THE best landscape artist of the year may just be from Barnsley - as one local is facing fierce competition to appear on the tenth series of a beloved show on Sky.
Sarah Stoker has been painting for as long as she can remember, though never imagined she’d be appearing on national television to showcase her work.
While she’s managed to make a career out of both her ceramic and landscape art, her luck notably changed earlier this year when she beat thousands of other applicants to earn a spot on Sky Arts’ Landscape Artist of the Year.
The Gawber-based artist told the Chronicle: “The application deadline was in May and honestly it nearly didn’t happen.
“There were all these forms to fill out and I needed help resizing some files to send in - I’m an artist, I’ve got no idea what I’m doing when it comes to this stuff.
“In the end I got a place - I was told that this year there were more than 3,000 people who applied and only 40 places.
“It’s such a stressful process, you don’t really know what they’re looking for so you’re just hoping it’s right.”
Sarah was invited to Dinorwic Quarry in Snowdonia, near the village of Llanberis, in June to compete in the show’s fifth heat.
“It’s a beautiful, beautiful part of Wales,” she added.
“I went the day before and walked the length and breadth of the place, taking some photos.
“Ahead of arriving I was told I was painting a quarry, but there’s numerous ones around that area as they mine slate.
“There were some mining museums I managed to visit as well which were really interesting.
“While I was doing the normal stuff like walking and taking pictures, which are things I do nearly every day, it felt okay and the longer I was there the less stressed I was.
“That was until the morning of, when there was no electricity at the campsite so I couldn’t get a shower, then I couldn’t find any parking - everything went wrong, I ended up showing up late.
“The crew were all so nice to me though and helped me out with everything.”
Like most people, Sarah struggled with the idea of being on camera and working in such a pressurised environment, but powered through to do her best in the highly-regarded competition, which is hosted by famed comedian Stephen Mangan.
“I was so far out of my comfort zone even when I was simply just applying for it.
“Painting is quite a solitary act, it’s not something you do in public - it feels like quite an artificial environment, because obviously painting takes however long it takes but on the show you’re on a time limit with all these other people.
“But even just getting onto the show was huge for me.
“Everyone was really friendly, really lovely and they made all the contestants feel at home.
“I ended up chatting with the other artists at the end of the day briefly - we’ve all stayed in touch since.”
Even after all her hard work though, Sarah admits she’s uncertain if she’ll watch her episode when it airs on February 19.
“I might just have to flee the country,” she joked.
“Being filmed was so uncomfortable - I still feel like I’m just a nobody painting in my little studio.
“It’s very strange.”
