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Sketch for Survival 100

We are delighted to announce the finalists for this year’s Sketch for Survival competition.

With such a diverse range of styles and techniques, including watercolour, pastel, charcoal, oil, paper cut, scratchboard, lino cut, acrylic, metal leaf, screen print, thread painting, pencil, digital brush, mosaic and more, the selection process was incredibly challenging.

All the longlisted pieces had merit, and narrowing them down to the final 100 involved much discussion, often over anatomy, and some very tough decisions. Congratulations to all our finalists and runners-up, and a huge thank you to everyone who took part.

Special thanks to our brilliant selection panel – Sophie Green, Ali Nicholls and Mark Adlington, led by Gary Hodges. These artists generously volunteer their time, bringing immense enthusiasm, experience and expertise to the selection process.

Image at top: Louise Reilly, Sketch for Survival 100 Finalist 2026

Image on left: Ellen S Barkin, Sketch for Survival 100 Finalist 2026

Which is your favourite artwork in this year’s Sketch for Survival 100 collection?

Cast your vote in the Leisure Painter and The Artist magazines’ Sketch for Survival People’s Choice Award before 31 October 2026.

SFS 100 FINALISTS

Many congratulations to the 100 finalists.

As organisers, it’s always wonderful to see familiar names returning alongside a host of newcomers. This year’s 100 brings together artists of 18 different nationalities, including Sweden, Japan, the UK, Denmark, Malaysia, Vietnam and Canada.

The artworks will be exhibited this autumn at the Crypt Gallery, Norwich, from 1–3 October, and the Oxo Gallery, London, from 18–22 November, before being sold via our online auction in aid of our Campaign Fund, concluding on 22 November. To find out more about the project partners we are supporting through fundraising this year, please visit our Project Directory.

This year’s artworks feature an extraordinary 65 different species. Alongside familiar favourites are some wonderful and less frequently represented species. Look out for glass frog, great white shark, grizzly bear and Grevy’s zebra, as well as a Malayan tapir pictured in its beautiful forest home. And not one but TWO Rondo dwarf galagos have made the final 100 this year. In case you were wondering, they’re tiny primates (bushbabies) found only in a handful of isolated forest patches in coastal Tanzania. They are Critically Endangered, largely because of habitat loss and fragmentation.

A number of other Critically Endangered species feature in the collection, including scalloped hammerhead shark, Sumatran tiger, black rhinoceros, leatherback turtle, red wolf, western gorilla, red ruffed lemur, Kordofan giraffe, mountain bongo, northern hairy-nosed wombat and hawksbill turtle.

And that’s really the point of Sketch for Survival – to use art to raise awareness about threatened species, their habitats and the pressures they face, while raising funds to support conservation projects around the world.

It was tough to choose the 100. It’s going to be even tougher to select a shortlist of just 10. Fortunately, we have the eagle eyes and experience of head judge Gary Hodges, who has the final say. The shortlist will be announced on 1 October, as the Sketch for Survival 100 exhibition opens in Norwich.

Thank you for helping us raise awareness through art.

SFS HIGHLY COMMENDED

Highly Commended artworks are pieces that only narrowly missed out on a place in the Sketch for Survival 100.

With such a strong field this year, final decisions often came down to the smallest details, and we’d like to congratulate all our Highly Commended artists on getting so far.

Highly Commended artworks will be available to buy from 1 October through our pop-up stores at this autumn’s events and exhibitions, and from our online shop, with every sale helping to support our central Campaign Fund.

We know it’s not easy being a runner-up, but every artwork submitted to Sketch for Survival plays a part in raising awareness of threatened species and wild spaces, as well as vital funds for conservation.

Congratulations and a huge thank you to all our Highly Commended artists for their support.

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