INTERVIEW

Oundle shown in all its glory

Local artist Simon Dolby is well known for his beautiful Oundle paintings, Mary meets him

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 London. As a commercial artist he was earning a good living ‘but I didn’t really fit in with the ad agency world,’ he says.

Simon 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 illustration work for architects as well as doing book covers and all that a commercial illustrator would do. The couple decided to move on from Peterborough and settled in Oundle. ‘It’s a beautiful place and I had the chance to rent a studio and buy a house,’ says Simon. He was now working on brochures for a local building company as well as other freelance work, but his main love had always been painting. With a young family to feed, commercial work had to come first. Then the doctor’s surgery in West Street came on the market, which was plenty big enough to live in with their three children and have a large studio. It was full of 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.

Simon and illian decided to turn the front two rooms, formally the waiting rooms, into an art gallery. It became the perfect venue for exhibiting Simon’s work as well as many other artists. There have been many successful exhibitions over the years, with some great private views! As well as the gallery Simon and Gillian have a picture framing business.

Throughout the years Simon had always been painting and has taken on many commissions. He now does less commercial work and concentrates more on painting the wonderful countryside and buildings. He is particularly well known for his paintings of Oundle. ‘I love the town, and feel very fortunate to be able to paint my beautiful surroundings.’ Simon has sold his work to many customers in this country and abroad.

The main painting on this page is a particularly interesting commission and shows Simon’s technical ability as well as his artistic skills. Many of you will recognise the buildings in the painting - it is a Capriccio (a mixture of real and imaginary features) of the owner’s house with these iconic buildings in a eorgian setting, an unusual but clever concept.

Simon’s paintings and prints are available at the gallery or online.

Creative Oundle

From the Covid chaos Creative Oundle has risen from the ashes

WHAT AN EXPERIENCE the last 20 months has been: for Creative Oundle it saw frustrations and losses, but from the ashes of disappointment in 2020 and challenges in 2021 they have not only survived but are planting seeds for new growth.

The organisation, which has been at the centre of events and entertainment in Oundle for over 30 years, saw the Covid pandemic lead to cancellations and an enforced hibernation for over 12 months. Unable to deliver any of the activities such as the community cinema, the annual Oundle Food Festival or 10-day arts festival it faced a grim future. But as always the people of Oundle, students of the internationally regarded organ courses they run, funders and supporters managed to secure its survival with their generous donations of unclaimed refunds of money they had already committed to. With this and a confidence in the organisation and its programme from the Government’s Cultural Recovery Fund, and some major cost saving exercises, it just about managed to limp through to the summer of 2021.

Sadly, the organisation had to give up its central Oundle premises where it was the hub for event ticket sales for not only its own events, but that of some wonderful community groups and event organisers, offering tickets for orchestral performances, local pantos, concerts, theatre productions and much, much more. It is very much the same organisation it always was, but it has a new look with reinvigorated energy to bring live events back into the Oundle area. What was the Oundle Music Trust is now Creative Oundle, with a brand new look that encompasses all the activities it has always delivered, with plenty of room for new ones.

July 2021 saw the return of the Oundle International Festival and the Oundle Food Festival. Despite the challenges of holding these events within the restrictions still in place, Oundle came alive over a two week period in July, with a programme of Open Gardens and concerts with musicians, many of whom had not been able to perform since February 2020. Families were able to enjoy open air theatre in a safe way and, of course, the ever popular Party at the Wharf welcomed a reduced capacity audience to have a fabulous evening in the sun with great music, picnics, friends and family.

The Food Festival faced its own challenges but it was a fabulous day welcoming local and artisan producers and suppliers of all things culinary. The traders, Creative Oundle Team and visitors were all delighted to be returning to some sort of normality and getting to enjoy not only live events, but all that Oundle, its businesses and community have to offer.

And so plans now turn to 2022 as the team start to look to a brighter future. The programme of events is already under construction for the 10-day arts festival in July with the Oundle Food Festival heading back to its usual June slot. Alongside these, cinema screenings are hoped to be back in the spring.

As we all head into the winter Creative Oundle may appear to be quiet but it will be far from restful behind the scenes. The charity’s team will be beavering away in preparation for some new plans for creativity in and around Oundle for 2022 and beyond.

For more information, to sign up for Creative Oundle’s mailing list or to find out how you can support them as a registered charity visit their website or follow them on social media: www.creativeoundle.co.uk