by Kate

As you may or may not know, recently Paul took part in Portrait Artist of the Year 2020. The episode that Paul was in was actually filmed a year before, so we had to keep it quiet for a really long time. It was aired on 3rd of March 2020.

Having watched the show for years, it was great to see how the whole program is organized and see the backstage, talk to the judges (Kate Bryan, Tai-Shan Schierenberg and Kathleen Soriano), the presenters (Stephen Mangan and Joan Bakewell) and all the people who put a lot of work into making this show go smoothly. Filming started really early in the morning so we had to get up super early. Thankfully Paul’s dad lives nearby so we didn’t have to drive all the way from Ramsgate. Paul was probably more relaxed than I was, even though all I had to do was watch. I had to go out to take a call just as they were announcing the sitters so when I came back Paul was ecstatic and I soon found out why! His sitter was Mike Leigh who he’s been admiring for ages! No wonder Paul’s portrait came out amazing!

We had a great day. Not only did Mike choose Paul’s portrait but he was also selected as one of the top three artists! Both his self portrait and portrait of Mike received a lot of praise, especially from Tai-Shan Schierenberg.

Below you can see some photos from the day, and a link to a video I took of Paul talking to the amazing Joan Bakewell. Unfortunately my phone could not pick up the audio so you’ll have to make do with some music instead! That part was cut out from the show which is a shame because they had a lovely conversation and had quite a laugh together. :)

The episode is available on NOWTv.