Andy needs your vote to help him win award for ten-year labour of love

A COMMITTED artist whose spent a decade painting scenes from the Lake District fells has been shortlisted for an industry accolade.

Andy Beck, from Bowes, has been put forward for Book of the Year at the The Great Outdoors Magazine awards.

His Wainwrights in Colour took ten years of fell walking and sketching to produce and develop the intricate images for his limited edition book.

“To say I am chuffed is an understatement,” said Mr Beck.

“I am humbled to be one of the ten.” Despite a limited print run of 5,000 bound books, his work compiling illustrations of Alfred Wainwright’s fells has sold copies all over the world.

Positive reviews have met its release but its limited print run comes with its own drawbacks for the competition.

Mr Beck added: “To be honest the problem I have is I don’t sell books on Amazon or have masses of them to sell.

“It’s a fine balance between not blowing your own trumpet too hard and not blowing it hard enough. I’ve no publishing company so it’s just down to me.”

A winner in the category will depend on the number of votes Mr Beck’s book can gather online. He has created a video on his website to boost his chances.

A painted study of Teesdale beckons in future, however, much of his time and effort will be going into pushing his latest work for the festive period.

To vote for Mr Beck’s book in the awards, go to http://www.tgomagazine.co.

uk/awards/reader-awards/