CALLIE’S BRUSH WITH FAME ON TV ART SHOW
AWELSH artist will battle it out in a bid to be named Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist of the Year – with a little help from a well-known celebrity. Watercolour artist Callie-Anne Healey, who specialises in portraits – usually of comedy, film and music icons – will appear on Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist of the Year 2017 on Tuesday evening, where we will see her painting a celebrity sitter.
More than 1,500 entries to the competition were received and CallieAnne, from Tredegar, was chosen as one of the 54 painters to make it through to the show’s televised heats.
While we can’t reveal the name of the person who the 25-year-old painted, Callie-Anne said: “Let’s just say that I was pleased with who I painted because I enjoy painting famous mu- sicians.” Callie-Anne said she was thrilled to reach the final 54.
“I entered it more in hope rather than expectation, because it’s open to professionals as well as amateurs.”
She added: “I love painting faces. I think portrait art is a bit of a dying art. My paintings are fine-art based and very realistic. This competition is more couched towards a classic painting style, which suited me as I’m not into the whole modern art thing.”
The show is presented by Frank Skinner and Joan Bakewell and was filmed at the Wallace Collection – a museum and gallery in London.
Callie-Anne said: “They rang to in- form me I had been chosen five weeks before filming. It was all pretty quick. So after getting the call I practised every day, because they only give you four hours to paint on the show. I spent my evenings doing timed artwork.”
She said she was also very nervous when she got to the gallery – especially when she realised there would be so many people there – including the judges, artist Tai Shan Schierenberg, independent curator Kathleen Soriano and art historian Kate Bryan.
“The gallery was open to the public, and the judges were there, as well as the presenters. I also had a camera literally in my face.
“I like my artwork getting attention, not so much myself.”
The show was actually filmed in May of last year, but publicity shy Callie-Anne, who works at Marks & Spencer in Merthyr, was keen to keep her TV appearance quiet.
“I’m a bit mortified at being on telly,” she said. “I’ve kept it quiet and nott told many people.
“My colleagues didn’t know until someone mentioned it on Facebook. When I went into work the next day everybody was like, ‘Oh my God, you’re going to be on telly.’”
Despite studying for a fine art diploma at Cross Keys College, CallieAnne actually stopped painting for a while to study English and creative writing, but it was winning a young artist of the year prize at Crickhowell Art Gallery last year, for her striking portrait of Welsh acting legend Richard Burton, that has spurred her on to concentrate on her art.
“That encouraged me to keep go- ing,” she said. “Now I’d love to get my work out there. I‘m interested in commissions and I also sell greeting cards with my work on them.”
As for what the subject of her painting thought of her portrait, all she will say is “that they were very pleased and wanted to buy it from me”.
Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist of the Year 2017 is on Sky Arts on Tuesday at 8pm.
Callie-Anne’s work can be seen at the Cynon Valley Museum from February 23 to April 8. The museum is open from Thursday to Sundays between 10am and 4pm.