The Yorkshire Shepherdess is the focus of one of my four 2018 Christmas card designs for Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
In addition to two snowy scenes and one depicting York Minster, the famous hill farmer Amanda Owen features on one of the cards with her flock of sheep and sheepdogs.
Amanda, 43, is also a writer, photographer, public speaker and mother of nine! She lives with her husband Clive and their family at Ravenseat in Upper Swaledale, North Yorkshire - one of the highest, most remote hill farms in England.
I am an avid supporter of the YAA and have created many illustrations for the charity. I immediately thought of Amanda when creating a wintry Yorkshire scene and was so pleased when she agreed to be the focus of the painting. She felt she could help promote the invaluable service Yorkshire Air Ambulance provides in rural areas.
Amanda and her life as a shepherdess in this stunning scenery perfectly captures the essence of the Dales. I absolutely adored illustrating this winter scene featuring Amanda, her beloved dogs and sheep at Ravenseat in watercolours and gouache. I too, love animals and spent many hours working on each sheep and dog.
After being featured in the ITV series The Dales, Amanda began documenting the incredible story of her farming life, before publishing two bestselling books The Yorkshire Shepherdess in 2014, and A Year in the Life of The Yorkshire Shepherdess in 2016.
Amanda told me: “I am thoroughly delighted to be able to offer my support to the YAA and honoured to be the subject of this painting for such a worthwhile cause.
She continued: “It does make me smile wondering what exactly happened after the picture was painted, the Yorkshire Air Ambulance is hovering above and I wonder whether I was trampled by the sheep or savaged by a sheepdog? The picture is already hung up and very high it is too, out of reach of the many grubby fingers at Ravenseat!
“We are very much aware, that living as remotely as we do, the YAA is a vital service than can make the difference between life and death. We have had our fair share of medical emergencies, though are fortunate to have never yet ourselves required the services of one of the two YAA helicopters.
Abby Barmby, Director of Marketing & Communications at the YAA told me: “Having Amanda included on one of this year’s Christmas card designs has just added something extra special to the collection, and we are absolutely delighted to have her support.
“In fact, Amanda’s card has already been one of our most popular selling designs ever!”
Amanda’s 2,000-acre working farm, has more than 1,000 sheep and nestles in stunning landscape, about an hour’s walk west of Keld. It is exactly half way on the hugely popular Coast to Coast walk – but a two-hour drive from the nearest hospital.
The profits from the sale of each pack of Christmas cards is donated back to the charity, helping them to raise the £12,000 they need each day to keep both of their helicopters in the air, and helping to save lives across the region.
The Christmas cards are available to buy from Yorkshire Air Ambulance and priced very reasonably at £4 for a pack of 10 cards with envelopes (including postage).
Signed, card backed, limited edition prints of the Christmas cards are available to buy here on my website and a donation from the sale of each print goes to Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
My background to painting outside stems from early childhood. No matter what the weather - I'll always try and paint outside of my studio to capture the subject matter be it animals, landscapes or as is often the case - a combination!
Beautiful autumn colouring this year inspired me to capture the cherry trees on the stray in Harrogate - slightly windy conditions made the outdoors challenging but well worth the effort - !
Had a fabulous time at the gardens of Monet in the tranquil village of Giverny. Made all the more exciting when a massive storm hit the village the evening we arrived - ended up eating my Sea Bass in a plate full of rainwater..... as the restaurant got deluged!
Anita Bowerman
Author