Words and whimsy

Award-winning Stacey McNeill, author and illustrator at Fox Under The Moon, talks about her designs, what inspires her - and why foxes play a key role in her work!

Tell us a little about the story behind you becoming an artist.

I’m the author and illustrator of Fox Under The Moon – a range of cards, books and gifts that encourage positivity and self-love. I run our small business alongside my husband and business partner Jamie.

Fox Under The Moon started as a project for me while I was out of work during the 2021 winter lockdown. I wanted to put some hope and positivity out into the world, and so I began sharing my whimsical illustrations and uplifting messages on social media.

Following our own challenges with stress and mental wellbeing, my husband and I sold our house in 2018 and left our teaching jobs in search of a simpler way of life. When I began creating art, my studio was a 23ft, retro touring caravan that we lived in full time - working minimum-wage jobs while we ‘reset’ our minds and gave ourselves the breathing space to work out what we wanted to do next.

This was the humble beginning of Fox Under The Moon.

Nowadays we work from our small home office, and when we’re not touring in our caravan, you’ll find us gazing at stars, getting lost in the woods or taking meandering walks with our border collie - Pixie - on the blustery beaches of wild Northumberland.

What inspires you?

I am passionate about the natural world, and as you’ll see from my little illustrations; wildlife, woodlands and magical night skies inspire everything I create. I’m a real nature-lover, and a bit of a tree-hugger at heart!

Where do you get inspiration for the words?

The words on my cards and in the books and gifts I create are what have made them so popular, I think. My Fox Under The Moon artwork series is for all ages - it is inspired by the simplicity of everyday life, and the complicated emotions that go with it. Through my artwork you meet an anxious, but inquisitive fox, and the wise old moon. The two become friends, and it is hoped that their warm and whimsical world can bring some encouragement and love to those that need it most.

I have drawn from personal experiences, as well as those of people close to me to get inspiration for the themes that Fox and Moon talk about – and of course, now that my social media following has grown to be almost 150,000 people, I am privileged to have many messages every day from people sharing their own struggles and challenges, which I can draw upon for ideas and inspiration.

What’s your favourite subject to draw/design and why?

As my style has developed, it has become really clear to me that it is the whimsical, naïve, innocent style of art that I am most drawn to. I love to use sketchy, messy style pencils and brushes, and I build up multiple layers of texture in my work to add depth and detail.

I still find it funny that I’m described as an ‘artist’ now – although I’ve always been creative, I’m not someone that has drawn and painted all my life - I actually taught myself to draw back in 2021 – starting out with night skies and moons because that was all I could do! I’ve absolutely loved developing my style over the past couple of years, and I quickly took to illustrating digitally for my designs. My best kept secret – until now – is that I often use my dog Pixie to pose for photographs to get the proportions right for my fox characters.

People often ask me why I chose a fox as my main animal character – there are a few reasons for this. The simple one is that when I’d mastered illustrating skies, stars and moons, having a nocturnal animal to add to the pictures seemed like a logical step. I have also always had an affinity to foxes – they’re intelligent animals that are often wrongly persecuted. Finally – as ‘woo woo’ as it sounds, foxes always seem to appear to us at important times in our lives. When we made the life-changing decision to sell our house and leave our careers behind, on our final night in our house we’d left the French doors in our lounge open as it was a hot summer night – a cheeky fox actually found its way into our living room! When I posted my first Fox Under The Moon picture on social media (a very old style now, painted with watercolour and Acrylic) I saw a fox the same day in the fields near to where we were staying. There are so many stories like this I could recount – so, foxes are just special to me, really, and it seems to be the case for many others too!

Congratulations on your award! What do you think attributed to your success?

I can’t tell you how delighted we were to win the People’s Choice Award! Of all of the awards up for grabs in the Gift Of The Year competition, for me personally, this one is the most important to win. I say that because I know that our success is down to the incredible army of supporters and followers (friends, I call them!) that Fox Under The Moon has on social media. People who understand the struggles and challenges of mental health, appreciate the encouraging messages we put out into the world, and who came forward without hesitation, voted for us, and helped us share the uplifting messages of Fox Under The Moon far and wide.

In my opinion, anything that aims to support mental health and wellbeing in today’s climate should be celebrated, so our win is simply a step in the direction that I think the card and gift industry are already making. I’m hoping to see a mental health and wellbeing category in next year’s awards too!

What do you do in your spare time?

After our experiences with work-related stress when teaching, Jamie and I are both huge on taking time for ourselves. We love nothing more than a long walk in nature or a trip away wild camping.

Is there a famous person or celebrity who you would love to design a card for - or send one of your existing cards to - and why?

I’m not really someone who idolises celebrities and famous people – some of my best mentors and pieces of motivational and inspiring advice have come from those around me, and close to me. I do, however, have huge respect and admiration for Sara Davies from Dragon’s Den – I was fortunate enough to meet her briefly at the 2023 Gift Awards, and I gave her one of my books – she was even more warm and lovely in person too.