It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. And so is the cover of our December issue by Chris Rickels. We find out more about him and his work...
Tell us a bit about yourself…
I'm originally from Nottingham and currently live in Sherwood with my wife and our two cats. I spend most of my week as a web developer, but I manage to fit a lot of creative projects around that and enjoy drawing, painting, designing, and currently a lot of 3D printing.
Can you talk us through this month's cover?
Firstly, I'd like to dedicate this cover to my Mum. Losing her earlier this year to lung cancer was heartbreaking, and I feel her absence so much at times like this. She would have been thrilled to see my work on the cover, she was always so supportive of our family’s creativity. I hope she’d be proud. There is a butterfly tucked away in the picture as a little personal tribute to her.
The brief was cosy/traditional/festive but with a Nottingham flavour. My commissions are normally of a specific building or scene and I work meticulously to represent all the details authentically. With this, I was more free to piece things together and be a bit more creative, so I immediately started pulling bits of architecture from various Nottingham buildings. Window frames, brickwork, shop fronts, all things that might not be obviously tied to a specific building but definitely give a feel of Nottingham. After that, I had a lot of fun filling in the windows with individual little scenes of festivity and links to Nottingham.
I immediately started pulling bits of architecture from various Nottingham buildings. Window frames, brickwork, shop fronts, all things that might not be obviously tied to a specific building but definitely give a feel of Nottingham
Tell us about some projects you’ve worked on in the past…
I have been selling prints and commissions of my work for the past eight years, online and at local markets with my wife, Christine, who runs Luna + Kiki jewellery. My most popular prints are probably the more unusual ones like Selectadisc, Rock City and the Market Square shops. I really enjoy painting places that don't exist anymore, buildings with mismatched pieces of architecture, faded signs that show layers of history. Fortunately, Nottingham has a lot of all of these!
What have you got planned for the future?
As I mentioned before this has been an incredibly difficult year for me and my family. Not only losing Mum, but also even more recently my 99-year-old Grandma, has made us take a step back and reassess where we spend our precious time. So, I'm currently taking a bit of a break from paid commissions and markets to spend more time with family and friends. Making this cover has been a joy though, and has made me want to get back into art for my own pleasure.
Aside from this, my wife and I are also putting our hand to designing T-shirts with our new mini project, Mushy Tees. It's small at the moment, but it's something we've always wanted the opportunity to do, so we'll see where that goes!
Is there anything else you’d like to tell the LeftLion readers?
I'd just like to thank Sophie and the team again for inviting me to do the cover. It's an opportunity I never thought I would be lucky enough to have and I hope everyone enjoys it and has a fun, relaxing, calm and safe festive period.
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