5 minute read
DRAWING THE CHRISTMAS CROWDS
A professional illustrator from Clitheroe is drawing people into the town to see her work. She recently had 186 people help her paint a shop window and she is now working on some amazing Christmas themes
Photography: Kat Weatherill
In the run-up to Christmas shoppers in and around Clitheroe will begin to see a magical transformation in the towns and villages across the Ribble Valley. The shops, bars and boutiques will be adorned with festive window paintings that are appearing across the region to celebrate the season.
Talented Clitheroe artist Lucie Cooke is the creator of the paintings that range from pretty foliage wreaths to huge Christmas landscapes.
“The paintings have really taken off,” says Lucie. “Everyone seems to want one, which is lovely.”
A former pupil of Clitheroe Royal Grammar School, Lucie studied Textile and Fashion before embarking on a course studying Contour Fashion at De Montfort University in Leicester.
“It was a very niche course but I loved it,” recalls Lucie, who has designed swimwear, nightwear and lingerie for the likes of Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and Monsoon.
Around six years ago, working freelance, she was designing nightwear for a Sri Lankan-based manufacturer: “I was able to work from home and said ‘yes’ to almost all offers of work so I was doing lots of illustrations.”
At the time Lucie was producing house portraits – illustrations of all types of buildings from grand country houses to tiny cottages – and she was offered window space in Clitheroe-based shop Raffia to display them.
“Charlotte at Raffia suggested that I do a painting on the actual shop window, so I painted a row of terraced houses. People around the town saw it and also wanted a window painting too, so that’s how it started.”
Painting seasonal themes throughout the year, Lucie has just finished Halloween before launching into Christmas – her busiest time of the year! “I am literally booked up every day in the run up to Christmas, which is amazing! Everyone has different ideas of what they want. I’ve had some really lovely quirky suggestions,” says Lucie, who last Christmas raised £590 for charity through a festive window trail through Clitheroe, hiding a candy cane in each of her paintings.
Photography: James Tabbinor
She was also involved in the recent Draw Clitheroe event, during which she gave shoppers a Draw With Me opportunity, inviting them to draw anything gardenrelated on a large high street shop window.
“It was amazing! One hundred and eighty-six people joined in, painting everything from flowers, foliage, rainbows, butterflies and bees. I just wasn’t expecting such an enthusiastic response – by the end of the day the window looked incredible!”
This Christmas Lucie has been asked to paint a whole host of festive themed scenes on windows throughout Clitheroe town centre as well as in some of the lovely surrounding village shops which have requested traditional scenes including gingerbread villages, dogs in festive jumpers and robins in bobble hats.
In Clitheroe, shoppers can expect to see everything from snow globes, extravagant wreaths, Scandinavian snow scenes to a giant Santa on skis! “Most of the shop owners give me pretty much a free reign – I have lots of regulars who come back to me seasonally throughout the year, but Christmas is definitely my busiest time!” says Lucie,
who last year painted a sleigh with a fish Santa, prawn reindeers and a ‘Merry Fishmas!’ greeting for a popular Clitheroe fishery. This year she has the task of beating that particular design which was a firm favourite with shoppers!
“I don’t tend to over-think the paintings and don’t have a rigid plan. I start with a concept and take it from there – I have to be flexible as sometimes things don’t look quite the same on glass. I am very much a freestyle artist,” says Lucie, whose window paintings can take anything from an hour to a full day to create.
To create the window scenes Lucie uses Posca pens – water-based, paint pens, which can withstand the rain but can easily be removed when necessary.
Lucie, who works from a studio at Atelier Arts in Clitheroe, has illustrated a number of children’s books and also runs workshops. She is set to hold two Christmas ones at Holden Clough Nursery on 4th December in the morning and at Atelier Arts in Clitheroe on 8th December.
The Christmas Wreath Illustration Workshops, which include mince pie and mulled wine, are a step-by-step guide on how to draw a Christmas-themed wreath on glass, which will be framed to take away. •
luciecookedesign.co.uk
