York-based artist Lauren Terry is definitely in a field of her own when it comes to painting cows. And she’s created Clarabelle the curious cow to raise money for farming welfare charity the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (R.A.B.I).

Dozens of brightly-coloured cows are beginning to decorate the hills, farms towns, schools and landmarks across Surrey as part of Cow Parade, the world’s largest public art event. Soon, Lauren’s life-size fibreglass creation Clarabelle, depicting grazing cows surrounded by beautiful Surrey countryside, will be heading south from York to join the rest of the parade herd.

All of the Cow Parade cows will come together at the end of August at Coverwood Farm in Peaslake, in the heart of the Surrey Hills. The farm belongs to Cow Parade leader and cattle farmer Tim Metson, who sponsored Lauren to produce Clarabelle. When Clarabelle ‘goes to market’ and is auctioned off, the proceeds will go to R.A.B.I, a charity that gives around £2 million per year to farming people in financial need. On September 3, at the inaugural Surrey Hills Food, Drink & Music Festival, all of the cows will be exhibited, judged and auctioned off – apart from the top 20, who will go to a gala auction in London.

It was through R.A.B.I that Tim discovered Lauren’s wonderful work. Lauren is certainly a rare breed; a professional artist who focuses solely on painting cows from her studio in Micklegate.

Lauren said: “My work is simple; I find a cow, photograph it, take it home – the photo not the cow – and paint it. The tricky bit is finding the cow. Cows have such a curious nature and humorous personalities, they just make me smile.

“I take great pleasure in passing on those smiles through my painting. I was delighted when R.A.B.I approached me to paint a life-size cow and it was quite a challenge. I couldn’t fit it through my studio door!”

Lauren has also donated one of her top-selling Christmas card designs, ‘Daisy It’s Cold Outside’ to R.A.B.I. In 2014, she donated a greetings card, ‘Nice Weather for Ducks’, to raise funds for Somerset farmers affected by flooding. She said: “My greatest supporters from the very beginning have been cattle farmers. Farming is such an important part of our British way of life, it cannot be allowed to fall into decline. R.A.B.I does good work every day and I take great comfort knowing that the money I raise is going directly to the farming community.”