Snowdogs Discover Ashford is a free public art trail coming to Ashford, Kent, this Autumn, featuring 35 giant Snowdog statues, each one hand-painted by an artist. The trail runs from 12^th September until 18^th November 2018, and is a Wild in Art event, brought to you by Ashford Borough Council and Pilgrims Hospices. Ipswich-based artist and speed-painter Lois Cordelia was commissioned to paint two of the 35 giant Snowdogs for the trail, and travelled to Ashford, Kent, in July, to bring her designs to life during a three day public art demonstration at County Square shopping centre. One of her two designs is called Goldie.

Above: a small part of Lois's design, 'Goldie'. N.B. Lois cannot reveal the full design publicly until the trail goes live on 12th September!

Goldie
Sponsored by Golding Vision

Kent is known as the 'Garden of England'. Lois's design Goldie is inspired by her love of painting landscapes and garden scenes using gold, shimmering and iridescent paints to evoke the beauty of every season. Goldie is generously (and appropriately) sponsored by Golding Vision, the community development arm of Kent housing association, Golding Homes, who suggested the name Goldie, as an affectionate pet name for the Snowdog.

The saying goes, a dog (even a Snowdog) is not just for Christmas, but loyally accompanies our footsteps throughout the year. A dog can be your best friend but needs to be loved and cherished. Walking is a great way to show your love, not just for your dog but for yourself, too, and what better way to witness the beauty of Nature changing throughout the seasons than to head outside!

What is a Snowdog?

Raymond Briggs' much beloved children's book The Snowman is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Its television adaptation first appeared in 1982. This film is powerful and haunting because it is wordless. For this reason, it makes sense that the 2012 sequel The Snowman and the Snowdog features a dog, the Snowdog, because dogs communicate so effectively without words - as do public art trails. These days, people rarely visit galleries or museums to see art – instead, art springs up on every street corner.

About Lois Cordelia:

At one end of the scale, Lois is a speed-painter with a big brush, sweeping strokes, lots of energy and bold colours, creating portraits, wildlife art, landscapes and townscapes. She loves big canvases – especially three-dimensional ones, like giant Snowdogs! At the other end of the scale, she cuts intricate designs out of paper, using a surgical scalpel, and sculpts detailed miniature figurines from imagination.

Lois remarks: "I'm happiest working live in public, especially in the company of other artists. There is a completely different dynamic when creating live, talking with people while I paint, absorbing ideas and inspiration."

This year, you can see Lois's work as part of the following public art trails: Hoodwinked 2018 (Nottingham), Let's Go Quackers (Ironbridge and Telford), Minerva's Owls of Bath (Bath), Bee in the City (Manchester), Bangers and Cash (Sheffield to Monte Carlo art rally), and Snowdogs Discover Ashford (Ashford).