Paintbrushes at the ready as Lancashire Artist of the Year 2024 begins
The search to find and champion some of the best artists in the county has now begun, as Lancashire Artist of the Year 2024 launches today.
This year we are once again tasking artists of all abilities to produce a piece of artwork depicting their favourite Lancashire view in spring, summer, autumn or winter.
All forms of 2D artwork are accepted (excluding photography and all forms of digital media), including paintings, sketches or collages.
The artworks submitted must be the entrants' own original piece, which has not previously been published or exhibited.
It's really important that entries are painted in landscape as we will not be able to accept any entries painted in portrait.
Full eligibility criteria and entry instructions can be found in the terms and conditions.
The deadline for entries is Wednesday 12 June.
The winning entries will feature in our Lancashire Artist of the Year 2025 calendar, with the proceeds going towards activities for care leavers in Lancashire.
Last year £2,725 was raised from the sale of the 2024 calendars.
We launched Lancashire Artist of the Year in 2023, and it was Martin Williamson who was named the overall winner after impressing our judges and the public with his depiction o2f Lytham Hall.
Martin, who lives in Freckleton, said winning the competition was a "real honour".
"I nearly didn’t enter the Lancashire Artist of the Year competition," Martin revealed.
"My wife and I had only recently moved house into the county to be closer to our daughter and she sent me the link.
"Landscape, buildings, heritage and history inspire my work and despite only living in Lancashire a couple of months I had already created a few loose paintings of places and locations that caught my eye.
"I eventually entered a springtime painting of the gateway to Lytham Hall and thought nothing more about it, so to get selected as a finalist was a real surprise.
"To then be awarded the title was quite astonishing and a real honour.”
Lancashire Artist of the Year 2023 winner Martin Williamson (left) with County Councillor Peter Buckley
Preston artist Norman Long, Sarah Haworth from Lancashire Adult Learning and Alex O’Toole from Arts Lancashire return to the judging panel this year.
Along with the other judges, they will be tasked with whittling down the entries to produce a shortlist, which will then be put to a public vote.
The artwork with the most votes will become the overall winner and feature on the cover of the new 2025 calendar, with the artist behind it being named Lancashire Artist of the Year 2024.
County Councillor Peter Buckley, cabinet member for community and cultural services at Lancashire County Council, said:
"From the panoramic views from atop of Pendle Hill to the rich and diverse landscapes found in The Forest of Bowland, Lancashire is filled with areas of natural beauty.
"Lancashire Artist of the Year is an opportunity for us to celebrate the landscape of Lancashire, and the many artists we have in our midst.
"This is an inclusive competition, and we want to encourage artists of all abilities and ages to enter.
"The winning artists will feature in our new Lancashire Artist of the Year calendar 2025, with the proceeds going towards supporting our young care leavers.
"To find out more about the competition, and to read the full terms and conditions, go to lancashire.gov.uk/artistoftheyear."