Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Eleanor Johnson won Jackson’s Art Prize 2025 with her oil on canvas painting 'Slick With Olive Oil', which you can see in person at our upcoming exhibition of finalists at Bankside Gallery.
The judges said “Eleanor Johnson’s 'Slick With Olive Oil' is a richly wrought painting on a grand scale. The complex, circular interaction of grappling wrestlers and dancers punctuated with hyacinth grape flowers is confidently expressed with skillfully handled oils that are as juicy and glistening as the title suggests. This dizzying composition borrows from Peter Paul Rubens’ fleshy Baroque excesses to present a labyrinthine whirl of tumbling bodies, in a theatrical approach that explores themes such as aggression, sexuality, and play, and was the clear choice for this year’s overall winner.”
We visited Eleanor in her studio to find out more about the inspiration behind her winning painting, her interest in historical art, and the routine that gets her ready to paint. Watch the full film on our blog: jacksonsart.com/blog/2025/06/16/meet-eleanor-johnson-winner-of-jacksons-art-prize-2025/?utm_campaign=eleanor_johnson&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=organicsocial&utm_content=youtube_social_organic_shorts_to_blog
Eleanor Johnson won Jackson’s Art Prize 2025 with her oil on canvas painting 'Slick With Olive Oil', which you can see in person at our upcoming exhibition of finalists at Bankside Gallery.
The judges said “Eleanor Johnson’s 'Slick With Olive Oil' is a richly wrought painting on a grand scale. The complex, circular interaction of grappling wrestlers and dancers punctuated with hyacinth grape flowers is confidently expressed with skillfully handled oils that are as juicy and glistening as the title suggests. This dizzying composition borrows from Peter Paul Rubens’ fleshy Baroque excesses to present a labyrinthine whirl of tumbling bodies, in a theatrical approach that explores themes such as aggression, sexuality, and play, and was the clear choice for this year’s overall winner.”
We visited Eleanor in her studio to find out more about the inspiration behind her winning painting, her interest in historical art, and the routine that gets her ready to paint. Watch the full film on our blog: jacksonsart.com/blog/2025/06/16/meet-eleanor-johnson-winner-of-jacksons-art-prize-2025/?utm_campaign=eleanor_johnson&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=organicsocial&utm_content=youtube_social_organic_shorts_to_blog
