Richard Bacon and Una Stubbs are in Liverpool - as the remaining artists face three challenges that centre around this vibrant and diverse city.
For their opening assignment the five remaining artists scour the city streets looking for inspiration from the historic docks to the music quarter as expert judges Lachlan Goudie and Daphne Todd OBE want them to paint their personal interpretation of the city in watercolours. Determined to impress the judges and get into the final, two artists make the bold decision to completely change their painting styles.
For the quick draw, the artists climb onto the roof of Liverpool's Cunard Building to sketch in charcoal, pastel and pencil the commanding view of the neighbouring Royal Liver Building clock tower, which boasts the largest clock face in the UK. And despite having a clock in front of them, time gets the better of the artists as they try to capture its intricate architectural detail.
Traditionally when artists painted cities they were attracted to grand imposing places such as London, Paris and Venice. So Una travels to Pendlebury in Manchester to discover what inspired LS Lowry, one of Britain's most recognised cityscape artists, to paint the textile mills and coal mines of the north of England.
The closing task couples a busy cityscape with the challenge of painting moving water - as the artists paint the iconic Liverpool skyline from across the River Mersey. Clouds racing across the sky, reflections on the water and constantly changing sunlight test the artists' technical abilities to the limit as the judges eliminate one last artist before the final.
