Great Yorkshire Show: Artist will paint a portrait with a difference at this year's sheep shows

There’s been a record number of sheep entries this year, with a waiting list since April and additional pens drafted in to accommodate numbers which have reached 3,525. Last year had already beaten previous records with 3,045.

Janette has a long association with the Show as her parents, Rob and Beryl Andrews, were stewards in the Hives and Honey section for nearly 30 years and still visit whenever they can.

She said: “To be involved in some way means a lot to me and my parents and, as I am not a beekeeper, this is my way of contributing.”

Janette only began planning to paint full time in 2020 after teaching at primary school for many years. She trained at art college and gained a degree in art and primary education and when she finally decided to leave teaching, she found herself in the first Covid lockdown.

Undeterred, she taught painting and drawing classes online to adults during the pandemic and after winning the 2022 North York Moors Art Supporters’ Choice Award is now painting full time.

She takes her inspiration from the Yorkshire landscape and environment and is looking forward to getting to know the Supreme Sheep and its owners in the course of painting its portrait. She said: “I chose to paint the sheep because sheep are very much part of the landscape I am used to working in. It will be great to work with the owners who will be very proud of their animal and I hope to produce something really special for them.”

Janette will travel to the owner’s farm, wherever that turns out to be, and work with them to discuss what type of painting they would like. She has a stand at the Show for the first time and visitors can see a selection of her original oil paintings and limited edition prints on Avenue Q.

The Show will feature several thousand sheep, all vying for the top title, with two more breeds, the Badger Face Texel and Castlemilk Moorit, making their stand-alone breed debuts this year.

There is an increasing number of Badger Face Sheep, known for being medium sized, strong and powerful.

They are also known as Dassenkops within the UK and The Dassenkop is rapidly gaining popularity within Europe, in particular Belgium and Holland.

The Castlemilk Moorit are a primitive rare breed of sheep which originate from Scoatland and produce high quality wool and meat. The breed society is working with the Rare Breed Survival Trust to protect, increase and promote them as they are classed as at risk.

Charles Mills, Show Director, said: “This has been a big year for the sheep section and we are grateful to Janette for her wonderful gesture for the winner of the prestigious Supreme Champion title.”

Tickets for the Show are on sale now and will be in advance only, as visitor numbers arecapped at 35,000 a day.

The 2022 Great Yorkshire Show sold out a week before the event in July.

Visitors can expect the best animals in the country competing including national breed shows as well as machinery, food and first-class entertainment to celebrate the very best of farming, food and the countryside.