"Art dating agency", Portland's Ducks on the Wall

Those looking for love swipe right to find a partner on a dating app but you can now do the same to find something that might be an even better match.

Artwork matching company Ducks on the Wall, based on Portland, is described as 'the world's first art dating agency'.

People can find the art they want by looking at pictures on the company's website and by swiping right to like or left to 'strike' - much like online dating!

John Mills and Arran Jung set up the fledgling firm using an algorithm that determines what kind of artwork a person likes after they choose favourite paintings from options on Ducks on the Wall's website. There are more than 550 artworks on offer.

John said: "It evolved into a Tinder-style service based upon people seeing bits of art. We thought we would create an algorithm for people that creates a profile for them based upon the images they like. It then presents you with the art you think you will love. You can find artwork you like within three clicks."

As far as John and Arran are aware, theirs is the first website that matches individuals with the artwork they like.

"Most people don't really know where to get their artwork from," John said.

"A lot of them will get it from places like Ikea. What we offer is in the same price range. Our target market isn't people who are collectors of art, it's people who want affordable art. Our starting price is £15 for a print and we offer free delivery.

"We're not a Manet to Monet service, it's more in the market of people who have bought a house and want to decorate it. Most people don't know what they are looking for and only know it when they see it."

People can order their artwork as prints or in a frame and can choose from a number of sizes in square, landscape and portrait format.

Ducks on the Wall came about through a chance meeting. John, an abstract photographer with a background in creative industries and advertising, moved to Portland after visiting the isle and falling in love with it.

"Even as I drove across the Causeway, I thought 'I love it here," John said.

John met Arran, an illustrator, in a picture framing shop in Easton belonging to Arran's father and Ducks in the Wall was born in September 2016.

The pair are certainly building their business from the ground up. They operate out of a shed behind Island Gallery in Easton, Portland.

"We've created it on a very small budget," John says.

"But like Google we're starting off in a shed. At the moment we deliver to the UK but we want to take it internationally and our vision is to take it to countries all around the world. If you're in Toronto and you go on to the site it will then take you to the Canadian version of it and it will then be fulfilled and delivered from Canada."

Ducks on the Wall has already generated a lot of positive feedback and has garnered more than 10,000 likes on Facebook. A video on Facebook to promote the firm shows an art lover scratching his head while trying to find artwork through the internet.

Arran said: "Our video shows someone going through 133 pages on an internet browser trying to find art they like but falling asleep because it takes so long.

"So many people looking for art don't know what they want and don't have a particular artist in mind."

Ducks on the Wall prides itself on being unique and offering something quirky.

"Our products are wrapped in wallpaper and come with a little certificate, we want to offer a personal experience," Arran said.

John and Arran say they are always looking at new innovations and would love to collaborate with estate agents as another way of offering their services.

And as the business grows they're keen to take employees on and would like to eventually open a framing fulfilment centre.

The artwork is also available to buy from home interiors store Margo and Mya in Brewery Square, Dorchester.

Ducks on the Wall offers a broad spectrum of artwork under categories including abstract, animals, black and white, city, landscape, urban, seascapes and contemporary.

John said: "We're trying to get our name out there and become synonymous with originality and affordability.

"We're the only place where you can get this art. You won't get it anywhere else."

Ducks on the Wall, Portland

W: ducksonthewall.com

E: info@ducksonthewall.com

Facebook: facebook.com/goducksonthewall