RSPCA Pawsitive Artwork in Hebden Bridge

Posted on Apr 14, 2022 Updated on Apr 15, 2022

Local RSPCA turns a negative Act into a ‘Paw’sitive Piece!

The RSPCA Halifax, Huddersfield & Bradford’s Charity Shop in Hebden Bridge hoped to start 2022 on a positive note after a difficult 2 years of lockdowns and uncertainty. Things were going well until the shop was cruelly and selfishly vandalised at the end of January.

Shop manager Charlotte Atkinson was heartbroken to see the graffiti as she arrived to open the shop that January morning. Being a local, independent branch of the RSPCA, all profits raised from the shop normally go towards the ongoing care and rehabilitation of the animals in their Halifax based Centre. However, due to the graffiti the charity would have to use their funds to cover up the mindless mess instead.

But deciding to turn a negative in to a positive, the RSPCA and their very supportive shop landlords Clare and Paul Buxton, came up with the idea to put their own stamp on the blank space.

Abbott is well known for her incredible canine and equine portraits which she creates to commission for clients around the world.  From each of these, part of her fee is donated to rescues and sanctuaries where the distant cousins of her subjects find themselves.  Last year she created a body of works raising funds for a wild bird rescue in the Highlands and in the past has worked with a host of different charities including the RSPCA, raising thousands over her twenty-year career.

 

‘I’m very chuffed and excited to have been asked to create a new public work for my adopted town, the work will incorporate all the elements I love, our beloved pets, native mammals and birds and whatever else I can squeeze into the space, incorporating them all into a vista inspired by the town and surrounding countryside, a landscape that I’m so inspired by and can’t stop painting!’ Sara Abbott, Artist.

This piece of public art is created in advance of her up-coming solo show of large, contemporary Calder Valley landscapes at ‘Creative with nature’ in Todmorden, an exhibition in support of ‘Slow the Flow’ and she will be opening her studio as part of the ‘Hebden Bridge Open Studio’ weekend at the beginning of July.

To find out more please visit www.sara-abbott.com  @saraabbottstudio

The RSPCA are delighted with the final piece and for Sara Abbott generously sharing her talents with the local animal charity and the Hebden community. A lovely added bonus to the artwork is that it also includes Shop Manager Charlotte’s cat Ice and landlords Clare and Paul’s dog Bert as the main stars of the piece.

The local community and tourists are encouraged to take photos of the stunning creation and tag in the charity on social media to help continue the positivity and also raise awareness for the animals in their care.

You can find the local RSPCA Branch on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by searching RSPCA Halifax, Huddersfield and Bradford.

If you would like to find out more about the work the local RSPCA Branch do or make a donation towards the animals in their care, please visit www.rspcahalifaxhuddersfieldbradford.org.uk or text RSPCAHHB to 70085 to donate £1

The RSPCA Halifax, Huddersfield, Bradford and District Branch is a local, self-funding branch of the National RSPCA, we are responsible for raising our own funds locally to support our animal welfare work. 

This year the branch has so far rehomed 24 dogs, 54 cats and 21 small animals.

Our main aim is to rehabilitate unwanted, abandoned and abused animals and find them loving, permanent homes. We rely on public donations and the generosity of our local community to keep the doors of our animal centre open. (End)