Britannia

Wildlife art exhibition will be picture perfect

A series of paintings by wildlife artist Annabel Pope will be exhibited in the elegant surroundings of Thirlestane Castle.

Annabel’s extensive travels throughout Africa provide the inspiration for her latest body of work and she will be exhibiting original wildlife paintings and limited edition prints.

With a unique style, and using a variety of mediums, Annabel has previously been commissioned by Ralph Lauren and Tusk Trust. Annabel will be at Thirlestane for the duration of the exhibition. The exhibition will be open between 10am and 4pm on the Thursday 26 and Friday 27 September, and from 10am until 1pm on Saturday 28.

She said: ‘It is great pleasure, and privilege, to be putting on my first solo show in Scotland in such a wonderful location and I’m very grateful to the Maitland-Carew family whose innovative idea it was to hang my work in the State Drawing Room. With over 400 years of history, Thirlestane will provide a spectacular setting for my latest wildlife paintings.’

Annabel recently returned from a trip to Kenya where she visited many Wildlife Conservancy areas. She saw, first hand, the excellent work that is being done to protect wildlife and its environment. Annabel’s passion for her subjects is evident in her work and the exhibition will give an insight into some of the highlights of her visit to Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Reteti elephant orphanage and the Masai Mara.

The exhibition is sponsored by Aardvark Safaris and James Eadie Scotch whisky  whose recent limited edition bottlings will be available to sample. Rupert Patrick, Annabel’s husband and the founder of the revived Eadie whisky business, will be on hand to guide whisky fans through an array of fine Speyside, Highland and Island single malts.

Thirlestane Castle, in Lauder

Annabel grew up on a farm in Norfolk, always exploring the outdoors and wildlife. She first visited Africa as a child and continued to travel and spend time in the continent throughout her formal education.

Over the years Annabel’s work has documented visits to several other countries including North and South America, India and the Far East. Her passion for travel allows her to visualise and witness wildlife in its natural environment and is the inspiration for all her work which attracts interest internationally. Her work is displayed in a variety of Kenyan wildlife lodges including Borana, Lewa, Sosian and Sirikoi.

In 2011 she was asked to be artist in residence at little Governors Camp in the Masai Mara, working with Jonathan Scott and Warren Samuels from the BBC big cat diary series. Annabel’s work has been featured on the TUSK Christmas card for the last four years.

Annabel has co-operated with a variety of charities, including the Countryside Foundation for Education, the Countryside Alliance, Zambian Conservation and Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.

Thirlestane Castle Trust was set up in the 1980s to protect and preserve the castle and its collections for future generations and all events support this work.

TAGS

FOLLOW US