The Big Painting Challenge - Episode Guide

Each week they face two challenges, but they are not alone as they have the help of a mentor to nurture them and guide them to release their inner Da Vincis. Their paintings will be scrutinised by the panel of judges and one of the artists each week will be sent home.

This week the artists are taking on Still Life.

This week our amateur artists are on the English south coast to tackle landscape painting - and have to battle the elements in Hastings as they paint 'en plein air'.

There are eight amateur artists still in the frame, and they'll be taking a walk on the wild side this week as the competition once again gets trickier.

This time they're heading to ZSL Whipsnade Zoo to paint animals. Capturing that spark of life whilst stood in front of a living, breathing, wild creature is incredibly tricky, so mentors Pascal and Diana are on hand to help every step of the way.

With the competition hotting up, our seven amateur artists head to the world-famous National Portrait Gallery in London to face two portraiture challenges, as they fight for their place in next week's semi-final.

It's the semi-final of the painting competition hosted by Mariella Frostrup and the Rev. Richard Coles, and the five remaining amateur artists are facing their toughest challenge yet - capturing the human body in movement.

With their place in the final at stake there is no room for any mistakes as they focus on their first challenge. For two hours a solo dancer spins, pliés and pivots in front of our artists, which they must try to accurately capture on canvas.

With mentors Diana and Pascal on hand to help, all the painters are pushed out of their comfort zone. But that was just the warm-up act: for the main event a troupe of ballerinas appear and perform selected extracts from Swan Lake. Even the judges admit that this is a challenge that they wouldn't want to have to tackle!

All five amateur artists step up to the plate and give it their best shot, with some stunning results, but only four of them can make it on to next week's final. Who will the public viewing panel choose to go straight through, and who will the judges send home?

With the winning post in sight, our amateur artists have two nail-biting challenges remaining.

With Mariella Frostrup and the Rev. Richard Coles overseeing proceedings, it's the last chance for the finalists to impress the judges with everything they've learned throughout the series.

The starting point this week is Queen's House, Greenwich, where we soak up 400 years of history and art in these magnificent surroundings. There is a surprise in store for the artists as they are given their first test: they have to paint a portrait, but their sitters are only revealed to them at the start of the challenge. Will all of our artists be happy with who they come face to face with?

For the final challenge of the series, we test not only our artists' skills but also their sea legs - with a trip on the Thames. They are faced with the magnificent view of the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich – practically unchanged since it inspired Italian master Canaletto over 250 years ago. If that wasn't enough to contend with, mentors Pascal and Diana take a step back to see who has absorbed their artistic advice and who has completely ignored it. Judges Daphne, David and Lachlan have the tricky task of deciding who will be the winner of the Big Painting Challenge 2017.

Mariella Frostrup and Reverend Richard Coles present an amateur painting challenge. Ten painters arrive in Glasgow for the start of a six-week artistic boot camp. They will be working with professional mentors Diana Ali and Pascal Anson, who are there to tutor and test them in equal measure. The first genre the artists face is still life, and the task sees them painting objects they have each brought from home. Can they transfer a 3D object convincingly on to a 2D canvas? The next challenge is a supersized still life. At a distillery, the artists must reproduce the large-scale and very shiny stills and fermenters used in the production of whisky and gin. Once completed, their works are displayed to the public, who give their favourite artist a pass to the next round. Judges Lachlan Goudie and Daphne Todd then deliver their verdicts on the amateurs' artistic endeavours and decide which of them will be sent home.

Mariella Frostrup and Reverend Richard Coles travel to the Cotswolds for the second episode of the amateur painting competition. Nine painters continue in the artistic bootcamp, which sees them working with their professional mentors, Diana Ali and Pascal Anson, to conquer paint-handling techniques to depict nature in all its glory. The first task sees the artists try to capture the form and character of dogs. Once the task is complete, the mentors continue their tutelage with masterclasses that have the artists painting with bark, moss, leaves and even underpants before moving on to the final challenge. They need to capture the majesty of the Acer Glade. For some this means painting outside for the very first time. Will they be able to cope with the changing light conditions? Once completed, the canvases are viewed by members of the public, who give their favourite a pass through to the following week. The others must await the verdict the judges, Daphne Todd and Fraser Scarfe.

Eight artists are still in the competition, and this week they must conquer portraiture. To celebrate the RAF centenary the artistic travelling circus has moved to RAF Hendon. The first task our painters are confronted with are the youthful faces of two RAF cadets. This week's masterclasses are full of helpful tips on capturing expression and new ways of mark making and blocking to improve their compositions. With the arrival of judges Lachlan Goudie and Daphne Todd comes the second challenge. This time our budding Picassos have to deal with the other end of the age spectrum. They must capture the wisdom and spirit of our two sitters, both of whom are veterans of the RAF, and who have over 180 years between them. The artists' efforts are put in front of ex-RAF personnel and members of the public, who choose their favourite to send through to next week. The rest are at the mercy of our judges, who will be dispatching someone from the competition. Overseeing proceedings, providing words of encouragement and a shoulder to cry on, as always, are Mariella Frostrup and Reverend Richard Coles.

The remaining seven amateur artists are confronted with the tail end of a hurricane, as they set up their easels on the bonnie but windy banks of Loch Lomond; the challenge is to paint water and the many colours it reflects. With the wind howling, in the first task they must try to mix the perfect colours to capture a boat and its stormy reflections in the turbulent water. The masterclasses this week are all about mixing colours. For the main challenge, the painters move to a full, panoramic view of the loch, which is useful as that is exactly what the judges want to see on canvas. Can they capture the ever-changing colours of the sky, land and water, which at times disappear from view all together? No one said it would be easy.

Mariella Frostrup and Reverend Richard Coles present the semi-final. Housed in Glasgow's world-famous Kelvin Hall, the six remaining artists face the toughest theme of all - movement. In the first task, they must try to capture the action of an endurance runner and world record-breaking cyclist. This is followed up with two masterclasses designed to find solutions to the problem of capturing a moving object in paint. The final challenge takes place in the gymnasium. The two groups have to depict the dynamic movement of a floor gymnast or the graceful elegance of an athlete on the beam. The pressure builds as there are only four places in the final, so winning the public vote is even more important, as the formidable judges, Lachlan Goudie and Daphne Todd OBE, send two painters home. Who will fall at the final hurdle?

It's the final, and the four remaining artists travel to the Historic Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, to battle it out for the title. The first task requires them to take a good, hard look at themselves as they take on self-portraits. As always, Diana Ali and Pascal Anson are on hand with moral support, they want their artists' paintings to really take on personality and character, not just to create a likeness. Following the task the painters are given individual masterclasses to help them work on areas the mentors think could make a difference in the final challenge. They involve painting with decorator rollers, eating and then painting cake, painting blindfolded and painting with dance movements. The final day dawns and the artists face the ultimate challenge. For the first time they are allowed to choose any subject they want. They have three hours to use everything they have been taught over the last six weeks to create a painting that will decide the winner of the Big Painting Challenge 2018.