It's a shoe-in for Max at Six Bells exhibition

Art may not always be on your mind down the pub, but for the Six Bells it’s all part of the atmosphere.

The tavern – just off Mill Road – is well known for hosting impromptu and scheduled musical events, so when local musician Max Bianco suggested an exhibition of his work, it was always going to be a shoo-in.

Max’s take on art is highly personalised. Though most of the work on show is oil and ink – or chalk – on paper and card, there’s also a framed shoe.

“It’s my first sculpture attempt,” says Max. “That was my shoe at the end of some odyssey, it’s called ‘You never can walk too far’.”

He also uses his own blood when the situation calls for it.

“Blood looks great because it goes bronzey-brown and it lasts longer – and it’s free paint.”

“We love Max,” says landlady Eileen O’Brien, who’s run the pub – famed for its musical output including a fortnightly open mic session on Sunday evenings – for 12 years. “He’s a regular customer and he plays here regularly too."

Max Bianco & the Blue Hearts formed last year, the band played the Portland Arms, have some quite cute songs on YouTube, and Max has "recorded with Kimberley Rew of Walking On Sunshine and Lee Cave-Berry, his wife". Rew, who wrote Walking On Sunshine, is known for showing up for impromptu performances in venues including the Flying Pig and the Alma.

“It’s nice to have different things on the wall, and 10 per cent of any sale goes to Wintercomfort,” concludes Eileen.

The exhibition runs until early August.