Angel's community-inspired Stoke-on-Trent art draws from memories

Angel Cope says she loved to include lots of detail about the estates

A woman who draws detailed images of Stoke-on-Trent's council estates says she loves capturing the characters and sense of community in her artwork.

Angel Cope, from Meir Hay, said she started during the pandemic and "something just took over" as she cannot stop illustrating the city.

Ms Cope, who grew up in Bentilee, said a lot of the detail she included come from childhood memories.

She said she missed the days when children playing filled the streets.

"I like to show what's in people's windows as it shows different personalities," she said.

Ms Cope said she remembered the fish and chip van that came to Bentilee on Friday nights

"Some people will have the knitting in the window, somebody will have a different net - all that to me, feeds me."

She said she wanted people to spend time looking at the detail.

"I find that they're like 'oh, look at that in the window, oh, look at that... oh you've even put the old milk bottle down...'"

• Hear on BBC Sounds from Angel Cope on her brush strokes and more

Ms Cope, who works for Tesco, said she missed Bentilee's "sense of community" and liked to add in as much as she can remember.

"When I draw Bentilee, I just draw everything... when people used to have the chip shop van on a Friday, so again you're feeding your five senses because you could smell the chip shop van before it came.

"As I've got older, I do miss those days...

"On my pictures, the streets were full of people. You go in the streets now and there's no children playing...

"So when I draw, sometimes I draw that much I feel choked up because I feel that strongly about my memories of Bentilee.

"In Stoke you can't beat the people there and the sense of community, the way they dress the houses from the outside and people think you don't notice, but they do notice and I notice."

Her images can be viewed on social media