Search on for Lancashire's finest artists in county competition

The search to find the best artists in the county has now begun with the launch of the Lancashire Artist of the Year 2024.

This year Lancashire County Council is once again asking artists of all abilities to produce a work depicting their favourite Lancashire view in spring, summer, autumn or winter.

Entries must be painted in landscape as the competition will not be able to accept any painted in portrait.

The deadline for entries is Wednesday June 12.

The winning paintings will feature in the county council's Lancashire Artist of the Year 2025 calendar, with the proceeds going towards activities for the authority's care leavers.

Last year £2,725 was raised from the sale of the 2024 calendars.

Lancashire Artist of the Year was launched in 2023, and Freckleton's Williamson was named the overall winner after impressing our judges and the public with his depiction of Lytham Hall.

He said: "I nearly didn’t enter the competition.

"My wife and I had only recently moved house into the county to be closer to our daughter and she sent me the link.

"Landscape, buildings, heritage and history inspire my work and despite only living in Lancashire for a couple of months I had already created a few loose paintings of places and locations that caught my eye.

"I eventually entered a springtime painting of the gateway to Lytham Hall and thought nothing more about it, so to get selected as a finalist was a real surprise.

"To then be awarded the title was quite astonishing and a real honour.”

The judges will whittle down the entries to a shortlist which will then be put to a public vote.

The artwork with the most votes will become the overall winner and feature on the cover of the new 2025 calendar.

Cllr Peter Buckley, the county council's cultural boss, said: "From the panoramic views from atop Pendle Hill to the rich and diverse landscapes found in The Forest of Bowland, Lancashire is filled with areas of natural beauty.

"Lancashire Artist of the Year is an opportunity for us to celebrate the landscape of Lancashire, and the many artists we have in our midst.

"This is an inclusive competition, and we want to encourage artists of all abilities and ages to enter."