Judging Our J Campbell Kerr Competition


J Campbell Kerr

In May, “The People’s Friend” offered artists an unbelievable opportunity: the chance to become the new J Campbell Kerr.

Our competition, in partnership with the Robin & Eirwen Bell Trust, asked for an original painting of a British beauty spot. The artist had to paint by hand on paper or board, using traditional methods.

The lucky winner would:

  • Receive £300 prize money
  • Have their winning illustration featured in “The People’s Friend”
  • Receive mentoring from our Illustrations Editor, Sarah Holliday
  • Potentially receive paid commissions for future front-cover artwork

We were inundated with entries, which was great!

The standard of the paintings we received was incredibly high. This made the judging process a very difficult task.

The judging panel was made up of Editor Angela, Illustrations Editor Sarah, a current “Friend” cover artist, and sponsor Robin Bell.

Take a look at the video of the judging process below:

All they had to do was pick their favourite . . . but it was too hard!

That’s why they decided to award some entries either “highly commended” or “special mention” status!

We’ll announce the winner of the J Campbell Kerr competition in our August 31 issue. And a little earlier here on our website!

Remember to keep an eye on our competition pages. You never know, you might find yourself in the pages of the “Friend” one day!

Iain McDonald

Iain is Digital Content Editor at the "Friend", making him responsible for managing flow of interesting and entertaining content on the magazine's website and social media channels.