
0:45:44 > 0:45:45As the last 15 minutes approach,
0:45:45 > 0:45:48it's time for the finishing touches.
0:45:52 > 0:45:53I think I've got a sense of
0:45:53 > 0:45:56the elephant is lumbering towards something.
0:45:56 > 0:45:58I think there's quite a strong sense of family.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05I'm trying not to ruin the whole thing in two last strokes.
0:46:08 > 0:46:09Which one do you like?
0:46:11 > 0:46:12That is much more original.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15Honestly, you could see that in a Saatchi gallery.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17Right, I'm going to go with the right-hand side one.
0:46:17 > 0:46:20Good luck. Brave, that's good!
0:46:20 > 0:46:22Good for you, David.
0:46:24 > 0:46:25Everyone, please, stop painting.
0:46:29 > 0:46:31ELEPHANT TRUMPETS
0:46:31 > 0:46:34There's your call. Is that you, Richard?
0:46:34 > 0:46:36I'm the St Francis of Whipsnade.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38- It's true. - Maybe we should get them to judge!
0:46:40 > 0:46:42Oh, man. That was really hard.
0:46:48 > 0:46:50The artists' work will be shown
0:46:50 > 0:46:53in a private exhibition to the people that
0:46:53 > 0:46:57know the elephants best - the staff at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01I do like that they've captured the herd.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04I just think this one is too thin, the ears are fanning on that one
0:47:04 > 0:47:05and that one's too fat.
0:47:07 > 0:47:10They'll choose their favourite painting and that artist
0:47:10 > 0:47:13will be safe from this week's elimination.
0:47:13 > 0:47:15Would you look at that and think elephant?
0:47:15 > 0:47:17No! Close-up, I think, yes, but from a distance...
0:47:17 > 0:47:19Would you still think elephant?
0:47:19 > 0:47:22- Close-up? - I can see a trunk and its eye.
0:47:22 > 0:47:24It's got hair in the painting.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27I think that's a clever use of something different.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29It is a very clever use,
0:47:29 > 0:47:32but I couldn't see this hanging anywhere in my room.
0:47:32 > 0:47:36I like seeing it from the back end,
0:47:36 > 0:47:39because you really get an idea of how large the elephants are.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42- Yes, you do, actually.- Although I'm not sure about whether the legs are
0:47:42 > 0:47:45- quite...- In proportion? Cos- they're quite chunky legs.- Yes.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49The closer that you get, the more detail
0:47:49 > 0:47:51- you can see in the eyelashes. - On top of the elephant's head,
0:47:51 > 0:47:55- you can identify all the...little hairs on top of the head.- Yeah.
0:47:57 > 0:48:01Its face is quite a realistic shape, out of all of them, I think,
0:48:01 > 0:48:02and yeah, I like the bright colours.
0:48:06 > 0:48:08Having scrutinised the paintings,
0:48:08 > 0:48:10it's time to vote for their favourite.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18Before the artists find out
0:48:18 > 0:48:22who has been saved, the judges will give their expert opinions.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26It's the moment you've been eagerly anticipating, I'm sure -
0:48:26 > 0:48:29Lachlan, David and Daphne.
0:48:29 > 0:48:33The artists were asked to capture a sense of the elephants' scale,
0:48:33 > 0:48:36their character and the texture of their skin.
0:48:36 > 0:48:38Angela is first up.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44I get a huge sense of the characters of these animals and their behaviour
0:48:44 > 0:48:48in a herd environment. So you must have done a lot of looking
0:48:48 > 0:48:50and digesting, to be able to do that.
0:48:50 > 0:48:52Thank you very much.
0:48:52 > 0:48:58The images is a bit wispy for me. It hasn't got the physicality,
0:48:58 > 0:49:00the beefiness, of the elephants.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08Alan, the treatment of the whole image is a bit like the elephants,
0:49:08 > 0:49:12it's a bit plodding. And I'm not getting much texture or vitality
0:49:12 > 0:49:14or colour or spark.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18Well, Alan, I'm going to disagree with my learned friend.
0:49:18 > 0:49:21I think you've worked very hard, in relation to tackling that problem
0:49:21 > 0:49:24of flatness that we talked about in your work
0:49:24 > 0:49:26and I'm getting much more of a sense of depth,
0:49:26 > 0:49:29in terms of looking at these elephants.
0:49:33 > 0:49:36Jimmy, the character certainly comes out, but it does comes out
0:49:36 > 0:49:39in a cartoony way, so this large elephant
0:49:39 > 0:49:41is definitely frowning into the distance.
0:49:41 > 0:49:46I'm not sure that I ever saw an expression like that.
0:49:46 > 0:49:48It's something I think you've brought to it.
0:49:48 > 0:49:52Jimmy, you've caught some of those ochres and pinks
0:49:52 > 0:49:55that are unexpectedly in an elephant's flesh,
0:49:55 > 0:49:59but there's one thing I like a lot, Jimmy - it's the wrinkles here,
0:49:59 > 0:50:01like Nora Batty's elephant tights,
0:50:01 > 0:50:03which have crumpled up on the hind leg.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08Jennifer, it's a very powerful image.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10Your eye is lead around the contours,
0:50:10 > 0:50:12which I think do begin to represent
0:50:12 > 0:50:16that nobbly humpiness that you get on top of the elephant.
0:50:16 > 0:50:20I do get the sense of something bestial inhabiting it.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23Jennifer, a couple of times I've told you you've produced a dud.
0:50:24 > 0:50:26This isn't one of them.
0:50:26 > 0:50:31So, you've found a very simple way of describing character.
0:50:31 > 0:50:35You look into their eye and you're looking into the soul
0:50:35 > 0:50:37of another animal. That's clever.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42- Well done, you've surprised me again.- Thank you!
0:50:44 > 0:50:46That was a bit of a shock, I have to say.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49Daphne actually liked it, for a first.
0:50:49 > 0:50:50Yay!
0:50:55 > 0:50:58David, I think you've made one good decision,
0:50:58 > 0:51:00which is in relation to scale.
0:51:00 > 0:51:05And the way that you filled the canvas with this elephant.
0:51:05 > 0:51:08But for me, I'm afraid, it doesn't work as a painting.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11It's too much of a stencil.
0:51:11 > 0:51:12David...
0:51:13 > 0:51:15..it's not elephants that were on the rampage!
0:51:15 > 0:51:18You've been rampaging through styles
0:51:18 > 0:51:21and now you've gone to expressionism.
0:51:21 > 0:51:23I can't honestly say I like it.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26Another mauling by the judges.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29The other painting would have ticked more of the boxes, but I made
0:51:29 > 0:51:31a decision, so that's what I have to live with.
0:51:36 > 0:51:39Well, Camilla, you've circumvented
0:51:39 > 0:51:41all kinds of problems of elephant portraiture,
0:51:41 > 0:51:44by deciding to paint an elephant's arse.
0:51:44 > 0:51:47It's not necessarily a bad thing, because my first response is humour.
0:51:47 > 0:51:49It makes me smile. The problems, however,
0:51:49 > 0:51:51I think, are quite serious.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54They start with these three legs which,
0:51:54 > 0:51:56if you turn it the other way up,
0:51:56 > 0:51:59they'd look like chimneys, all sticking up to the sky.
0:51:59 > 0:52:04There is a fourth leg somewhere. I'm searching and it's fighting
0:52:04 > 0:52:07against my understanding that this is actually an elephant.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10I've no idea what the fur rug is doing on the top.
0:52:10 > 0:52:14It looks as though maybe a lion is attacking it.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17You haven't perceived the anatomical facts that were in front
0:52:17 > 0:52:19- of your eyes.- I really wanted to get the texture...
0:52:19 > 0:52:21You got the texture. You got the life.
0:52:21 > 0:52:25But it looks a bit like a rhino or something being attacked by a lion.
0:52:25 > 0:52:27Well, it looks like an elephant being attacked by a lion
0:52:27 > 0:52:30or something, yes! And I don't think that was your intention.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37I can see that you've done some things in relation to texture.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40I particularly like the way you've treated the top of the animal.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43But I think there are issues around the colour,
0:52:43 > 0:52:45that heavy use of the yellow.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48It doesn't feel like you were at full power in this painting.
0:52:48 > 0:52:52I like the way that you managed to get a little bit of animal behaviour
0:52:52 > 0:52:56going on here. Cheerfully munching away at the morning's breakfast.
0:52:56 > 0:52:58However, the animal in question
0:52:58 > 0:53:02seems to resemble more of a woolly mammoth to me than an elephant.
0:53:02 > 0:53:06- INTERPRETER:- I really, really hope that the judges will say, OK,
0:53:06 > 0:53:10it's maybe not my best work, but they can see the potential in me,
0:53:10 > 0:53:14because I would be absolutely devastated if it was me going home.
0:53:19 > 0:53:22Suman, I love the way you've controlled the chiaroscuro,
0:53:22 > 0:53:23the light and dark,
0:53:23 > 0:53:27by having the lightest area hitting that bone over the eye
0:53:27 > 0:53:30and drawing attention to the expression on the face.
0:53:30 > 0:53:34Life is really the thing that comes out of this painting,
0:53:34 > 0:53:36and that was the thing we wanted most.
0:53:36 > 0:53:38What a tender image.
0:53:38 > 0:53:40I particularly like the eyelashes.
0:53:40 > 0:53:44That's the kind of detail that makes a painting work.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46When you see it from a long-distance, you think, boom,
0:53:46 > 0:53:49this is an intriguing image, and you close in
0:53:49 > 0:53:51and there's more, to keep you feasting.
0:53:51 > 0:53:56But most of all I get the sense of a painting that really moves me,
0:53:56 > 0:53:57so congratulations.
0:53:57 > 0:53:59Thanks. Thanks a lot.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03Judges, thank you very much for your enthusiastically-received judgments.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06Now it's time to see who the public have chosen.
0:54:07 > 0:54:12The artist definitely going through to next week is...
0:54:14 > 0:54:15..Suman!
0:54:17 > 0:54:18Yes!
0:54:20 > 0:54:23I feel amazing. It's so great!
0:54:23 > 0:54:25It's a big achievement. In future,
0:54:25 > 0:54:27I'm not going to be as afraid of taking chances.
0:54:30 > 0:54:31Suman is safe,
0:54:31 > 0:54:34but now it's over to the judges, to decide which artist
0:54:34 > 0:54:36they will be sending home.
0:54:37 > 0:54:39It seems like a few of them struggled.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42With David, he changed styles in a very dramatic way.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46His image had a sense of physicality and scale, but it didn't really have
0:54:46 > 0:54:50- much texture.- No, the burst of life was not there, at all.
0:54:51 > 0:54:52Camilla's painting, I'm afraid,
0:54:52 > 0:54:55with the great rear end that she presented to us...
0:54:57 > 0:54:59- It made us laugh. - It did make us laugh!
0:54:59 > 0:55:03But the fact she did not take on what she was really seeing with that
0:55:03 > 0:55:05back end... There's a lot of detail missing.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08She is a painter's painter. There's something about the way
0:55:08 > 0:55:11- she gets into the work. - It's so often the same painting.
0:55:11 > 0:55:13It doesn't look like the SAME painting,
0:55:13 > 0:55:14but she's a naive painter.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17Ruaridh definitely struggled across the board.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20Things that we talked to him about in that first challenge,
0:55:20 > 0:55:22he hasn't taken forward in the second challenge.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25Someone who enjoys manipulating paint,
0:55:25 > 0:55:28who has a sense of how to create intriguing images,
0:55:28 > 0:55:31but I'm worried about Ruaridh, I have to say.
0:55:31 > 0:55:33The subject didn't work for him, did it?
0:55:33 > 0:55:36I want to see, through these challenges, people growing
0:55:36 > 0:55:39and developing. I think it's evolution.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42It's when I feel that someone ISN'T able to move forward,
0:55:42 > 0:55:44THAT'S when they have to leave.
0:55:53 > 0:55:55The judges have made their decision.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58One of you will be leaving the competition.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01David, can you tell us who's going home?
0:56:01 > 0:56:06The judges felt that this artist did not develop their work
0:56:06 > 0:56:08in this particular setting.
0:56:08 > 0:56:14So, the artist who will be leaving us this week is...
0:56:18 > 0:56:20..Camilla.
0:56:21 > 0:56:22OK.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31I've actually had a great time. I've loved every bit of it.
0:56:31 > 0:56:35It's been fantastic. Really, really challenging, but great.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38And was the elephant's backside a statement at us?!
0:56:38 > 0:56:42Actually, you've got a point there! Not to be taken rudely!
0:56:44 > 0:56:48Outside of the setting of a competition with rules,
0:56:48 > 0:56:50Camilla will flourish.
0:56:50 > 0:56:53Camilla's work is imaginative,
0:56:53 > 0:56:54it's thoughtful
0:56:54 > 0:56:57and it's fun to look at. It's always a pleasure.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02I've really, really loved this experience.
0:57:02 > 0:57:04I'm going to go back home, feed my goats,
0:57:04 > 0:57:08keep painting, really, and just seeing where it takes me.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15Next week, the artists come face-to-face...with portraiture.
0:57:17 > 0:57:19- How are you feeling?- Sick.- Sick!
0:57:19 > 0:57:24- Dah! It's horrible.- I'm going to pieces now.- Oh, don't.
0:57:26 > 0:57:30It looks like some kind of nuclear meltdown.