AN illustrator has used her love of animals as inspiration to produce her first picture book.

Zoe Saunders, from Winsford, runs the Woodland View boarding kennels in Chester Lane with her husband Lee, and previously worked as a dog-walker.

The mum-of-two has now released How to Make a Wish, a picture book which follows the story of two red foxes on a walk through the countryside.

"I won't spoil the ending but it's very sweet and will pull on a few heartstrings," Zoe told the Guardian.

"It's a story that I wrote a few years ago but it took me quite a long time to get the chance to do it.

"I didn't think I was ready to take on such a big project but this year I have come on quite a lot with my art, so I thought I would get it done."

Zoe is a self-taught illustrator, and has worked on improving her skills while drawing with her two children George, 5, and Matilda, 3.

The 35-year-old has been illustrating books for other authors since 2015.

She usually uses her iPad to produce digital illustrations, but decided to produce the pictures for her own book entirely with watercolours.

Zoe said: "The end result is really lovely and I have had some good feedback.

"I wanted to use watercolours on it because you can get something with watercolours that you can't with digital illustration.

"If I could go back in time I would study art. It has always been something that I'm good at, but I never saw it as a career until now.

"This was all my own work, and hopefully I can do some more because it's quite addictive."

Zoe's book is available from online stores Amazon and Etsy, and now she is working on getting the word out across Winsford,

"It was a big project and it feels like a real achievement," she added.

"In Winsford people like to support other people so it's nice to get the word out, and I'm hoping to do visits to schools and libraries."

For more information email Zoe on petsnponies@hotmail.co.uk or visit facebook.com/Whimsicolourart