leaving the city

Martin Dobson was born in Manchester 1947, stimulated by visual imagery from early childhood; began painting seriously and exhibiting in the early1970s, whilst employed in commercial photography. He had formal art training, but learnt much from association with other artists.Martin has been mainly concerned with exploring the interplay of light and form to produce tonal atmospheric avocations, usually expressed as restricted palette or near-monochrome works.

For many years painting was concentrated on imagery inspired by memories of the steam railway.Involved in numerous exhibitions on this theme, usually with fellow practitioners (Trevor Grimshaw being one) of the genre

From the early 1980s interest began to swing more towards the rural landscape, mostly through photographic work around country and coastal areas, and an increasing discontent with urban living.

Martin has always found equal stimulation in both painting and photography and regard them as complementary elements in the same work of expression of landscape imagery. He also finds a fruitful cross-feeding and beneficial insight from one discipline to the other.