My sitter; Eddie Marsan
Filming Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year!
I have thought about entering Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year for years but never thought I was good enough, but when earlier this year a friend of mine said I should do it I decided to give it a go.
I never thought for a minute I would get in so I was very surprised and thrilled when I did! My first thought when I got the call was "How am I going to paint a whole portrait in 4 hours?" A portrait usually takes me about 20 hours, so I needed to practice, and practice, and practice! And hope it pays off. I also had to decide what medium and size of canvas to use, I didn't have a clue and was very worried that I might end up packing my entire studio into three large suitcases and just bring everything. After a great deal of soul searching and some great advice from my mum I decided to stick to what I am good at and go Small.
PAOTY S7 2020 - Sarah Cowley Timelapse
Announcing the results
We had to wait for a long time for the winners of our round to be announced so we had all got quite nervous. Fortunately the sun was shining and we all sat outside and waited.
When we finally were brought back in and filmed the winner announcements I nearly fell over when my name was called. I am still waiting for them to call and say it was all a mistake.
There are no words to describe how I felt at the result, I was just thrilled and overwhelmed.
