'It's about how we feel, not how we look:' Cleveleys artist celebrates women in lockdown with empowering portraits

Daisy Meredith, 27, of Willoughby Avenue in Cleveleys, recently graduated from University of Central Lancashire with a degree in Psychology.

As she spent more time at home, Miss Meredith began to contemplate how the current coronavirus pandemic had changed local women's perceptions of themselves.

She decided to represent women in lockdown by creating her project "19 Womxn," a collection of portraits designed around the individual women she spoke to.

Daisy said: "I've been thinking a lot about being 'filter-free' since I began university, about how we as women can be more comfortable in ourselves without filters, makeup or worrying about how we look.

"I wondered how I could do this in a visual way, to reach more people and get my message across. Art has always been a huge passion of mine, so I wanted to combine my knowledge of psychology with a visual, artistic representation of women in lockdown.

"We really are living in unprecedented times, it's had a big effect on how everyone feels, but particularly women when it comes to self image. We have felt more comfortable tying our hair in a bun, not wearing as much makeup, and that's okay - we shouldn't judge ourselves, we're taking care of ourselves."

Daisy was inspired by inspirational women in her own life, as well as those who had a strong online presence promoting positivity and confidence among women.

She continued: "I approached people who I knew and admired, and people online who were involved with the body-positive movement. I wanted real, authentic people to come to me and tell me how they were coping with these huge changes in their lives.

"Self image is so important to women, and they were so open and honest with me I wanted to do them justice. I took some of their most powerful quotes and designed their portraits around them.

"I want to spread a message among women that it's okay to be happy in our own skin. We need to stop putting so much pressure on ourselves, we have enough to deal with at the moment without judging ourselves too."

Daisy is expanding her creativity and talents by working on a digital art project for Leicester-based company Hope Training and Consultancy, to raise awareness of and celebrate black, Asian and minority ethnic women working in the domestic violence sector.

You can view Daisy's "19 Womxn" collection here.