DogMandie Haywood

Mandy is also known as ‘Armandie’ Haywood and she is an artist of quite considerable talent born and raised in Derbyshire UK.

Much of the limited edition artwork you see on our website is from the noughties and back then she released many prints in association with Washington Green publishers, before becoming independent once again.

Recognised for her photo-realistic scenes featuring dogs such 'Dawn Patrol' and 'Golden Moment' (border collie & golden retrievers), she is equally adept at more colourful & quirky interpretation of our four legged friends, such the trio of limited editions: ‘Miss Scarlet’, ‘The Joker’ & ‘The Gaffer’ (dalmatians, english bulldog & british bulldogs).

Mandy also has an immense talent as an Equine artist and her original horse art are absolutely breathtaking. In July 2020 she released a New collection of seven stunning horse (original) paintings, classic and emotive pieces up there with the very best artistic talent in the United Kingdom.

Having kept and rescued animals throughout her life and being close to the ‘Peak District’ National Park in central England, animal care and the pleasure she gains from their company, means painting them has always come second nature to her.

She is a not a full time professional artist and since leaving art school has completed private client commissions, commercial work, been a photographer and a book writer & illustrator, something she particularly enjoys. After leaving education she was encouraged to pursue her commission work while working in Veterinary care and this blend of multi-tasking cemented her lifelong passion for animal welfare.

Many may remember her collaboration with Danbury Mint producing a range of bestselling plates, mostly featuring terriers such as Jack Russell’s and other smaller breeds.

This has allowed her to pursue other interests and unsurprisingly horses are one of them! as she keeps and rides her own. Having studied equine science and animal behaviour she continues to learn about equine recovery.

The artist in her own words:

"I am fortunate to come from a very creative background, my father is a world-class musician, and my mother a wonderful watercolour artist and teacher. My sister and I were always encouraged by the things we enjoy doing, for me, that meant virtually most things throughout the school years, but my strong subjects were always sport, English and, especially, music and arts.

I have always had a great passion for wildlife, even from the age of five, I was writing and illustrating my first book series of animals, usually the nature of the creation of plasticine and scraps of fabric. Later at the age of seven I adopted my first pet rabbit, which opened the door for a growing menagerie of birds and animals including my beloved dog ... Loopy who has been the inspiration (and a lot of patience model) for many years painting Books and photography.

During my adolescence I did a lot of photography and studied sculpture that has proved invaluable in all, as I had many photo shoots commissioned portraits deprived of live concerts. After leaving school, however, began a career in painting portrait, which continued for the next 12 years. During this time I met my partner, Steve, a saxophonist and musician sitting and which has been a big help in all aspects of my work over the years.

More recently I have been concentrating on writing and illustrating my own books. I always had a good imagination and it seems a natural progression to move towards the history and illustrated books. I found this a good way to develop my skills painting too!"