Friends Of Southport Talk To Local Illustrator

Southport Lady Illustrator Is Invited To Sell With Top Online Brand ‘Not on The High Street’

Ruth Spillane, 36, a busy working mum from Southport, who enjoys illustrating houses, has been approached by the well known online site “Not on The High Street” to sell on their platform.

“I was first contacted by “Not on the High Street” in November 2021 “ says Ruth, from Birkdale.

“I was absolutely thrilled to have been asked, as I have been an admirer of their brand for quite a while! “

Ruth is currently launching her ‘Not On The High Street’ store and it should be open in early spring 2022.

“It is such an amazing opportunity and will enable me to share my work both locally and nationally to a much wider audience than I ever dreamed possible!” Says Ruth.

“As my work is based predominantly in and around the Southport area, I look at it as being an opportunity for me to promote the beautiful buildings and architecture”

“To me Southport has always held a special place in my heart, having been born and raised here.”

We asked Ruth when she first started doing house portraits. After studying graphic design and illustration at university, Ruth said she began soon after illustrating our iconic Lord street, Southport, in 2018:

“I had started a project called “illustrating Southport”. At the time I was working at Christ the King Secondary school with S.E.N students. I had always loved drawing buildings and architecture, when a close friend asked if I could draw her home in the same drawing style as my Lord street illustration. When I had completed it, I posted a picture of it online and it received a lot of attention. I then began taking house portrait orders from close friends, family and colleagues. My orders and customer base started to grow and I then expanded my business by selling illustrations of Southport and custom house portrait illustrations.”.

“I created the “Illustrating Southport” project as a means to research the incredible history of our town. I began to realise that Southport is truly, a special place to live. “

“Every building has its own unique history and the architecture in our area is just incredible. I began my project by illustrating Lord street, The Atkinson, The old train station and The Monument.

“The Atkinson approached me regarding my “illustrating Southport” project and began selling my illustrations in their shop. This opened up a new avenue for my business, as I then went on to approach more shops in the town centre to sell my prints and cards. Waterstones and other local businesses now stock my Lord street and southport illustrations and cards.

My future aspirations are to expand my business and connect with more local businesses. I am completing a whole new range of illustrations this month and they will be exhibited at 92 degrees on Lord street on the 1st – 28th of February.

Friends of Southport congratulate Ruth on her success so far with her illustrations business. What a talented lady she is. For personal orders or to view more of Ruth’s work, visit her Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/ruthsillustrations

We have included a selection of Ruth’s illustrations below:





Reported by Claire Kelly of Friends of Southport