Describe your average day?

I get up very early and walk with my dog and husband as the sun is rising, in the fields and lanes around our studio and home. I get inspired by everything around me - the light, the atmosphere and the ever-changing seasons. I then settle down to a morning of intense office work.

After lunch I try and move from the office (depending on what needs to be attended to) to the studio and immerse myself in art and creative pursuits until it’s time to go to bed. I take breaks here and there for supper, bike rides, a spot of something really fabulous on the television. This is an average daily pattern but days vary tremendously, depending on what project I am working on and what the weather is doing.

Where do you get inspiration for your style?

My father was an artist who had a passion for architecture and landscape, so from a very early age he shared those loves with me. As a young girl, I would sit next to him while he was out painting and drawing and I would make little child-like replicas of what he was doing. He had great technical ability and taught me how to paint in watercolour and draw in perspective.

Essentially I still work in this way, except that these days my perspective generally looks slightly warped and I tend to try and recreate the essence of a place I have experienced, rather than to draw what is physically right in front of me. I am also very inspired by the way in which children draw and paint and so there is a slightly naïve and childlike quality in what I do.

What has been your favourite project so far?

I think there have been many exciting projects in my life and I feel so lucky that I have been given the opportunity to do what I love and see so many beautiful parts of the country and the world because of my work.

The project that perhaps has a particularly special place in my heart is Chatsworth. When I first visited I felt so moved and inspired, rather like meeting a much-loved hero or heroine for the first time… to now be working in close association with Chatsworth on a cluster of bespoke projects is more than a dream come true.

How did your collaboration with Chatsworth arise?

Before I visited Chatsworth, it held a genuine fascination for me. I had admired photographs of it in one of my father’s architectural books. Also I had encountered it most memorably, in my favourite book, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and I have always been rather fascinated by the story of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire.

A very good friend, who has a close association with the house, suggested I come and visit it as she felt it would ignite my imagination if I were to see it in the flesh. When I saw it for the first time I was indeed captivated and overwhelmed by its beauty and majestic charm. There are so many aspects of the place which are historically fascinating and splendid to the eye, however there is something about the warmth and heart of the place which captured my heart, and it has been a constant source of inspiration ever since.

Do you have any tips for illustrators looking to develop their own style?

The tips I would give are…

1. Do what you love doing, only you will know what that is, and follow your heart and your instinct.
2. I would look around you and see what sort of things attract your attention and immerse yourself in recreating them in your own way.
3. Explore which medium you really connect with i.e. charcoal, oil pastels etc and then play and experiment until you have honed your skill to perfection.

What is your favourite part of Christmas?

My favourite part of Christmas is lunchtime on Christmas Eve – the moment that Christmas begins for me.

The run up to Christmas is a busy time for everyone and here in the studio it seems to get busier each year, fulfilling orders and commissions. It is a great feeling and there is a real buzz in the air but it is all-consuming and it’s hard to focus on anything else but work.

There is a magical moment at lunchtime on the 24th when all that stops, and my mother and my fairy godmother take us out for a lovely meal somewhere and I feel a golden glow of happiness and warmth. I love that feeling when all the fun of the festive season is there before us. We have a poignant moment when we raise our glasses to absent loved ones and appreciate our nearest and dearest and count our lucky stars– from that moment Christmas really starts and there is a warm glow in my heart.

You can find Lucy Loveheart's Chatsworth collection of Christmas decorations, cards and gifts in our retail shops and the Chatsworth online shop. 

This interview with Lucy Loveheart was first published in November 2016.