The Art of Tim O'Brien - Plein-Air & studio artist, author & tutor


I enjoy painting landscapes, urban scenes, motoring, marine and aviation topics in oils and watercolour for exhibitions, either plein-air or in the studio. Having been trained in the traditional ways of commercial art and illustration in the late 1980s, before digital technology took over, I enjoy carrying-on the tradition of creating hand-finished artwork.


SKY ARTS LANDSCAPE ARTIST OF THE YEAR - Series 11

Look out for Heat 5 of Sky Art’s Landscape Artist of the Year competition when it airs on Wednesday 11th February 2026. Tim was selected to take part as a Wildcard Contestant on board HMS Wellington on the River Thames. 

“It was a delight to meet presenter Stephen Mangan and judge Tai-Shan Schierenberg. A fascinating insight to see what it is like behind-the-scenes with the production crew from Storyvault Films, who made sure everything ran like clockwork on what was a very long hot day. In summary, it was a great shared experience for all the artists involved. I’m glad I did it and can look back and I can say I was there, and even got the T-shirt! I hope my interview makes the final cut."