Wildlife and Military Artist Mandy Shepherd

Farnham Art Society are proud and delighted to introduce Mandy Shepherd as our Patron following in the foot steps of her father the late David Shepherd who was the President of Farnham Art Society until his passing in 2017.

Mandy and her father the late David Shepherd

Mandy was born in 1960. Her Art education began with a foundation year at the Byamshaw, London, followed by three years at Brighton to complete an honours degree in Fine Art and Illustration. After her degree, she travelled to Africa to work in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. She gained valuable experience with a leading advertising agency in Harare during Independence, worked with a highly successful gallery in Johannesburg researching South African artists and managing to establish her own painting style at the same time. 

The trip culminated in her first solo show in Zimbabwe in 1980 and this set the pace for an exciting career and a long established and continuing partnership with the Rountree Tryon Gallery for over 35 years. She returned to London in 1982 to join a shared studio in London for a short while before moving to Chichester which has been her home since 1988.

Wildlife took her to the Falkland Islands in 1996 but opened the door to a new world of military subjects from which she has never looked back. Commissions came from the Parachute regiment, Royal Artillery, Royal Airforce of Oman, The Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy. She went on to work for the Special Forces recording international active deployment and has travelled widely to Brunei, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. She continues to work for tri service operations and most recently a major commission in Cyprus for 84Sqn.

Her portfolio includes subjects both wildlife and domestic , military and portraiture. She has painted esteemed portraits of the Masters of Livery Companies, and Judges upon retirement at The Old Bailey. Her book ‘The Falkland Islands – an Artist's Portfolio’ was followed by substantial illustrative material for Flag Officer and Sea Training for the Royal Navy and the commissioned book for HMS DARING. Her work also features in 'The Shoot Lunch' by J C Jeremy Hobson. Mandy was the acting art director of the book celebrating the Centenary of the RAF and is a committee member of the RAF Club overseeing their collection.

Her success has come from her open enthusiasm to paint all things with an expression in fine detail and this attention to accuracy is complimented by an interpretation of subject material which is unique to Mandy. The subject composition sets her apart from other wildlife and military painters. Earlier this year the Household Cavalry invited her to paint the first female Drum horse ‘Juno’ which was presented to the Queen in July. This now hangs at Sandringham

Her ‘other ‘ life is her lifelong commitment to Wildlife Conservation and she supports the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation through her Art and taking safaris worldwide. She is delighted and honoured to be accepting the patronage of The Farnham Art Society and is looking forward to making an active contribution and meeting the membership.

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David Shepherd FRSA CBE 1931 — 2017. 

David studied art under professional artist, Robin Goodwin, with early commissions for the RAF taking him to Aden in 1960, and on to Kenya. This trip changed his life. He was asked to paint his first wildlife subject and at the same time he became a conservationist overnight when he witnessed 255 zebra dead around a waterhole poisoned by poachers.

Following that, David enjoyed successful one-man shows around the world and won many awards. He has been the subject of several TV programmes and published five books and over 200 limited edition prints. 

David lived at a frenetic pace, continuing to donate paintings to wildlife through his Foundation, to pay back "my enormous debt of gratitude to the animals I paint".

As a small boy, David had only one ambition, to be a game warden. So after leaving school in 1949, he went to Kenya to follow his dream, only to be politely told that he was not wanted! Returning home with his dream in tatters, he faced two choices: ‘to drive buses or starve as an artist’.

Rejected by the Slade School of Fine Art as having ‘no talent whatsoever’, it was by good fortune that he met Robin Goodwin, a professional artist, who took him under his wing, teaching him for three years, and to whom he owes his success.

David started his career as an aviation artist and owed a great deal to the Services who commissioned paintings that took him all over the world. The RAF flew him from Mukulla in Aden to Kenya in 1960, which proved a turning point in his career when they commissioned his very first wildlife painting – he never looked back.

It was at this time that he became a conservationist overnight when he found 255 dead zebra at a poisoned waterhole in Tanzania. Throughout his career he therefore tried to do all he could to repay the enormous debt he felt he owed to the elephants, tigers and other animals that gave him so much success. ‘Tiger Fire’ was one of his first major fund-raising successes, raising £127,000 for Operation Tiger in 1973.

In 1984 he established the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) to channel his own conservation efforts to fund vital enforcement and community projects that continue to make a real difference to wildlife survival in their natural habitat. Through his tireless and passionate efforts and, thanks to the generosity of the Foundation’s dedicated supporters, including artists from around the world who support DSWF’s ‘Art for Survival’ programme, over £5 million has been given away directly in grants to keep key projects in Africa and Asia alive and operational.

In 2011, during his 80^th birthday year, David launched a new campaign to save the tiger in the wild. TigerTime has attracted celebrity support from Sir Paul McCartney, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Fry and Joanna Lumley, among many, and is campaigning to bring an end to the tiger trade and tiger farms in China. 

As well as his wildlife and landscape paintings, David was perhaps lesser known for his portraits, which included Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, HE Sheikh Zayed of Abu Dhabi and perhaps the most significant, his vast portrayal of ‘Christ on the Battlefield’ which hangs behind the alter in a military garrison church.

David was also passionate about steam locomotives, owning two 120-ton main line steam giants and establishing a registered steam railway charity. His beloved Black Prince is now leased to the Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Railway.

His life as an artist and conservationist have featured in several TV programmes including the BBC’s ‘Man Who Loves Giants’ (1972) and ‘Last Train to Mulobezi’ (1974), Harleck’s ‘Elephants and Engines’ (1974), ‘In Search of Wildlife’ series for Thames (1988), ‘Naturewatch’ for Central TV (1990), and ‘This is Your Life’ (1990). His books include ‘An Artist in Africa’ (1967), ‘The Man Who Loves Giants’ (1975), ‘A Brush with Steam’ (1983), ‘David Shepherd, The Man and His Paintings’ (1985), ‘David Shepherd, An Artist in Conservation’ (1992), ‘David Shepherd, My Painting Life’ and ‘Only One World’ (1995) and ‘Painting with David Shepherd’ (2004). His awards include an Honorary Degree on Fine Arts by the Pratt Institute in New York (1971), the Order of the Golden Ark by HRH The Prince of The Netherlands (1973), Member of Honour of WWF and OBE (1979), FRSA (1986), Order of Distinguished Service, Zambia (1988), and June 2008 the CBE to services to conservation.

David celebrated his 80th birthday in 2011 with a party at the Natural History Museum which raised over £120,000 for wildlife. He lived with his adored wife Avril in West Sussex and has four daughters and nine grandchildren who share his passion for wildlife conservation and art.

In 2012 David started the year with a retrospective of his work at the Royal Academy West of England in Bristol.

For more on the work of his Foundation and TigerTime see: www.davidshepherd.org and www.tigertime.info