Art Competition is Just Purrfect for All

Local artist Alyson Cadd Harlington is one of the organisers of a national art competition that hopes to stimulate interest in the arts, whilst raising funds for Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard, a remarkable charity set up in WW2.

The subjects for the Cat Portrait Artist of the Year competition are the cats owned by the 2 celebrities involved in the competition – Fearne Cotton, broadcaster, author and owner of Happy Place, and Samantha Renke, actress, presenter and disability campaigner. In fact Samantha is an active Ambassador for Ferne Animal Sanctuary.

Alyson, based in Beaminster, wants to invite artists across the UK to join in. Entry is free and can be done online. She wants to stress their keenness to include all artists, especially those who may have mental or physical challenges and says “We want this to be as fun and inclusive as possible. The fact it is online should make it easy for most to participate.”

Unusually, the competition includes digital art, which should enable more disabled artists to take part. If you would like to know more or join in – or just see great cat art – take a look at facebook.com/groups/petportraitartistsukdirectory The final judging will be by a public vote. [End]

All our time and efforts are being offered free and no one is making any income from this competition - other than the animal charities themselves.

About the author: Alyson Cadd Harlington lives in Beaminster and is an artist. She also acts as the administrator for a user group on the national visual arts programme, Love From The Artist (LoveFromTheArtist.com). They are a not-for-profit CIC whose main objective is to encourage UK artists and help them earn a living from their work.

A spokesperson at Ferne Animal Sanctuary says: “At Ferne Animal Sanctuary, we recognise the strong positive impact that both animals and creativity have on mental health and
wellbeing, so we are absolutely delighted that these wonderfulartists have chosen to support us via the art competition! We are also thrilled that our lovely ambassador, Samantha Renke, is involved, along with the wonderful Fearne Cotton.”

Ferne was established during WWII by Nina Duchess of Hamilton, to care for the animals of those heading off to war. They continue to look after animals in need at their beautiful sanctuary on the Blackdown Hills. They currently care for over 300 animals now, ranging from horses and goats to dogs, cats and birds. Charity No. 1164350

If you would like to know more about Ferne please see www.ferneanimalsanctuary.org Fearne Cotton says “I think this is a wonderful idea for a campaign and I am very happy to provide some images of my cat as a subject for the portrait competition."

Fearne Cotton is a broadcaster, author and owner of Happy Place.

Samantha Renke says “I am certainly happy to support Ferne Animal Sanctuary and get involved in this art competition. It is good to see that it is being made as inclusive as possible for all artists. Animals have helped me immensely over the years to build up my confidence and self esteem, also helping me in my darkest moments. It’s an honour to be in a position to give back and recognise the blessing of having pets in our lives”

Samantha Renke is an actress, presenter and disability campaigner. She is also an active Ambassador for Fearne Animal Sanctuary.