Manchester Artist And Brain Tumour Survivor Captures City's Rainswept Beauty
BuzzFeed - Latest 2014-09-23
Summary:
Lancashire-born Michael Ashcroft has a new exhibition of his oil paintings, which show Manchester in all its damp glory.
Michael Ashcroft had always enjoyed painting and admired Manchester's bright lights and vibrant streets – but after suffering a brain tumour aged 28, he started taking his hobby much more seriously.
Now aged 45, an exhibition of this work – Reflections of Manchester – is to take place next month, collecting more than 15 years of his oil paintings of the city.
Michael john Ashcroft
Ashcroft's tumour came two years after the 1996 IRA bomb which changed the face of the city centre – his paintings show both Manchester's new and old architectural styles.
He lists his influences as John Constable, Edward Hopper, Lucien Freud and Mark Rothko.
Michael John Ashcroft
He tells BuzzFeed: "The tumour made me realise what was important to me which was was doing something you love or something that you are interested in or wished that you had done but never had the chance."
"Having the tumour gave me a second chance in a way to do something I had always dreamed about doing. Becoming an artist," he says.
Michael John Ashcroft
Ashcrofts says painting helped him make a recovery: "The art was a kind of therapy in the beginning but I became passionate about it as the years went on."
Michael John Ashcroft