Northampton artist will feature on Sky Arts search for Portrait Artist of the Year 2019

A Northampton portrait artist will feature on television this year as a contestant for Sky Art's search for the UK's secretly talented painters.
Rubertine (bottom left) will feature on Sky Art's search for Portrait Artist of the Year.Rubertine (bottom left) will feature on Sky Art's search for Portrait Artist of the Year.
Rubertine (bottom left) will feature on Sky Art's search for Portrait Artist of the Year.

Rubertine Allen's talent for painting earned her a place at the heats for Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year contest.

The annual search for Britain's up-and-coming savants in the art of portraiture will be broadcast this February and March.

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The episode will see Rubertine and her fellow artists race against the clock to capture the likeness of a celebrity live model - which for Rubertine was GB Paralympic champion Tanni Grey-Thompson.

Rubertine's portrait of Great British Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson.Rubertine's portrait of Great British Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson.
Rubertine's portrait of Great British Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson.

The Portrait Artist of the Year heats were filmed in May 2018 and will be broadcast this year.

Rubertine said: "It was great fun and a good challenge. You're given four hours to complete your portrait of your celebrity while film crews pull you aside to interview you. It was hectic.

"When they call time, the celebrity even gets to choose which one they like the most before the judges make their decision.

"It was a big honour just to get into the heats."

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Rubertine earned her place in the contest with a self portrait she submitted in late 2017. She specialises in oil painting and a water-based paint called gouache.

She said: "I like to do portraits most of all. The human face presents a lot of interesting displays, but you never know what's going on behind the face. What presents is not always what you see."

Rubertine will feature on Portrait Artist of the Year 2019 on March 12 on the Sky Arts channel.