Croagh Patrick takes centre stage as Sky Arts crowns Landscape Artist of the Year

Westport and the wild beauty of County Mayo are set to star on national television as Sky Arts' hit series Landscape Artist of the Year, with Croagh Patrick serving as the ultimate prize destination for this year's winner.

The finale of this year’s competition will air at 8pm tonight on Sky Arts, with a special film showcasing Westport and Croagh Patrick following immediately after on the same channel at 9pm. 

The competition's grand prize is a £10,000 commission from the National Gallery of Ireland to create a landscape of Croagh Patrick, the country's holy mountain, cementing Mayo's place as a canvas worthy of the British nation's finest artistic talent.

Presenter Stephen Mangan leads viewers across Britain and Ireland in the search for the country's best landscape artist.

Mangan, whose parents hail from Geesala and Doohoma, spent most of his childhood summers in Erris and is very familiar with Croagh Patrick. 

READ MORE: The Big Interview: Stephen Mangan

The semi-final takes place at the spectacular Ouse Valley Viaduct in Sussex, before the final three artists face their ultimate challenge at the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland — competing for the coveted commission that will bring them west to the shores of Mayo.

The winner's journey doesn't end at the Falkirk Wheel. The programme follows the successful artist as they travel to County Mayo to research and develop their commissioned piece — immersing themselves in the dramatic landscape of Croagh Patrick, the mountain that has drawn pilgrims and painters alike for centuries.

For Westport and the wider Mayo region, the spotlight couldn't be more welcome. The commission by the National Gallery of Ireland underscores the mountain's status not just as a place of pilgrimage, but as a landscape of profound national and artistic significance.

Judging the artists throughout the series are returning panellists Kathleen Soriano and Tai Shan Schierenberg, joined this year by new judge Eva Langret.

Landscape Artist of the Year, Series 11, airs on Sky Arts tonight at 8pm, with the winner visiting Mayo in a special programme which airs immediately after at 9pm.