KENTMERE House Gallery owner Ann Petherick always makes a point of looking out for opportunities for her regular artists.

So when she visited the National Trust house of Seaton Delaval in Northumberland last year, she realised how well it would suit the style of Michael Ewart, one of her York gallery’s stable of artists for 12 years.

"Michael lives nearby to Seaton Delaval and I arranged with National Trust staff for him to work in the house and grounds earlier this year," says Ann.

"Seaton Delaval is a house with a fascinating history. Although one of architect Sir John Vanbrugh’s smallest country houses, it was home to the larger-than-life Delaval family.

"In Georgian times, the Delavals were notorious for their high-living and gambling, and over the years the hall has narrowly survived fires, military occupation and near-dereliction."

Part of Delaval Hall is still lived in occasionally by descendants of the family, although since the National Trust acquired the property in 2012 the main building has been undergoing extensive repairs.

Michael Ewart was born in the village of Felton in Northumberland and remained there until he married in 1966, when he moved to Ashington. "I've lived there since then, working as a primary school teacher until I retired," he says. "I now paint full-time and my interest lies mainly in figurative subjects, showing people in everyday situations.

"Drawing and painting have been with me all of my life and, as I grew up in the countryside, my first inspiration was the northern landscape. In 2008, I was an invited artist at the Discerning Eye exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London and I've shown work at Kentmere House Gallery since 2003."

Michael Ewart's works are on sale at around £500 to £550.