The search is on for Lancashire Artist of Year 2023

A new competition by Lancashire County Council to showcase the most beautiful scenery in the area by the best artists has been launched to find the Lancashire Artist of Year. Whether that be the county’s best landscape artists or an unknown talent, sketches, collages, lino prints or even embroideries depicting your favourite Lancashire view in spring, summer, autumn or winter.

The judging panel will pick their favourites from each season and create a shortlist. The shortlisted artworks will then go forward to an online public vote. The artwork with the most votes will become the overall winner, featuring on the calendar cover, with the artist who created it winning the title of Lancashire Artist of the Year 2023. Preston artist Norman Long will be part of the judging panel who will be reviewing entries. He said: "I am honoured to be invited as a selector. Amongst the work submitted, I will be looking for a genuine engagement with the subject, something which is hard to achieve through taking a quick snap. Even taking the time to sketch on-site can connect you to a place more firmly, leading to a more personal interpretation."

County Councillor Peter Buckley, cabinet member for cultural services at Lancashire County Council, added: "We are blessed in Lancashire with some of the most stunning scenery in the whole of the UK. With this competition, we want to shine a light on that while also celebrating the rich pool of artistic talent out there.

Proceeds from the sale of the calendars will go towards activities to support Lancashire Care Leavers. The finalists and the winner's artworks will be collated and printed in the council’s first Lancashire Artist of the Year 2024 calendar, which will be sold across the county in libraries, museums and their archives.

Artists have until Monday, June 19 to submit their entries.

To find out more about how to apply for Lancashire Artist of the Year 2023 visit HERE.