An artist at home

The bright red Aga festooned with towels, the pine dresser packed with decorative plates, papers and knick knacks plus a burgeoning collection of old furniture all point to someone who refuses to be constrained 
by minimalism.

“I’m definitely not a minimalist and I couldn’t live in a pristine house. I’m a hoarder and I like things around me,” says Sally Lister, whose farmhouse in Glaisdale Dale has benefited from this approach.

She bought the cosy home in 1983 after living in Strasbourg, where she worked for the Council of Europe.

“My parents lived in Whitby and I wanted to move back to the area. It feels remote up here but it’s not, or not until it snows anyway.

“My mum found the house and it was perfect. It was family sized with a lovely feel,” says Sally, who has three daughters.

She set about renovating, rewiring and adapting the mid 18th-century property to suit her needs.

One of her first jobs was to install a sauna in the second floor bathroom.

“I came back from France and I was absolutely freezing so I had a beam taken out of the bathroom to make way for a sauna and it’s wonderful for warming you up,” she explains.

She bought the Aga for the same reason and it’s the focal point of the large living kitchen she created to make the most of the fabulous views.

Steps tucked away at the end of this room lead to the old servants’ quarters, which she revamped with roof lights and turned into a library cum crash pad for teenagers.

“My daughters are older now but it was a wonderful place for them to grow up,” says Sally, whose move to the moors introduced her to husband Mark, a farmer, who lived at the other end of the dale.

Like her, he was an extra in the TV series Heartbeat and they share a love of the outdoors.

She helps him on the hill farm at busy times and has grown to adore the sheep, “they bring out your mothering instinct”, and is helping him renovate the farmhouse he bought from his father.

The project partly explains the abundance of furniture and furnishings.

“There is a lot of lovely old furniture and I can’t bear to get rid of it. Plus I have a lot of my mum’s stuff here. She loved antique shops and had a really good eye,” says Sally.

“I can’t bear to throw those things away because they are full of memories and I want to pass them onto my daughters.”

Mark’s parents’ rag rug now has pride of place in the kitchen. Their old eiderdowns and bedspreads make perfect throws for the sofas and complement her mum’s wicker chair and silk rug.

The patina of age, the craftsmanship and the history of the pieces appeal to her yet they are a direct contrast to the paintings on the walls.

The contemporary abstracts are all by Sally, 61, who is now a successful artist after gaining a degree in Fine Art.

“I did a degree in law when I was 
younger but I look back and wonder why I didn’t do art. I’ve always loved it and so when I was 44 I decided to do my A level and then in 2006 I started my degree,” she says.

“It was quite scary going back to university with lots of young people but I was determined and it was great because it taught me to develop my own style and to believe in myself.”

Her work, rich in colour and texture, is inspired by the North York Moors and influenced by Jackson Pollock, Helen Frankenthaler and Cy Twombly.

“I am an abstract artist and so not everyone recognises what the paintings are. A friend asked: ‘why don’t you paint the landscape?’ I had to tell her that I did,” she laughs.

Her paintings have featured in many exhibitions and galleries and are part of the Your Place exhibition at the National Park Centre in Danby, though there are still plenty of canvases stacked around the house.

“A sitting room doubles as my studio 
but I’d like to convert the barn and 
paint there. It’s finding the time though. I’m shepherdessing, painting and helping renovate Mark’s house so it’s full on,” 
says Sally

“I don’t mind though. I just feel very privileged that I live in this amazing place and that I was able to change tack and do something creative.

“The barn can wait because I am not going anywhere.”

www.sallylister.co.uk.

* Sally’s work can be seen at the Your Place Exhibition at the Inspired by gallery at the national park centre, Danby, until August 19. The exhibition celebrates the North York Moors National Park’s 60th anniversary.

It features 60 artists whose work ranges from painting and pottery to photography and prints, all of which draw on the landscape, wildlife and atmosphere of the moors.

The exhibition also includes stunning graphic photography by Graham Chaddock, who is intrigued by 
the industrial heritage of the area; landscape paintings by Neil McBride, 
who tries to capture the fleeting 
effects of sunlight on the moorland 
and paper-cut artwork by Kimberli Werner.

The gallery is open daily in July from 10am to 5pm and in August from 9.30am to 5.30pm, www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/inspiredbygallery.