Sangeeta Weatherley, an artist from Chiswick, London, is one of three hundred artists chosen from two thousand applicants for the Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year competition – putting her among the top 17.4% of applicants. She took part in the heats at Royal Ascot Racecourse and will be featured in episode 2 of series 9, which will be broadcast on Wednesday, January 18, at 8 pm on Sky Arts channel.
As part of the application, the artists were asked to submit a main painting and two additional works of art. Sangeeta, who is passionate about the outdoors and regularly walks the Thames Path, decided to focus on her favourite stretch of the river – Strand-on-the-Green.
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When asked about the significance of the painting she submitted and her process of painting it, she said: “Strand-on-the-Green is the most beautiful stretch of the Thames riverside in West London. The tidal variation and the ever-changing skies cast a spell. The sunsets are particularly stunning depending on the weather conditions. Manmade structures, Kew Bridge and Kew railway bridge, frame this stretch beautifully. The trees on Oliver’s Island and along the banks are wonderful to observe through the varying seasons.
“My painting is inspired by the sunsets over Strand-on-the-Green which are magical; the way the light bounces off clouds, plays through trees, the reflections dancing…I love sitting here and sketching/painting. It is a very healing and meditative process. My painting is an attempt to capture the glorious beauty of nature in a quick and loose manner with acrylics. There are definitive bold brush marks to indicate the main elements.”
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Sangeeta is a self-taught artist from India with a background in IT. She enjoys sharing her skills and love of colours through her popular Art Social and Art for Wellbeing workshops, which help people connect with their inner creativity. She caters to corporate and private bookings. Sangeeta also offers free community art events for Hounslow Council, Hogarth House, Digital Dock, Chiswick Flower Market and the Bedford Park Festival.
Every year, Sky Arts embarks on a search across Britain and Ireland for a new star of landscape painting with a brand-new series of Landscape Artist of the Year, airing on Sky Arts, Freeview and NOW. The new series that started on January 11, 2023 has eight episodes consisting of five heats, a semi-final, a final and a prize commission.
As always, this series spans the width and breadth of the country and will challenge the artists with some of the most breath-taking and complex views: from the gothic grounds of Castle Ward in Northern Ireland, the iconic filming location for Winterfell in Sky Atlantic’s hit series Game of Thrones to the busy and colourful Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
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For the first time, the series also filmed at the Royal Ascot, possibly one of the most challenging locations the artists have ever had to paint.
This season’s Landscape Artist of the Year winner will receive a £10,000 commission from Royal Museums Greenwich to create an artwork inspired by the Dutch fathers of seascape painting, The Van de Veldes. The work will be exhibited in the Queen’s House, Royal Museums Greenwich, alongside an exhibition celebrating the Dutch painters in March 2023.
*Info: SansArt UK; Skygroups
