About Us

A family-run art shop, born from a lifetime of creativity

Art Shop Yorkshire was founded by artist Maria Bennett, and sits at the heart of everything we do: a genuine, lifelong love of art, materials, and helping other people make their own work.

Based in the pretty market town of Thornton le Dale, in the heart of the North York Moors, we stock a carefully chosen range of paints, papers, pencils and tools from trusted names like Winsor & Newton, Sennelier, Derwent and Fabriano — the same quality materials Maria uses in her own studio. Everything on our shelves is here because we've used it, trust it, and know it works.

Meet Maria

Maria Bennett grew up in the industrial North East, studied at Middlesbrough College of Art & Design, and went on to build a career in chemistry and aerospace engineering — raising four children along the way. It wasn't the path you'd expect for an artist, but it never really left her. After years away, Maria made the move back to her roots in North Yorkshire, and has spent the last fifteen years immersed in the art world here, first specialising in bespoke picture framing and, more recently, returning to her own lifelong passion: painting.

Working mainly in oil and wax, Maria translates the landscapes and rural life of the North York Moors into expressive, textured paintings — often sketching and painting plein air, straight from the fields, farms and coastline around her studio above the Esk Valley. Her work has been exhibited at Harlow Carr and Scarborough Art Gallery, and she's a member of the Whitby Art Society and an invited artist with the Fylingdales Group of Artists.

That firsthand experience — as a working artist who understands what makes a material genuinely good to paint, draw and sketch with — is what shaped Art Shop Yorkshire. We're not just selling art supplies; we're sharing what we use ourselves.

Art Shop Yorkshire & Artisan Frames

Art Shop Yorkshire shares its home in Thornton le Dale with Maria's other business, Artisan Frames — an established bespoke picture framing studio serving artists, galleries and collectors across North Yorkshire. From conservation and museum-standard framing to Giclée art printing, Artisan Frames has spent years helping people protect and present their finished work.

It means that whatever stage your creative project is at, you're in experienced hands here at 1 Whitbygate — from your first sheet of watercolour paper, right through to a beautifully framed piece on your wall.

Visit us in Thornton le Dale

We'd love to see you at 1 Whitbygate, Thornton le Dale, Pickering YO18 7RY — a short drive from Pickering, Malton, Whitby and York, right in the heart of the North York Moors. Come and browse our full range in person, get honest advice from a team that actually uses this stuff, and take a look at the framing studio and gallery next door, where you'll also find work from Maria and other local artists on display.

Can't make it in? We ship quickly and reliably across the UK, so you're never far from what you need — wherever you're creating.

1 Whitbygate, Thornton le Dale, Pickering YO18 7RY
Phone: 07304 308457
Email: hello@artshopyorkshire.co.uk