Ewe-nique art trail to featureLady Baa Baa

Sam Martin is painting the Herdwick Ewe, one of 60 which will form a distinctive art trail from Keswick to Windermere, for the Calvert Trust in the Lake District.

The trust provides adventure holidays for physical, sensory or learning disabilities.

Sam decided to run a Facebook competition for people to name her sheep, with suggestions ranging from Baa-bara to Ewe-nique.

In the end, Rachel Dunseath’s winning name of Lady Baa Baa earned her a calendar from Sam and a £50 voucher from sponsor The Elterwater Hostel in the Langdale Valley, where the ewe will reside from Easter until August.

The full #goherdwick trail will see an invasion of the decorated fantasy Herdwicks pop up in all sorts of unexpected places – in parks, cafes and in the street.

Sam said there were a few raised eyebrows when she picked up the sheep from Keswick and loaded it into the boot of her car – but she said the venture is definitely worth it for what it is trying to achieve.

“As a massive outdoor fan who walks every day in Nidderdale and on the fells at the weekends, I think everyone deserves to enjoy the great outdoors,” said Sam.

“I went up to Scotland to climb Ben Nevis with the kids and to think there are kids out there who can’t enjoy it, that’s why I liked to get involved.”

Sam swapped her 20 years in IT, working for UNIT4 Business Software in Cardale Park, to be an artist.

Since January last year, she has sold more than 100 paintings and she exhibits her artwork in galleries in locations in Yorkshire, The Lake District and Wales.

She is currently painting for an exhibition for a gallery in Dunbar, Scotland in April.

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