“When he moved out, we discussed putting the family home up for sale, but I had nowhere to live and I had three teenage children and my three dogs,” says Bonny. “I remember being so worried about trying to find a rental property that would fit us all and take the dogs. I had just become a full-time artist and was not earning a huge amount of money then and had no real way of taking a mortgage on myself and paying him half the house.
“There are ultimately two different kinds of people who join my membership, those who already have the skills and determination and just want an extra push in development, and those who are finding things a challenge, particularly around lack of self-belief and confidence.
Through her work, she now supports York-based IDAS, the North of England’s biggest domestic abuse and sexual violence charity and is this year awarding free scholarships to her academy, as well as running a solo exhibition to raise funds for IDAS.