Mandy Shepherd, daughter of David Shepherd, continues his legacy in conservation with her marvellous wildlife artwork.
In an interview with Mandy, she shared her inspiration behind becoming a wildlife artist with me: “My father based himself in Africa so as a family he used to take us there regularly and Africa and its wildlife became a huge part of our lives. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I drew a Mackerel in the art class and loved doing it. I hadn’t shown any promise or talent whatsoever up to that point and was told to take it home to show my father. No one could believe I had done it and that very positive response gave me the encouragement I needed to pursue an art career.”
“I painted Dad…” she said. The mixture of sorrow and pride in Mandy’s voice brought tears to my eyes as she showed me a handsome portrait of her father she had painted.
Photo by Mandy Shepherd
The values and traits of her father that inspired her to continue his legacy as a wildlife artist and the Vice President of DSWF are his fantastic work ethic based on hard work, routine and strict discipline. She elaborated that he was driven to raise funds for conservation efforts to save threatened species around the world. Mandy shares that she has inherited his passion and yearns to continue the huge contribution to conservation that her father made in his lifetime.
One of her favourite childhood memory with her father was at Mwamba camp in the South Luangwa Valley, Zambia where she used to stay. This was because “he was always working in England but, in Africa, he was Dad. She reminisces the precious time she spent with her father in the bush surrounded by majestic elephants which interestingly felt more like home than their house back in England.
Lastly, Mandy shared that due to the recent coronavirus pandemic, she had the time to reflect and reinvent her art. She also let me in on what she was currently working on: “This very week I have been working for an ‘Africa’ show and have absolutely loved the way my paintings are evolving.”
Graphic by Evangeline