Local artist to showcase paintings in exhibit at Preston's Larder café

Shiryn Wynter, 48, will showcase her colourful canvasses on the walls of the Larder cafe from next week, in a new exhibit set to run until December 5.

The mum-of-four began displaying her work in an empty space in St George's shopping centre last year and has since had her work showcased at UCLan as part of her Master's degree and even shared by TV journalist Dan Walker.

She has also been commissioned to work on a piece for TV star Kerry Katona and will host art workshops for the Harris Museum during October half term.

Having used her passion for art to help children with behavioural difficulties express themselves and had experience running 'GetMessy', an after school and holiday art workshop in Preston, she went on to study Fine Art alongside her talented son Shailan at UCLan.

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Now, the PGCE student teaching art at Blackburn College hopes to continue to inspire with her work at the new showcase at the Preston city centre venue.

She said: "The Larder advertised for exhibitors and I was selected for this slot. The Brew time collective artists forum asked for contributors to get in touch and I was selected to host my work.

"My work is inspired by that feeling of a fresh morning and starting again by putting yesterday behind you.

“I like to think by looking at my work you get the sense of another world because when I paint, I escape, I am in my own world and I want the audience to be able to experience that feeling when they look at my work."

The Larder regularly hosts exhibitions and showcases to help support local artists, including hosting the works of Preston based oil painter Daniel Sharples in August.

The city centre venue will also host a heartfelt tribute to Preston photographer Tony Worrall, who passed away in June at his home at Ashton-on-Ribble, from December 6.

Speaking about the support, Shiryn added: "Being an artist has been great, especially during the pandemic. My work has flown out and I can't keep up with demand because people have shown so much interest.

"The Larder offers artists an amazing opportunity to showcase work so a whole new audience can come and take a look.

"Online has been amazing for me as an artist. My reach is getting bigger every day but it's nice for people to be able to physically see the work in person."

Kay Johnson, founder of city food cooperative Preston Larder said: "The aim of Art at The Larder is to showcase the work of artists and photographers who live or work in Preston. We also aim to feature artwork of local community and support groups.

"The Larder is all about community and art is an essential element of a vibrant community. The benefits are threefold more art is accessible to the public, exhibiting artists gain visibility while commission from the sale of art contributes to The Larder's "Kids in the Kitchen" programme addressing food poverty and holiday hunger.

"The cafe is a family-friendly space being used by a diverse range of groups from the community and the art exhibitions add colour and interest to this space.

"Shiryn's fabulous canvases are large, colourful, bold and imaginative which I hope will lift people's spirits as we move into the shorter, darker days of winter.

"Preston is home to so much artistic talent and such a variety of styles there will always be something fresh and different to see in The Larder's exhibition space."

The exhibition will run from The Larder Cafe, from Saturday, October 23 until December 5. An opening 'meet the artist' event will be held from 1.30 pm on October 23.

More information can be found at the Art at the Larder Facebook page.

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