The story behind our logo, a gift from Alice Shirley
Our logo is a hand-drawn Chaar horse, and it was a gift. The artist Alice Shirley drew it for the association and gave it to us. Every time you see it on our website or on a piece of CHAAR merchandise, you're looking at Alice's work.
Who Alice is
Alice studied Fine Art at the Byam Shaw School of Art, graduating in 2007, and spent the next two years writing and illustrating her own edition of Aesop's Fables, published in 2009. After that came two years at the Prince's Drawing School (now the Royal Drawing School), then three years teaching its Drawing Clubs at the Natural History Museum and the V&A Museum of Childhood. Her second children's book, "The Gentle Lion and the Little Owlet," came out in 2012.
Animals turn up everywhere in her work. She works closely with the Natural History Museum's specimen collection in London, and she made hand-painted masks for the Biophilia Masked Ball, run with the conservation charity Synchronicity Earth. She's taken on commissions in the UK, Jersey, India, Germany, Italy and France, and works from her studio in Camden in everything from drawing and oil painting to sculpture, printmaking and photography.
the "Appaloosa des Steppes" scarf
The scarf that started with a film
In 2014 Alice began designing silk scarves for Hermès in Paris. In 2017 she created one called "Appaloosa des Steppes," with patterns taken from Kyrgyz rugs and a spotted horse at its centre. She later told us the idea came to her after watching "True Appaloosa," the film where our whole story began.
She's stayed close to the Chaar ever since. Later in 2024 she painted a new piece for an online auction; it raised $23,000 for the association, and the association used the money to buy the land for Chaar Ranch.
A lifelong artist
Alice Shirley graduated from Byam Shaw School of Art in 2007 with a BA in Fine Art. From 2007-2009 she worked on writing and illustrating her own edition of Aesop’s Fables, published in 2009 by Pavilion Children’s Books, Anova Books. In 2009 she started The Drawing Year at The Prince's Drawing School (now the Royal Drawing School).
She continued for a second year at the School and left in 2011. For three years Alice taught with the Royal Drawing School's Drawing Clubs at the Natural History Museum and V&A Museum of Childhood.
Children’s books and professional work for Hermès
She wrote and illustrated her second book for children, The Gentle Lion and the Little Owlet (published by Anova Books in 2012). She works closely with the specimen collection of the Natural History Museum in London and has completed commissions in the United Kingdom, Jersey, India, Germany, Italy and France.
She has been working in collaboration with the conservation charity, Synchronicity Earth, to produce artworks and bespoke hand-painted masks for the Biophilia Masked Ball held in November 2014 at the Natural History Museum in London. Alice's works from her studio in Camden, London in disciplines including drawing, painting in oils, acrylic, watercolour and ink, sculpture, print-making and photography.
A horse named for her son
There's also a Chaar at our ranch with a family connection to Alice. Together with her, we named him Ottaway's Tan Suluu ("morning beauty") after her son, Ottaway. He's nearly three now, and we're hoping it won't be long before the two Ottaways finally meet.
We'll let you know when they do!
Editor's note, September 2026: updated with news from late 2024.
