Artist shares drawings of King's Lynn landmarks for colouring in as 'creative way of de-stressing'

A Lynn artist has shared 20 pictures of the town's landmarks to be used as a free mindfulness colouring resource during lockdown.

Among the images Nicola Marray-Woods has created and posted on her social media accounts are some historical buildings such as the South Gate, the Custom House, and St Nicholas Chapel, as well as more modern examples of architecture, like the Vancouver Centre.

Using the hashtag #ColouringKingsLynn, Nicola shared a line drawing every day for 20 days throughout April that she had created specifically for colouring and which form part of an illustrated history scroll of Lynn from 1204 to the present.

"With everyone stuck at home, it occurred to me that having pictures of familiar places to colour in may be a creative way of de-stressing in these anxious times," she said.

"So putting them out on social media for free is a way of making a very small contribution."

Nicola, who has offered to email a free set of all 20 buildings as a PDF file to any NHS and care setting or to schools, said there has been a good reaction to the pictures.

"I have had a really positive response with a number of retweets and reposts on social media," she said.

"Some organisations have contacted me privately to ask if they could use the pictures in their settings."

She added: "One respondent said it was 'like opening up an advent calendar waiting for the surprise of each day' and 'it's making me feel like I'm exploring the town from my phone."

Nicola is now hoping that she might be able to reach a wider audience of people who are interested in the pictures – such as those who do not have access to social media.

And the scroll, which can be viewed on Nicola's Twitter or Instagram accounts, was developed as part of a project in collaboration with Historic England, in partnership with the Department for Education, and Stories of Lynn, supported by Norfolk Museums Service and West Norfolk Council.

The idea came from the research and designs for a temporary mural Nicola painted in St James Street celebrating the 800 years of King's Lynn, back in 2004.

This has since inspired an exhibition as part of the King's Lynn Festival Extra programme and a drama production by Time Will Tell Theatre at the town hall.

Her ideas have come "full circle", she said, as the black and white designs for the original mural, which at the time she thought could form a colouring book, have now been "put out into the world" to be coloured in.

Nicola said, depending on the response, she may post more images from the scroll, including events, people, and the river.

She is also open to taking requests for drawings of additional buildings.

The scroll is available to purchase – it is printed locally onto polypropylene, making it durable, and this can be ordered directly from Nicola via nicola@nicolamw.co.uk for £20 plus £3.60 postage and packaging.