There is a particular kind of painting that does more than fill a wall — it settles a room. Light moves differently across it depending on the hour. Guests stop in front of it without quite meaning to. That is the effect Ben Sherar’s oils are known for, and it is why a growing number of private collectors, hospitality groups, and vessel owners across Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia are choosing to commission his work directly rather than simply acquire it.

What sets his work apart for a discerning interior is not just technical control — the way a wave face catches light, or a cloud bank holds its form in oil on aluminium panel over months of studio work — but restraint. Nothing in a Sherar painting is trying too hard. It simply holds the room.

 

A commission is not simply a purchase — it is a piece of art made to fit. For a yacht, a hotel, or a considered private room, that distinction matters more than it might elsewhere.

– Scale that fits the space, not the other way around – Original works can be sized precisely to a saloon wall, a reception backdrop, or a stairwell — no compromise, no cropping.

– Subject matter with genuine resonance – A commissioned Rottnest bay scene for a vessel that cruises those waters, or a cloudscape echoing a specific coastline, carries a story guests and clients will ask about.

– Material suited to the environment – Oil on aluminium panel — Ben’s preferred support for larger cloudscapes — offers stability and longevity well suited to marine environments and climate-controlled hospitality settings alike.

– A collectible asset, not a decorating expense – Original oils from an actively exhibiting, career-documented artist hold their place in a collection in a way reproductions and decorative prints simply don’t.

– A quiet point of distinction – In marina circles and among procurement teams furnishing premium hospitality spaces, a commissioned original signals a level of care that off-the-shelf art cannot.

For Yacht Owners & Marina Circles

A vessel's interior is one of the few spaces where art is viewed exclusively by people you have personally chosen to have aboard. It rewards a piece with presence — something that holds its own against changing light and water reflections, without competing with the view outside. Ben's cloudscapes and coastal scenes are built for exactly this: painted with an understanding of how light behaves on water, sized to fit saloons, staterooms, and gangway walls, and finished on supports that travel well. A commissioned piece referencing a home port, a favoured cruising ground, or a significant passage becomes part of the vessel's own story.

For Hotel & Hospitality Procurement Teams

Guests remember the details that feel considered rather than sourced. A commissioned original — a lobby-scale cloudscape, a suite of Rottnest or Perth coastal studies for a corridor, a nightscape for a bar or lounge — gives a property a sense of place that a supplier catalogue cannot replicate. Because Ben works directly and paints to brief, procurement teams can specify scale, palette, and subject to match a design concept, brand tone, or a specific site, and can commission at the volume a multi-room or multi-property rollout requires.

For Private Collectors

Whether you are building a considered collection or completing a single significant room, a Sherar commission offers the rare combination of documented, exhibiting-artist provenance with the flexibility to specify exactly what you want on your wall — down to the coastline, the hour of day, and the dimensions of the space it will live in.

How a Commission Works

  •  A conversation - Space, dimensions, subject matter, mood, and timeframe are discussed — ideally with photographs or plans of the intended location.
  •  A proposal - Ben's team provide an indicative composition direction, size, medium (canvas, linen, or aluminium panel), and timeline.
  • The work - Larger cloudscapes are studio pieces built over months; coastal and nightscape commissions typically move faster. Progress can be shared along the way.
  • Delivery - Framing, crating, and shipping — including to vessels, hotels, and international addresses across Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia — can be arranged.

 

Timelines and current commission availability vary with Ben's studio schedule, so early enquiry is recommended for any piece tied to a launch date, refit, or opening.

If a space comes to mind while reading this — a saloon wall, a lobby, a stairwell, a room that has never quite found its centrepiece — the most useful next step is simply a conversation. Share the space, the scale, and the feeling you're after, and a tailored proposal can follow.

Discreet enquiries welcome, including on behalf of clients, vessels, or properties.

Enquire below to begin the conversation: