Before I tell you what it’s like to spend a day as an artist on Sky Arts’ Landscape Artist of the Year I have a confession to make: I’ve never seen the show. If I had I probably wouldn’t have been brave enough to apply. So why did I?

To give you a bit of context; I paint urban landscapes, but I’m not a plein-air artist and I rarely paint outdoors. When I’m scouting for reference I draw in a sketchbook, but I also take lots of photographs. It isn’t always obvious looking at my work but often the composition of my paintings would mean I’d have to paint in the middle of a busy road, which sadly isn’t practical. Back in my studio I work from drawings and photographs, first on a number of small study paintings, eventually working up to a larger final piece.

Gateshead Millennium Bridge (study), acrylic on panel 17 x 17 cm

Gateshead Millennium Bridge, acrylic on panel 40 x 40 cm

Painting is an activity you tend to do alone so I’m very conscious of needing to get out more, to meet people, and to try to promote my work. I regularly visit the arts blog Making a Mark to see what opportunities there are throughout the year, and it was there that I saw the call for artists for the next series. The application process was very simple. So much so that I’d forgotten all about it until a few weeks later when I got a phone call from Helen Scholes, one of the programme’s producers, telling me I’d been chosen for one of the heats. It was then that I started to wonder why the hell I’d applied in the first place!

The day couldn’t have been more different to my normal day in the studio, but the real eye opener was just how hard they work to make the programme.

It all started on location at 7am for breakfast, and from that point on the day became a whirlwind of activity. After a quick bite to eat we were taken to our pods and that’s when I first discovered just how much scrutiny we were going to be under.

In each pod was a time-lapse camera. All day it whirred away behind each artist to create a speeded up overview of their progress. Everywhere you turned there were producers and people with cameras, and the presenters and judges were constantly either chatting with artists, discussing the work, or filming links. It was non-stop.

Sadly Kate Bryan was on maternity leave so Kathleen Soriano and Tai Shan Schierenberg had a lot of ground to cover. When I left school I went to art school so I’m used to crits, but once you start working for a living you’re pretty much left to your own devices. One of the highlights of the day for me was having the opportunity to talk to the judges about my process and my work. Tai in particular was really generous with his time and gave me some encouraging feedback.

But painting on the programme isn’t a walk in the park. You don’t get a solid day to paint. There are chats with the judges and the presenters, both on camera and off. Then the production will take you away for an interview while the judges and presenters look at your work and discuss on camera the progress you’re making. And when you are painting you either have a drone camera overhead, a camera peering over your shoulder or in your face, and members of the public taking a keen interest. It’s certainly not an experience for the faint-hearted.

I’d like to thank my fellow artists for being such brilliant colleagues throughout the day, and thanks to everybody who works on the series for giving me the opportunity to appear. I’m so grateful to them all for their kindness and support. But now I know what the experience is like I just need to decide if I’m brave enough to apply again next year.