ARTIST Marion Dutton’s historic Bolton home is a picture of inspiration for the scores of art fans who visit it to learn how to draw and paint.

The 43-year-old art teacher, her husband John and their three children live in Dewhurst House on Blackburn Road, Egerton.

The property is a tribute to Victorian design, though parts are believed to date back to the 1700s.

The building has a place in Bolton’s history — it was the childhood home of Edward Carr Deakin, whose influence and business foresignt in the second half of the 19th century helped save Egerton from the cotton slump caused by the American Civil War.

When he was a 25-year-old clerk at a Manchester merchants, Edward and his brother Henry began transforming the village into a thriving place.

The Deakin name lives on in the nearby industrial estate on the site of their former mill and in the legacy of parks and sports clubs they gave to the community.

Marion and John, who run bathroom and kitchen business First Merchant in Rochdale, moved to Dewhurst House 10 years ago.

They started a sympathetic renovation that has seen woodwork stripped back to the original and hidden fireplaces restored to their former glory.

They have retained the corniced ceilings, archways and original sash windows, and sweeping staircase.

Accomplished in art at school in Bury, Marion failed to pursue the subject as a career but started sketching and painting once more at the age of 36 after buying school art supplies for her children.

“My children didn’t know I could draw and paint,” she said. “But I soon rediscovered how much I enjoyed it.”

As well as creating beautiful pictures and portraits, Marion took qualifications as a teacher.

She also persuaded John to shelve plans to turn an outbuilding — previously a Victorian laundry — into a games room and instead make it into a studio.

Marion started running short courses there, for people who were already enjoying drawing and painting and for complete beginners.

However, after she was invited by the Society of All Artists to take part in a recent Sky TV programme about learning to paint, her courses have really caught the public’s imagination.

Now, she is booking courses for art fans from all over the country including Scotland and Ireland and has also had to turn over one of the living rooms to become a second studio.

“It’s just suddenly taken off,” she said. It’s so lovely because when people first contact me they’re really nervous about coming and then when they’ve come to a course and painted their own picture to take home, they’re delighted.

“They email me to show me what they’re painting next. I just hadn’t bargained on how proud that would make me feel of how far they’ve come.”

And for her visitors, Marion’s home regularly offers fascination and artistic inspiration in equal measure.

“Yes, people do love to look around the house and marvel at the fireplaces and all the period detail,” she said. “And it’s nice for me to see the place through other people’s eyes.”