This year, our major national art competition was a huge success and thousands of entries were whittled down to 50 paintings. Here are the winning artists – in their own words
Our annual British Art Prize, in association with Adobe this year, was designed to provide artists of all ages and abilities with a platform to gain valuable exposure and recognition for their work. A prize fund worth over £10,000 attracted the entries by the thousands and quality paintings and drawings poured in from the UK and beyond. An esteemed judging panel made up of Jonathan Yeo, one of the world’s leading figurative artists, Tom Croft of Portraits of NHS Heroes, The One Show’s Artist in Residence, Adebanje Alade, renowned oil artist Sarah Graham, Adobe’s Vice President and MD Suzanne Steel and Niki Browes, the editor of this magazine, have painstakingly cast their votes and the winners have now been decided. This year, all 50 shortlisted artists of The British Art Prize will each receive at least one award. The prize fund includes cash prizes from Adobe, plus valuable coverage in Artists & Illustrators and inclusion in the popular central London exhibition at gallery@oxo. Let’s dive into the winning artists’ personal stories and insights, gaining a deeper understanding of their artistic endeavours. ▸
FIRST PRIZE Lucy Pass
From a young age, art was my thing and there was never a doubt that I wanted to have some creative aspect to my career. When I left school, I had a bash at a degree in fine art, but after a year of feeling a bit lost and unfulfilled, I decided it wasn’t for me. From then on, I went it alone, trying to figure out what was for me and how I could use my creativity to support myself. For years I pursued other creative outlets, none of which ever felt quite right, but I kept my art as a sort of quiet part-time thing that was mostly just for me and I shied away from calling myself an artist. I think putting yourself out into the world as an artist can feel huge – you have to decide to be vulnerable, which is no small thing, and I put it off for a very long time! My husband was always the little voice in my ear telling me to take the leap and eventually, I ran out of excuses.
Art for me is a co
