My Own Art Story: How Art Helped to Shape Memories, Meaning and a Life Spent Together
When Katie and her partner Paul stopped outside York Fine Arts one spring afternoon, they couldn’t have imagined how a single painting would come to shape their story. What began as a passing glance at Michael J Ashcroft’s nostalgic view of York Minster soon turned into a heartfelt journey – one that intertwined love, loss, and the lasting power of art. Through the support of Own Art, Katie and Paul began collecting pieces that spoke to their shared memories, from Manchester to Edinburgh, each painting becoming a reflection of their life together.
In April 2022, Katie and Paul visited York – a city they had returned to many times over their thirty-two years together. As they strolled along Low Petergate, they paused outside York Fine Arts, “as we always do”, noted Katie. In the window, a painting of York Minster by Michael J Ashcroft caught their eye. It “seemed sort of old fashioned, sweet and nostalgic”, Katie said, “with an ice-cream van parked outside”. The couple admired it, exchanged a glance, and said, “that’s a lovely picture,” before continuing on their way.
But the painting lingered in their minds. After passing by the gallery window several more times, they finally gathered the courage to step inside and ask about the price. Normally, Katie and Paul wouldn’t have even enquired, assuming it would be beyond their reach. Then they noticed cards promoting Own Art and thought, “well, could we do that?”.
“It sounded like such a great idea – to encourage people to buy real art from real, living artists, who may struggle to make a sale without this facility for their customers”
With the help of Own Art and the support of gallery staff member Deanna, Katie and Paul purchased the painting and took it home that very day. “Deanna was amazing, the gallery is amazing and the whole idea of Own Art is just amazing – it was a really special day for us,” Katie recalled.
She went on to share one of Paul’s endearing quirks – that he could never have just one of anything – so almost immediately, they began searching for more of Michael J Ashcroft’s work. A quick online search revealed that Ashcroft was from Manchester, a city that held a special place in their hearts, as the couple once owned a restaurant there called Juniper in Altrincham. Now living in Edinburgh, they decided on a painting of Edinburgh Castle, which Katie described as “the perfect addition to our collection.”
“I think that artwork has got to mean something to you, we couldn’t just buy something because it looks pretty, it needs to have relevance to our lives, our memories and experiences“
After that second purchase, they had well and truly caught “the bug”, as Katie put it, and soon added a third painting — this one capturing the Royal Mile at Christmastime, glowing with twinkling lights. By then, they owned three beautiful paintings by Michael J Ashcroft and felt they were beginning to know him personally. Michael later sent Paul a book of his paintings of Manchester pubs, which Paul adored, and at Christmas 2022, he mailed the couple a card featuring their very own Edinburgh Christmas lights painting on the front.
On 14 December 2022, Paul sadly passed away. Although it was an immensely difficult time for Katie and her family, she was clear that “this is not a sad story, it’s a lovely story.” Wanting to honour Paul’s memory, Katie placed the Christmas card Michael had sent them – the one that meant so much to him – inside the coffin. Michael, in a touching gesture, sent Katie another copy so she would have one too.
Hoping to do something meaningful in remembrance of Paul, Katie decided to commission a painting from Michael. Her first thought was to request a painting of the Downs in Altrincham, the area where their restaurant once stood, though she admitted that her reference photo – simply a fork in the road – might not be very inspiring for Michael. “You can’t really tell a painter what to paint,” she said, “it’s like telling a chef how to cook a meal.” Her next idea was Bowden Church, also in Altrincham – a place Paul had only shown her about a year before he passed, despite their many years living nearby. The church also happened to feature in an episode of Sherlock Holmes – one of Paul’s favourites.
Katie shared both of her ideas with Michael and told him, “you crack on and paint whichever you like, surprise me.” She was certain he would choose the church – after all, he had painted York Minster before, so Bowden Church would surely be an easy choice. A few months later, a large box arrived at Katie’s home. “As I am the type of girl who would read the final page of a book way before getting to the end, I read all the envelopes within the box before opening them,” she admitted. The first envelope was labeled A Memory of Bowden Downs Church, and the second, The Downs, Altrincham. “I couldn’t believe it,” Katie exclaimed, “He had done the church, as discussed, but he had also painted that little fork in the road – which is the one I really wanted – and gave me the second painting for free.”
Overwhelmed with gratitude, she discovered a third envelope containing a sprig of rosemary and a heartfelt letter from Michael. In it, he explained that while painting The Downs, a man had come out of his house to ask what he was working on and for whom. When Michael told him the story, the man – who happened to live just a few doors down from where Katie and Paul’s old restaurant once stood – mentioned that he had a large rosemary bush in his garden. The chef at Juniper used to pick sprigs from it for the kitchen. The man made Michael a cup of tea and told him he never minded, as he was a regular at the restaurant and knew the rosemary would be used in something delicious. When Michael returned the teacup, he asked if he could take a little rosemary to send to Katie along with the paintings, and the man gladly agreed.
“Two acts of kindness in one day! I did then get around to opening the paintings.”
Earlier this year, while visiting Manchester, Katie stopped by Contemporary Six – another Own Art gallery she loves to frequent. There, she struck up a conversation with Georgie, a staff member who Katie discovered was also an artist. Feeling inspired, she began browsing the gallery for her next piece. Before long, her attention was drawn to a Liam Spencer painting titled Swan, Dog, Graffiti.
Spencer rose to prominence in the Manchester art scene in the 2000s, around the same time Katie and Paul ran their restaurant, Juniper, in Altrincham. “Liam and Paul were both young, working-class, cool guys who were, in their own way, each doing something creative, so they ran in the same sort of circles,” Katie recalled. She explained that Paul had always admired Spencer’s work but they had never been able to afford it.
“I remember a few years before Paul died, we were down in Manchester and looked in at Contemporary Six, where we saw some Liam Spencer paintings, and we thought maybe one day we’ll get one.”
Katie felt an instant connection to Swan, Dog, Graffiti, saying, “you would never know that this funny little picture was a Liam Spencer.” She went on to explain how deeply it resonated with her – one of Paul’s many pet names for her was “swan-neck,” she had played Walking the Dog by Gershwin at his funeral, and Paul had always loved photographing graffiti. “I felt like this painting was made for me,” she said, and purchased it using an Own Art loan. Then, “in true Paul fashion – you can’t have just one, things must come in two’s.” At the time, Spencer had a small exhibition of watercolour birds on display at the gallery, and Katie decided to buy one of a robin, because “robins can be associated with souls of the past” – a tender nod to Paul.
When she returned to collect the painting, however, Georgie handed her a different one – a long-tailed tit instead. “A cheeky little thing – which I really liked,” Katie said. Turning it over, she noticed the date on the back: 2022, the year Paul died. Paul had always loved birds. Whenever the couple visited York, they would stop at a shop on the Shambles that sold small ceramic birds by artist Karen Fawcett, and over the years, he had collected many of them.
Liam Spencer, Long-Tailed Tit
“I said to Georgie, don’t worry about the robin, I will take this cheeky little fella here because I believed that Paul had chosen it for me.”
Discover the artists and galleries mentioned in this article
York Fine Arts:
Website: www.yorkfinearts.co.uk | Instagram: @yorkfinearts
Contemporary Six:
Website: www.contemporarysix.co.uk | Instagram: @contemporarysix
Michael J. Ashcroft:
Website: www.michaeljohnashcroft.com | Instagram: @mj_ashcroft
Liam Spencer:
Website: www.liamspencer.co.uk | Instagram: @spencer_liam
With thanks to Katie for sharing her story with us. This interview has been edited for clarity, length and readability.