Vicki Mansley’s bright and expressive style of sketching makes her stand out from the crowd and it’s her love of Liverpool architecture that makes the location of her first exhibition so perfect. Having spent years drawing it from afar, Vicki will now be showcasing her first collection at the iconic Royal Liver Building.
Vicki has always been creative and studied art to degree level, specialising in illustration but it wasn’t all plain sailing as Vicki explained, “My tutors favoured more traditional styles and pushed me to change but that’s not me and I didn’t want to change my style just to fit in”.
Vicki’s determination paid off and she was selected to do a placement at Hallmark, which she loved. However, Vicki knew how hard it was to get a full time job in the arts, so she took a job in the hospitality industry as a stopgap. As Vicki told us, “Although I still had a passion for art, it felt like taking a regular job was a sensible decision at the time”.
Weeks turned in to months, then years, soon over a decade passed and Vicki hadn’t sketched at all. Vicki is clear about what changed, “Basically Covid happened, hospitality shutdown and I started doing little sketches to pass the time. I was surprised how much I enjoyed art again and when I was eventually made redundant I used some of the money to buy materials and spend more time creating art. Since then I’ve never looked back”.
In 2023 Vicki approached Photographer and Arts Producer Laura McCann and the pair have been working together ever since. Laura told us, “I love Vicki’s style, it’s so expressive and she has such a positive energy, I think that really comes across in her work. I’m delighted that The Royal Liver Building are giving us the opportunity to exhibit there, I really couldn’t think of a better location.”
Ian Edwards The Royal Liver Building’s General Manager said, “The Royal Liver building is special place to a lot of people and whilst we house multiple businesses here, we also want to create an inclusive environment for the wider community. Showcasing local artists is a way of supporting burgeoning talent and encouraging people to see the diverse creativity within the city”.
The exhibition, “Drawn to the City” takes place on the ground floor of The Royal Liver Building from the 28 October until the 3 November, 10am-4pm.
Entry is FREE and Vicki will be doing live sketching most afternoons. The building is fully accessible with a café on the same level as Vicki’s exhibition and her artwork will be available to buy.
For more information about the exhibition go to Lauramccannphotos.com and to see more work by the artist follow her on Instagram at @vickymansley_art.
