Page 18 - Oundle Life February 2023

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Simon Dolby from the Dolby Gallery in West Street studied at The Ruskin School of Art in Cambridge. He became an illustrator after leaving art school, working for different design agencies in Cambridge and then
Tell us more... Then the doctor’s surgery in West Street came on the market, which was plenty big enough to live in with our three children and have a large studio. It was full of
DOLBY
GALLERY
Art at the heart of Oundle
London. He had met his wife Gillian at art school and when they decided
it was time to leave London, they headed for Peterborough. Simon then branched into commercial illustration work for architects and publishers.
What made you choose Oundle? We decided to move on from Peterborough and settled in Oundle. It’s a beautiful place and we had the chance to rent
I consider myself so lucky to be able to spend a fair bit of my time doing what I love best
character but needed lots of renovations to change it from a doctor’s surgery to
a house and workplace, it was a great project though.
When did you set up The Dolby Gallery? In 2000 we decided to turn the front two rooms, formerly the waiting rooms, into an art gallery. It became
a great venue for exhibiting our work
as well as many other artists. There have been many successful exhibitions over the years, with some great private
a studio and buy a house. I was now
working on brochures for a local building company as well as other freelance work, but my main love had always been painting. With a young family to feed, commercial work had to come first.
views! We also have a picture framing business. Throughout the years I had always been
painting and have taken on many commissions. I now do less commercial work and concentrate more on painting the wonderful countryside
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