 MOST diners expect to leave a restaurant with a lighter wallet and a fuller stomach. These days, however, as is fitting for a designated capital of culture, they might find themselves with an original painting under one arm, as Liverpool restaurant and bar owners catch on to the French custom of selling art works from their walls. The Everyman Bistro, Puschka and Heart and Soul are just three of the many establishments where you can now pick up a canvas with your cappuccino. "It gives people the chance to look at art in a more relaxed environment and they won't feel the pressure they may feel in a gallery. They can just sit and look at it for a while or not think about it but it's just something that's there in the background," explains Lucy Byrne, founder of Liverpool-based Dot Art, an organisation that loans artworks to bars and restaurants. "I've had phone calls from people who have been out at the Everyman for the night, who have scribbled down my number from the ticket on the wall and say 'I think I liked a piece of art last night, I'm not quite sure'." Lucy has a database of artists, all locally based, which restaurant owners can choose from. How many works are shown and how long they remain on the walls is up to the individual venue. "It's only a very select few restaurants. "At the moment, we have the Everyman, 60 Hope Street and we have a restaurant in Southport. We've approached them as people that we think are suitable and that have suitable clients and spaces for the artwork. "We work out what kind of style they would like, what kind of pieces would work. Then they hang them up which is obviously good for them and they all have tickets on making clear that they are for sale with information about the work and contact details for us here at Dot Art. They are then rotated as and when the venue requires it," explains Lucy. In the Everyman bistro, prices range from £25 to around £350. Customers interested in buying a painting or photograph contact Dot Art directly. If they have chosen a print, then it is available within several days. However, if it is an original work then a replacement one must be found for the venue before the picture is released. | 
