ARTIST Janet Jarvis from North Tawton who specialises in pastel and acrylic paintings of farm and other animals is making the preparations for displaying her work in her second year as part of the Devon Open Studios fortnight which runs from September 10-25.

Janet is part of the North Tawton, Bondleigh and Bow Art Trail during the Open Studios event: this comprises ten artists with wide ranging skills and interests.

Janet’s work depicts the amazing farm and other animals that occupy the Devon countryside. She said: ‘All my paintings originate from photos that I have taken and I really love to capture the character and the detail of fur and feather on canvas and paper.

‘I take my work to the local agricultural shows at Okehampton (I won the best in craft tent prize there last week), Chagford and Mid Devon which work really well for me and I love the hustle and bustle of these events and especially the interactions with local animal breeders.

‘It has been an exceptionally busy 12 months for me with not just the usual venues but also very successful exhibitions at Rosemoor and Delamore. I have also been fortunate to be able to display my pastels at the Wildwood Gallery in Horrabridge.’

Janet is largely self-taught and took up her passion after a long and fruitful career as a teacher.

‘I am really looking forward to Open Studios — in reality an open carport and garage in my case — it provides a relaxing environment to meet and chat with visitors about my work.’

Art lovers will also be able to build in visits to the other neighbouring artists on the North Tawton, Bondleigh and Bow Trail.