THREE artists from Oxfordshire have made the final round in an art competition which could see them win £20,000.

Oliver Bedeman from Wallingford, Stacey Gledhill from Oxford and James Crowther from Henley entered the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize for representational art, and last week were shortlisted from nearly 2,000 entries – a record amount since the competition started 14 years ago.

Now their three works – ‘Tom and Florian in Dalston’, ‘Green Beans’ and ‘An Audience with Mrs Barrett’ will join the 78 other finalists’ at the Mall Galleries in London.

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It will be on show from March 5 until March 17.

Kick-starting the two-week show will be the announcement of the winners.

Oxford Mail:

An Audience with Mrs Barrett by James Crowther.

On the opening night, a panel of five artists, curators and previous winners will judge the line-up and choose winners of first prize, second prize and the young artist prize.

First prize will bag £20,000 and an engraved medal, with second place and the artist both winning £4,000.

The competition was open to professionals and amateurs over the age of 18, who live in the UK, and runs in a bid to promote and support ‘fresh new talent’.

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Ian Rowley, chairman of the organising committee, said: “This year, we’ve been bowled over by the quality of the entries.

“There’s a tremendous diversity to the works combined with some very bold approaches and techniques.

“A record-breaking 2,400 works were submitted by over a thousand artists, which shows that representational art in the UK is in better health than the art establishment might surmise.”

Christopher Green, who won the prize in 2017, will be sitting on the judging panel, with Benjamin Sullivan, 2007’s winner and the youngest member ever to be elected to the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the New English Art Club.

Oxford Mail:

Green Beans by Stacey Gledhill.

Tom Hewlett, the director at the Portland Gallery and Jennifer Scott from the Dulwich Picture Gallery will also be critiquing.

Joining them will be artist Robin-Lee Hall PPRP, the president of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters until last year, and an artist in the ancient painting technique of egg tempera.

The Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize was created in 2015 in a collaboration between the Lynn Foundation and the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers.

The Lynn Foundation is a charity which works with disabled children through music and the arts.

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And, the Worshopful Company of Painter-Stainers dates back to 1502.

Their aim is to encourage, promote and reward ‘excellence’ in painting, staining and decorating.

As well as co-sponsoring the competition they scout for new talent at schools in the UK and universities, offering scholarships to fine art students at London Colleges.

Find out more at lynnpainterstainersprize.org.uk