Windsgrrr (Lot 1)
Sponsor: Cinnamon Cafe • Artist: Beccy Blake
About the lion ‘When I think of Windsor, I always think of the castle, horses, deer and how green it is with the enormous park, opportunities for people to walk and take in the royal grandeur in a leisurely way… it's a beautiful place. So I've based my lion design around this, including a bit of fun and introducing lots of characters - tourists and locals, families, guardsmen, Victoria and Albert, HRH herself, some mystery royals to spot and a theme on cyclists, a friendly Windsor cat called Dexter who appears 15 times on the lion, breastfeeding mums, local characters and overall independent cafe culture in keeping with my sponsor The Cinnamon Cafe. Also included is the odd animal.. or two or three, in homage to the menagerie kept by George IV at Windsor, who once took a very young Victoria to meet all his animals. The lion and the unicorn pop up here and there as well. So Windsor Castle itself is at the head of the lion, with the Long Walk running down his back to the Copper Horse Statue on his bottom. The Great Park is on his flanks, along with more cyclists and Royal Ascot, with the cafe on his chest, and soldiers stationed on his front legs. Dexter the honorary cat of Windsor is reclining on his chin, drinking a latte, of course.’
About the sponsor "Cinnamon has been part of Windsor for the last 19 years. The local community has given and helped so much that we didn’t sponsor a lion, you all did.” Ian Jones, Owner, Cinnamon Cafe.
About the artist I have been a freelance children's illustrator since leaving the University of Northumbria with a BA (Hons) in graphic design and illustration. I have worked extensively in publishing, design and advertising, editorial, greetings cards and one-off commissions and exciting art projects for a number of clients both here in the UK and globally. I mainly work in pencil, crayon, acrylics, pen and ink and also digital media, often combining the two. Past clients include: Wayland Books, Arcturus publishing, Chunjae Education, Nottingham City Council, BBC, Franklin Watts, Hachette Children's books, Oxford University Press, Macmillan, Cambridge University Press, John Lewis, Harper Collins, Waterlife Magazine, ZSL Wildabout Magazine, Egmont, Harcourt, GirlGuiding UK, Pearson, The Independent, FLTRP ( China), Arastirmaci Cocuk Merkezi ( Turkey), Highlights for Children ( USA)
Where? Cinnamon Cafe, The Old Booking Hall, Windsor Royal Station, SL4 1PJ. Open Mon-Fri 0715-1800. Sat 0730-1830. Sun 0800-1800. The Cafe is right in the heart of Windsor Royal Shopping Centre, so a great spot to enjoy delicious coffee and cakes while planning your roarsome lion safari!