AN ARTIST and printmaker who was born and bred in Skipton is to have her Dales-inspired work exhibited permanently at one of the area's most well-known restaurants.

Anna Tosney, a former pupil of Skipton Girls' High School, has been appointed 'artist-in-residence' at The Angel, Hetton, after her art was found to be the most consistently popular with diners during a programme of changing displays on its walls.

The Angel managing director Pascal Watkins said: "We have long supported local Yorkshire artists and our two-year long exhibition created an ever-changing backdrop for diners.

"However, during that time, Anna's artwork was by far the most popular so we decided to approach her directly and see if she'd be prepared to give us a larger display over a longer period. Happily, she said yes!

"The simplicity of Anna's work captures the very essence and atmosphere of the Dales. For me it's also a connection with the farmers and their stock right on our doorstep. It couldn't be more appropriate."

Anna, of Embsay, who opened a studio in Skipton town centre last year, says she has always taken inspiration from the landscape of the Dales, and the people and animals which inhabit it.

She works mostly in 'drypoint' technique, where a sharp steel tool is used to scratch directly into the surface of a printing plate – she uses plexiglass – and a line is inscribed into the surface, pushing up a burr, like the furrow of a ploughed field. The plate is then inked up and put through a printing press.

She sells her highly distinctive work direct and also at various galleries in England and Wales, including

the Lime Gallery in Settle and Hawksby's in Haworth.