Millions of people will view paintings by artist Eleanor Carlingford tonight, as her work features on The Apprentice.
Eleanor was one of four artists chosen to take part in the prime time TV programme fronted by Alan Sugar when it was filmed in Glasgow earlier this year.
The Glasgow School of Art graduate, who lives in Kilcreggan, was not allowed to reveal the price her paintings had sold for before the programme was screened on BBC1 at 9pm tonight – although we do know that episode eight of the 14th series nears its conclusion with one team being told by Lord Sugar: “The only thing you drew was a blank.”
But Eleanor was full of respect for the production team who brought the programme to Glasgow after initially contacting Art Pistol, and she said the invitation had come out of the blue.
“I was incredulous, partly because I had spent two years not painting because I was building a new studio, and then this mammoth opportunity came along – it was unbelievable,” she said.
The Briggait in Glasgow was used for filming, with a mock-up of Eleanor’s Kilcreggan studio being created thanks partly to some furniture loaned from Yvie’s retro shop in the village.
Lord Sugar briefed the candidates in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, then Eleanor was on camera meeting three of the teams – she was told to be even-handed and not to help any of the contestants, even if they made a clear error.
“My brief was, ‘don’t do anything you wouldn’t do as a professional artist and don’t help them’,” she said.
“Nothing was shot twice – we didn’t do anything a second time.”
Winner of the 2011 Scottish Drawing Competition, Eleanor creates oil paintings which are figurative rather than representational, and she said of the would-be apprentices: “The first two who met me looked like rabbits caught in the headlights, but the second team, who chose my work, handled it better.
“I went to see them when they hung the exhibition but not the actual exhibition itself.”
An exhibition of Eleanor’s work at Glasgow’s iconic Lighthouse building was staged overnight, with an audience including corporate customers set up beforehand by Itison.
Originally from Newry in County Down, Eleanor is a qualified yachtsmaster and pursued a varied career from translating to journalism and broadcasting, relationship counselling and theatrical costume manufacture before turning to painting.
Interface, her new exhibition, opens at Glasgow’s Art Pistol gallery at 2pm on Saturday.
More information about her work is available on her website.
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