The Art Stable

The Art Stable The Art Stable specialises in Contemporary and 20th Century British paintings, prints and ceramics,

The Art Stable specialises in Contemporary and 20th Century British paintings, prints and ceramics, presenting eight exhibitions a year of established and emerging artists. There are two spaces, one presenting solo exhibitions and the second a continually changing selection of other gallery artists. The gallery is situated in the courtyard of an organic farm next door to a farm shop and cafe. The

gallery looks towards the iron age hill fort, Hambledon Hill, so is an ideal place to combine a good walk, delicious lunch and interesting art. Kelly Ross founded The Art Stable in 2006, very close to where she lives in Child Okeford, a village situated between Shaftesbury and Blandford in Dorset. She has worked in the fine art market for nearly 30 years since her first job after university with the European Print dealer, William Weston in Albemarle Street, London. After four years with Austin/Desmond Fine Art in Bloomsbury, she co-ran the Gallery at John Jones before opening the Coram Gallery in Bloomsbury in 1993. After moving to Dorset in 1999 Kelly ran the Summerleaze Gallery in Wiltshire before opening The Art Stable eight years ago. The gallery stock, for the large part listed on this website, is ever changing and offers a wide variety of art from under £100 upwards. We sell to individuals, businesses and interior designers and also purchase or help sell paintings on behalf of clients.



'The Art Stable, a little jewel of a gallery', Fiona Robinson in Proof Directory

Nicholas Usherwood, editor of Galleries Magazine, said of The Art Stable, 'the style of this gallery and the artists it shows.....would not be out of place in the West End of London'. Fanny Charles wrote, 'In just a few years, gallery owner Kelly Ross has established a remarkable reputation for The Art Stable - she has a sharp eye for talent, and confidence in the artistic knowledge of the Dorset community to support exhibitions that bring national and international artists to her tiny gallery in a farmyard.'

We also have hanging in the gallery at present, some beautiful small watercolour and oil paintings by Audrey Rapier. Al...
19/06/2026

We also have hanging in the gallery at present, some beautiful small watercolour and oil paintings by Audrey Rapier. All the details are on Audrey’s page on the gallery website.

https://www.theartstable.co.uk/gallery/audrey_rapier.php?pg=1

Audrey’s paintings are inspired by the shapes, colours and the way light falls on a subject. This sensitivity allows her to find inspiration almost anywhere – whether in the surroundings of her London home or on trips to Cambridge, the Cotswolds, North East England or the rugged coast of North Cornwall. On location, she captures her response to a scene through swift pencil and watercolour sketches. These initial studies become the foundation for more developed works in oils, completed within the contemplative space of her studio.

Her work carries a meditative stillness, uncovering the quiet poetry in everyday moments. With a deeply personal vision, she captures her response to a scene often revealing what is easily overlooked.

Tobit RocheThe River at Shigar Baltistan, PakistanOil on board21 x 27 cmOne of the smaller paintings in Tobit’s exhibiti...
18/06/2026

Tobit Roche
The River at Shigar Baltistan, Pakistan
Oil on board
21 x 27 cm

One of the smaller paintings in Tobit’s exhibition currently hanging in the gallery, and painted outside, en plein air.

Born in Manchester in 1954, Tobit grew up in Hong Kong, Canada and India. He attended the Ontario College of Art from 1974-6, coming into contact with ‘The Group of Seven’ painters, and Camberwell from 1977-80. Tobit then spent a year working alongside Duncan Grant at Charleston.

We had a lovely opening on Saturday of the paintings of Tobit Roche, Painting India over Time. The two of us pictured a...
15/06/2026

We had a lovely opening on Saturday of the paintings of Tobit Roche, Painting India over Time. The two of us pictured above in front of some of the smaller paintings.

Opening today, Tobit Roche, Painting India over Time, from 11am to 3pm.‘Painting India over Time’ is the seventh exhibit...
13/06/2026

Opening today, Tobit Roche, Painting India over Time, from 11am to 3pm.

‘Painting India over Time’ is the seventh exhibition of paintings by Tobit Roche at The Art Stable, since we opened twenty years ago and it is always a great pleasure to be surrounded by Tobit’s beautiful and romantic work. In this exhibition the focus will be on India where Tobit lived as a teenager and where he continues to visit regularly. Also included will be plein air paintings from Nepal and Pakistan, as well as remembered and reimagined pictures painted in the studio.

As a teenager growing up in India, I was often exposed to magical mountainscapes, particularly when journeying to the Himalaya, and its foothills or travelling by train through the Aravalli Range in Rajasthan. These memories have stayed with me, inspiring many subsequent visits, and not least turning India for me into a kind of spiritual home.

PredictionsOpening Saturday 13th June, 11am - 3pm We are delighted to be presenting a third exhibition at The Art Stable...
12/06/2026

Predictions

Opening Saturday 13th June, 11am - 3pm

We are delighted to be presenting a third exhibition at The Art Stable of exquisite new etchings by Alexander Massouras, which will feature a new series, ‘Predictions’, as well as some recent Diver etchings.

Predictions is a series with diverse imagery, spanning windows, flowers and falling figures, whose connections are tenuous to the point of being almost nonsensical. Like previous work, Alexander plays with the boundaries between representation and abstraction, between order and chaos.

Tobit Roche, Painting India over Time, opens on Saturday from 11am to 3pm. All welcome. Cafe and farm shop will also b...
11/06/2026

Tobit Roche, Painting India over Time, opens on Saturday from 11am to 3pm. All welcome. Cafe and farm shop will also be open.

‘Painting India over Time’ is the seventh exhibition of paintings by Tobit Roche at The Art Stable, since we opened twenty years ago and it is always a great pleasure to be surrounded by Tobit’s beautiful and romantic work. In this exhibition the focus will be on India where Tobit lived as a teenager and where he continues to visit regularly. Also included will be plein air paintings from Nepal and Pakistan, as well as remembered and reimagined pictures painted in the studio.

As a teenager growing up in India, I was often exposed to magical mountainscapes, particularly when journeying to the Himalaya, and its foothills or travelling by train through the Aravalli Range in Rajasthan. These memories have stayed with me, inspiring many subsequent visits, and not least turning India for me into a kind of spiritual home.

Born in Manchester in 1954, Tobit grew up in Hong Kong, Canada and India. He attended the Ontario College of Art from 1974-6, coming into contact with ‘The Group of Seven’ painters, and Camberwell from 1977-80. Tobit then spent a year working alongside Duncan Grant at Charleston.

Very much looking forward to the opening of our two new exhibitions on Saturday, 13th, including Tobit Roche, Painting I...
10/06/2026

Very much looking forward to the opening of our two new exhibitions on Saturday, 13th, including Tobit Roche, Painting India over Time.

‘Painting India over Time’ is the seventh exhibition of paintings by Tobit Roche at The Art Stable, since we opened twenty years ago and it is always a great pleasure to be surrounded by Tobit’s beautiful and romantic work. In this exhibition the focus will be on India where Tobit lived as a teenager and where he continues to visit regularly. Also included will be plein air paintings from Nepal and Pakistan, as well as remembered and reimagined pictures painted in the studio.

As a teenager growing up in India, I was often exposed to magical mountainscapes, particularly when journeying to the Himalaya, and its foothills or travelling by train through the Aravalli Range in Rajasthan. These memories have stayed with me, inspiring many subsequent visits, and not least turning India for me into a kind of spiritual home.

Thank you to Ella for today hanging the two exhibitions which are opening on Saturday, paintings by Tobit Roche and etch...
09/06/2026

Thank you to Ella for today hanging the two exhibitions which are opening on Saturday, paintings by Tobit Roche and etching by Alexander Massouras.

We are very much looking forward to the opening on Saturday of Predictions, an exhibition of new etchings by Alexander M...
09/06/2026

We are very much looking forward to the opening on Saturday of Predictions, an exhibition of new etchings by Alexander Massouras, which will include these three divers.

The Diver etchings express a formal interest in the combination of line (the pools and diving platforms) with tone (the diver). They play on the symbolism of the fall and on the stillness of the image: the divers never meet the pools, a separation which finds visual form in the distance the etchings keep between line and tone.

Thank you to the Sherborne Times for this article celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Art Stable in the June issue.
08/06/2026

Thank you to the Sherborne Times for this article celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Art Stable in the June issue.

Address

Child Okeford
Blandford Forum
DT118

Opening Hours

Thursday 10am - 3pm
Friday 10am - 3pm
Saturday 10am - 3pm

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