WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — West Columbia businesses look a lot more colorful and bright this holiday season, with some of your favorite Christmas movie characters.
"My very first (art) memory actually is drawing on a windowsill in front of a business," local artist Shaina Manuel said.
Now, this artist is painting windows across West Columbia.
She's the paintbrush behind the detailed Christmas artwork you've seen at Zesto and Cucinella's Pizzeria.
"My style is realism, details and it's hard for me to get out of that mindset," Manuel said.
From Santa to Rudolph to even the Grinch, it took Shaina about 40 hours to paint this entire winter wonderland.
She met the owners of West Columbia's Zesto, Pete and Anastasia Manos, while running along the Riverwalk.
The Christmas artwork in Zesto's windows actually used to be a tradition in the 80s when Pete's dad ran the restaurant.
"On the front part of the windows, we would paint the Christmas scenes all those years ago, and we just got away from it," Manos said.
Now the Christmas spirit is back, after they asked Shaina Manuel to liven things up.
"So many calls, so many texts and you see people ride by and I get texts saying, 'Oh my kids are going crazy,'" Manos said.
"It certainly feels good when people walk by and compliment your work, I can't deny that. I can't pretend not to notice that," Manuel said.
Her seasonal skills have also caught the attention of other business owners.
"I was driving by, and I did a double take, a triple take maybe, and I said 'Oh my God, I've got to have that,'" Cucinella's Pizzeria owner Jimmy Mockridge said.
Manuel has been painting these windowpanes the past week.
"The pizza tree. She had me as soon as she pitched that to me," Mockridge said.
Festive faces popping up all over the city has it looking a lot like Christmas.
These business owners tell News 19 they certainly want to keep the tradition going next Christmas, and might even make it seasonal with shamrocks for St. Patty's day.