Malcolm Dobbins lives and works at the MADOX Forge Studio in Northumberland. Here, the artist produces paintings and sculpture for exhibition and on commission. He also works as a part time lecturer for Newcastle College.

Formal studies were taken over a 7 year period at Sunderland University. The artist worked in engineering for many years before this, hence the interest in steel sculpture.

Of his work: ‘Oils are my preferred choice of media for exhibition and aqueous dispersion for al fresco work. Paintings are landscape, seascape or figurative; although I do produce one off works on a theme, occasionally. When I’m not painting I make sculpture; either in welded metal or timber or both.

I am a keen fell walker and have been for the past twenty odd years. Alfred Wainwright is the inspiration for new paintings of Lakeland Fells as well as Scottish mountains; these will feature in the next landscape exhibition, probably at the Flat Cat Gallery, Lauder in the Scottish Borders.

I’m currently working on two figurative sculpture commissions; the first, for a large garden in Northumberland, is being constructed in Western Red Cedar. It is both functional as well as decorative. Its function will be as a ‘bee hotel’ and will look like a large seed pod over 2 metres tall when finished. The second commission; for a garden in Newcastle, is constructed from welded steel and will take the form of large spade like leaves on the end of longish curved steel stalks’.