BOSWORTH Independent College art teacher and professional, award-winning artist, Lee Burrows, recently featured in the Landscape Artist of the Year 2015 competition on Sky Arts.
Joan Bakewell and Frank Skinner host the competition, and they teamed up with the National Trust to film in a number of the charity’s famous UK properties and locations.
Joan Bakewell said: “It’s such a pleasure to meet gifted artists and watch how their work grows. Once again we will be on the lookout for outstanding talent: and I’m sure we’ll find it.”
In total there are nine episodes and Lee featured in episode three, held at Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire, where he had just four hours to paint the French Renaissance-style chateau.
Lee said: “The Sky Arts team chose from thousands of applicants who applied online. I was asked to send two images of my paintings and from viewing these, the Sky Arts team invited me to attend.
“My heat was held at Waddesdon Manor, an incredible Neo-Renaissance-style French chateau built in the late 19th Century by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, now bequeathed to the National Trust. I painted the left corner of the main building because as a wild card artist I was asked to set up in the same area but, I could choose my preferred view.
“I enjoyed working alongside all the other artists, all so absorbed in what they were creating and the different variety of work produced. Painting en plein air is always difficult because of the changing light and weather conditions but I really enjoy the challenge.
“The judges talked to me far more than was actually featured on the programme, they liked my approach to the subject and they were interested by my choice of Burnt Sienna ground. Burnt Sienna is the red colour with which I chose to cover my canvas, indeed, it was a technique often used by Constable. The producer really liked my painting and she explained that I was very close to being put through to the semi-finals.
“I enjoyed the day very much and it was really good to paint a landscape I would perhaps never have thought to paint. I do feel my work was possibly too traditional and maybe not quite unusual enough for television, however art is a wide and varied subject and that is one reason why it is so fascinating.
I really enjoy sharing the knowledge I have acquired over the years both in technique and art history. I try to stress to my students that art is so much more than producing images. The paintings and drawings they produce reflect thought, personality, individualism and emotion, they should speak in ways words cannot.
“I try to encourage my students to always be artists, to always be looking and seeing, to think and to document their thoughts and ideas. Art covers so much of life and the human condition and because of this we tend to have wide and varied class discussions, I enjoy this immensely, especially because the students are from many different countries and cultures. Sharing our thoughts together as a group, makes my time spent at Bosworth fascinating.”
While Lee narrowly missed the semi-finals of the competition, he remains an extremely popular and accomplished artist, imparting his vast knowledge to Bosworth students.
Contact Bosworth College on 01604 235090 or visit www.bosworthcollege.com or www.leeburrowsart.com