A self-taught Ramsbottom artist has turned her passion for illustration into a business after launching a new online shop.

Lucy Milburn, 48, has unveiled her online store  after taking the leap from illustrating in her spare time to turning her love for art into a career.

The mum-of-two has shared her work regularly on Instagram for the last few years but now her designs are available to buy in the form of original Christmas cards and prints.

After the pandemic hit, and she and her family were stuck at home, Lucy took an online illustration course and re-discovered the importance it held in her life.

In 2008, Lucy gave up work to care for her family but now that her sons Alfred, 13 and Oliver, 11 have gained more independence, she felt it was time to consider making art her job.

With more and more work piling up in her house, Lucy says the shop is the prefect way of sharing it with art-lovers everywhere.

She said: “The art is piling up in my house and I wanted to share it with everybody, and it would be lovely to make a bit of money that makes it pay for itself.

“The more cards I sell and the more prints, the more material I can buy and the more art I can make which is the basic goal.”

“[Art] was very helpful for mental health during lockdown and it blossomed, and I realised I’d found want I wanted to do.

Lucy describes her style as "rainbow bright" and says one of her biggest inspirations is Pop art legend Andy Warhol.

She is also developing a set of a characters called Robot and Bear who can be found throughout her work.

Earlier this year, her illustrations appeared in The Ballad of Hanging Lees, the latest novel by "King of Manc-Noir" David Nolan, for which she designed maps.

The novel saw Lucy stray into more grisly territory as she helped David set the scene to his sinister story.

She said: “I’m quite adaptable, but it was a challenge because David’s books have quite dark themes and it’s quite a macabre story.”

In the future, Lucy hopes to lend her talents to even more books and says she’s "open to anything".

She added: “I just like making art and anybody who needs any art, I’m very happy to provide it for them.”