UK art news

A major UK hospitality business continues to support local artists.

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JD Wetherspoon, which owns 800 pubs throughout Great Britain, operates The Blackwater Stream in Dorset. It asked Clare Shepherd, who lives nearby to produce a large painting making reference to the broad stones that had once crossed the nearby Blackwater stream. “I wasn’t keen to take the commission at first but when the designer made it clear how free I was in making the painting, I was happy to do it,” says Clare. “He said ‘Do that lovely thing you do with landscape - with colours and abstracting it slightly’. I went to a local nature reserve where the Blackwater stream still flows and made drawings from which the painting emerged.” Eddie Gershon from JD Wetherspoon added: “Our pubs are a vital part of the local community and we like to acknowledge the history of the local area wherever possible. As a company we greatly value the work of contemporary British artists like Clare Shepherd.” Now Clare’s large painting hangs in pride of place inside the pub. Blackwater regulars and others can see more of Clare’s work at her studio between November 22 and December 2, when she opens it to the public as part of Artists at Work 2013.

Web: www.clareshepherd.com