Based out of Yew Tree Farm in Coniston, formerly owned by Beatrix Potter, Jo McGrath is a professional artist specialising in animal portraits.
Alongside her artwork, Jo continues to run the active Cumbrian farm alongside her husband, farming their 800+ Herdwick Sheep, 30 Belted Galloway cows, and other assorted animals. (Incidentally, Yew Tree Farm is one of the four Cumbrian farms producing the wool for our Herdwick Tweed products, and they supply several of our ingredients in the Thirteen Valleys Kitchen – showing the truly interlinked nature of local Cumbrian industry!)
Many of the animals on her farm become Jo’s subjects, as she works from photos and from real life – using charcoal, watercolour, pastels, and local pigments to capture the essence of each animal’s personality and character.
[Keep an eye out for some of the photos we’ve commissioned from Jo, which are available exclusively from the Grasmere Gather.]
