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| On March 28, 2007, UK artist Pollyanna Pickering and her daughter/manager Anna-Louise Pickering departed for Bhutan sketch and paint the rare flora and fauna of this largely undisturbed region of the Himalayas.
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| Stephen Fry Picks the Winner for the Pollyanna Pickering Foundation |
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The winning ticket of the 2013 Pollyanna Pickering Foundation grand prize draw has been drawn by Stephen Fry - actor, TV presenter - and all-round national Treasure! The prize draw was held in conjuction with Pollyanna's Exhibition 'Last Chance to Paint....?'
A few months ago Pollyanna found herself sitting just feet away from a wild gorilla in the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda. As she completed some rapid sketches she realised that she may be one of the last wildlife artists to have the opportunity to observe these and other critically endangered animals in the wild. Inspired by this experience, and by the book and subsequent television series ‘Last Chance to See...’ Pollyanna created a remarkable new collection of paintings of endangered species, which were exhibited to the public for the first time in her private gallery in Derbyshire.
In 1989 author Douglas Adams (best known for the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy Series of books) and zoologist Mark Carwardine made a series of BBC radio documentaries travelling to various locations in the hope of encountering species on the brink of extinction. A book of the same name was published the following year. In 2009, the BBC aired a television follow up series, with Stephen Fry replacing the late Adams as Mark Carwardine’s travelling companion. Pollyanna recognised a parallel between her painting expeditions and the journeys made by the Last Chance writers and broadcasters, and the way in which they are able to share their experiences of the natural world and encounters with some of the world’s most vulnerable creatures – in her case through her award winning artwork.
Pollyanna commented 'we were delighted with the response to the exhibtion and the prize draw, and it was wonderful that Stephen Fry - whose television series helped to inspire the entire project - was willing to take time out of his busy schedule to hep me select the winning tickets. He is such a popular television personality - and his genuine concern for the fate of endangered species is evident'. Stephen told Pollyanna of his main reason for undertaking the journeys he made filming the TV series 'If our adventures have any purpose it is to help with the conservation conversation' adding 'Let's never stop talking about the creatures we share the planet with. The first step is to know them a little better'
Mrs Read of Matlock is the lucky winner of Pollyanna's original painting of two cheetahs, while the second prize winner Mr D. Slinn also of Derbyshire will receive a signed limited edition print. A further ten runners up have also been sent signed prints and other prizes. A full list of winners can be found below.
Between the sales of prize draw tickets, donations, and a percentage of sales from prints of ‘Kekay and Her Cubs’, the Foundation has raised £3,250.00 which will be used to fund a cheetah education programme in Namibia.
Ninety percent of Namibia's wild cheetah live on farmlands and come into conflict with farmers and livestock and game farming interests. This donation will enable The Cheetah Conservation Fund education team to conduct a weeklong training course for 30 farmers. The Foundation believes that education programmes of this kind are one of the most important factors in ensuring the continued survival of cheetahs in the wild, where they belong. |
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