Art in the Cafe by Mandy Allan
2nd January - 28th February
Mandy is a South Lakes based artist and can usually be found working in soft pastels, coloured pencils or charcoal, creating wildlife art as well as commissioned portraiture. Though she does also dabble in some sculptural work along the way too.
Mandy studied art at Bolton University, focusing mainly on figurative drawing and sculpture, and gaining a BA Hons in Visual Art in 2004. She discovered my love of pastels, initially while creating large pastel landscape like figurative drawings.
Having the opportunity to be a stay at home mum, whilst living in Munich, Germany (2009 until 2014) she was able to concentrate more on animal and people portraiture, working in pastels in more detail. One day she discovered a tin of pastel pencils in an art shop and this gave her the ability to create the greater depth of detail that she now captures in her wildlife art and commission portraiture.
Since relocating to the Lake District, British wildlife has inspired many more of her pastel and coloured pencil drawings, as have the regional farms and their Cumbrian heritage. She loves to depict their character and expression, creating artworks that people enjoy having in their homes. Mandy's work also gives her an opportunity to raise awareness about wildlife species that are in decline such as Red Squirrels, Scottish Wild Cats and various bird species.
To purchase any of the pictures here, please ask at Reception.
The Café, where the pictures are displayed, is open Monday-Friday 8am-5pm, Saturday 9am-5pm and closed Sundays & Bank Holidays.
