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.