JOANNE MILLEA, right , is one of Dot Art's most successful artists.
An art teacher at De La Salle school in St Helens, she finds selling her work in restaurants is easier than approaching commercial galleries.
Joanne, 26, says: "It definitely benefits the artist because, when you leave university, you don't really know what to do with yourself. "I used to sell my work on stalls but it can be very time consuming.
"Having your work exhibited in restaurants and bars takes away all of the business side so you can get on with doing the work.
"When my pictures first went up a year ago, I used to get a cheque every month or every couple of months. It died down as more people got used to the work."
Joanne's abstract paintings are currently on display in the Everyman Bistro, on Liverpool's Hope Street, ranging from £30 for a small print to £200-plus for a larger original.
"They are quite bright with lot of colours. I'm very interested in colour therapy and how different colours change your mood so I like to use a lot of colour in my work. "They don't really look like anything in particular and that's what I want.
"I want people to make up their own minds about them. "Different people interpret them in different ways," explains Joanne, who graduated from John Moores University with a fine art degree three years ago. Joanne thinks people are willing to buy works of art from restaurants because they feel under less pressure to make a purchase.
She believes the setting gives people a chance to think about what a piece would look like in their own home.
She says: "The more modern bars in particular are made to seem more like a living room.
"It makes it more accessible than going to a gallery."
