Boatshed painters watch the river flow - Tavistock Times article 07/08/08

By Jane Honey

STUNNING images of the Tamar Valley are to be displayed in a highly unusual setting in West Devon at the end of this month.
The exhibition is to be staged inside the workshed at Weir Quay Boatyard, to be cleared of boats, timber, paintpots, varnish and a lot of dust specially for the purpose.
The boatyard has been transformed during the last seven years by its present owner, Michael Hooton, and is now a profitable business employing seven local people.
The exhibition idea was sparked by the illustrated tide tables the boatyard has been producing since 2001.
The tables have featured work by Tavistock-based Ian Heard, Richard Allman and most recently by Tamar Valley artist Rita Smith.
The tide tables have now become a valued and distinctive booklet for the sailors and yachtsmen navigating the Tamar estuaries.
Michael said: ‘We believe this is the first time that the visual arts have been used to add brand value to a company in the marine industry and it’s certainly the first time in this country that the arts have been used to enhance the presentation of hydrographic information.
‘It may be that our example will be followed elsewhere and that increasingly, people will try to develop creative ways in which to present dull tables of figures.’
Michael said having given and received commissions from three Devon artists, it seemed appropriate to provide an opportunity for the boatyard customers, local mariners and the community at large to see more of their work.
The two-week exhibition is called ‘Watching the River Flow’.
Michael said: ‘The boatyard is making available its workshed for the purpose. At the moment it’s still full of boats, until a week before the exhibition, when we are taking them out and getting the vacuum cleaners into the workshed, putting up panels for the paintings and lighting.
‘The artists have been asked to provide between 12 and 15 paintings about the river, so there will be a total of about 40 original works.
‘September is the only month of the year when it is commercially possible for the boatyard to clear its shed in this way — there is a brief pause in the time-table between completing the servicing and re-fit work on local yachts and hauling out the boats again for the winter lay-up from October.
‘The timing also coincides with the open studios programme of the ‘Drawn to the Valley’ artists, to which all three exhibiting artists belong.’
The exhibition will enable the artists to work at the boatyard during the exhibition and introduce visitors and members of the viewing public to their work and how it is produced.
Michael said ‘Watching the River Flow’ was part of the boatyard’s continued drive to revitalise the historic Tamar Valley.
‘The Tamar was one of the busiest rivers in the country in the middle of the 19th century — it was busier than the Mersey,’ he said.
‘Anything we can do to start bringing a bit more life and regeneration to the river is a good thing, otherwise it will ultimately just silt up.’
‘Watching the River Flow’ at Weir Quay Boatyard runs from Saturday August 30 to Friday September 12, between 10am and 6pm daily.