THE Royal International Air Tattoo has teamed up with artist Izzy Burton for this year’s Cirencester March Hare Festival.

Concept artist Izzy, 23, who studied at Farmor’s School in Fairford, was chosen by the Air Tattoo to decorate its five foot hare, which will be featured in the 2017 Cotswold Trail as part of the festival.

Izzy said: “I am very excited to be working with the Air Tattoo to create a beautiful hare for the trail. My family and I are avid plane enthusiasts and we've cycled down to the show every year since I can remember. I was born in Hatherop and I went to school at Farmor’s, so it's really nice to be teamed with a sponsor that is even more local than I expected.”

The Cotswold Trail is a fun and interactive new tourist feature, forming part of the Cirencester March Hare Festival, which runs from March 25 until September 10. There will be 50 large hare sculptures decorating the Cotswolds for members of the public to find and pose for a selfie with. Each hare has been individually designed following the theme of this year’s trail – history.

This year’s Air Tattoo, which takes place on July 14-16, will pay special tribute to the 70th anniversary of the US Air Force.

Izzy added: “For 18 months my family lived in the US and my dream is to live in San Francisco working for a big animation company, such as Disney, as a concept artist, so I am particularly excited by the American aspect of the design.”

Air Tattoo spokesperson Natasha Neal said: “We have collaborated with a fantastic local artist and the design we have worked on with Izzy is very vibrant and incorporates the American feel of this year’s Air Tattoo, alongside the buzz of excitement surrounding the show, perfectly.

“The hare will be on display on the green opposite the Marlborough Arms in Fairford and will remain there throughout the airshow, so we hope lots of people will head over to take a look (and a selfie!) during the show period. We can’t wait for everyone to see what a fantastic job Izzy has done.

“We also plan to run some exciting competitions through social media so keep an eye on the Air Tattoo Twitter and Facebook pages to find out more.”

The Royal International Air Tattoo is staged annually at RAF Fairford in support of the RAF Charitable Trust. This year the Air Tattoo, 14-16 July, will have an American theme as it celebrates the 70th anniversary of one of the largest air forces in the world, the US Air Force. The Thunderbirds’ performance will form part of the airshow’s official tribute to the occasion and will be the team’s only UK appearance in 2017.

To purchase tickets for the Air Tattoo or find out more information visit airtattoo.com. Take a look at some of Izzy’s designs at www.izzyburtonart.wordpress.com