Nottinghamshire-based fine artist wows Sky Arts judging panel to be named wildcard winner in Whitby

Talented Alexandra, who runs art classes in Southwell, Ravenshead, Newstead and Nottingham, landed the prestigious accolade during a guest appearance on the show’s episode in Whitby on 22nd June.

During the nerve-wracking appearance Alexandra, who is also a Fellow of the Nottingham Society of Artists, was tasked with capturing the essence of the popular Yorkshire seaside town through her art.

Wild Card artists set up their own easels at the official heat locations - overlooking Whitby’s iconic Gothic Abbey on this occasion - and have four hours to create a landscape, with one standout artist selected by the judges as the Wild Card winner for that episode.

“Whitby holds a deeply personal connection for me beyond its breathtaking landscape. through my Romanian heritage,” said Alexandra.

“I have always felt a strong connection to the legend of Dracula and the rich folklore surrounding Transylvania. Bram Stoker’s famous story brought Dracula to Whitby, where the dramatic cliffs, ancient abbey, sea mist, and gothic atmosphere became part of the novel’s powerful imagery.

“When I chose Whitby as my location for Landscape Artist of the Year, I was drawn not only by the beauty of the landscape, but also by this fascinating link between two places that have shaped my imagination — Romania and Whitby. Painting there felt like capturing a meeting point between history, mystery, sea, and sky.”

Her success is perhaps even more impressive with Alexandra having never actually visited the historic fishing town before.

“It was a lot to do in four hours but I am really pleased that I painted my scene. The judges were obviously impressed and congratulated me on being the wildcard winner,” added Alexandra.

“I was really really happy to be selected as a wildcard and to be there, because Whitby was not a familiar location for me, in fact it was the first time I had been there.

“I love Whitby, I adore it and I wanted to paint something that really captured Whitby in the best light and the best view. At the end of the day a lot of people came up to me offering congratulations and wanting to take pictures with me. Local people even came up and said how they had lived here for more than 20 years and how my painting reflects the essence of Whitby, so I was really pleased.”

Focused Alexandra - who titles her painting 'Between Sea and Sky'- now hopes the victory will move her one step closer to her goal of appearing as a main contestant on the cult series.

“For me it is like an acknowledgement of who I am as an artist and I am really motivated to compete next year.

“Definitely I will submit my application and hopefully this time I will be in the pod as a main artist. It will be really difficult to do that, but nothing is stopping me. There are hundreds and hundreds of submissions and the judges will select what they consider to be the best ones, which is a really subjective thing to judge a painting,” she said.

“I hope that next year I will be in the pod.”

The popular show, which is hosted by Stephen Magnan and is now in its 12th series, sees ten gifted artists take on landscape challenges across the country as part of the show’s main

competition.

Armed with their easels, canvases and art tools entrants compete across six heats with one contestant eliminated each episode until the grand finale.

That nerve-wracking showcase will see three remaining artists battle it out for the title of Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year and a £10,000 commission to produce an artwork for public display at a National Institution,

Visit www.alexandraghimisiart.com for more information on Alexandra’s art work and exhibitions.