Born in Oxford in 1975, MJ Forster initially studied a foundation in the arts at Newcastle College of Art and Design before pursuing a degree in Sports Science. The artist spent much of his spare time continuing to paint and draw and upon graduation, quickly resumed his artistic career. Following an extremely successful solo show in his now native North East, he instantly established his own gallery space in Northumberland, exhibiting and selling his work to a local audience.
Continuing his artistic progression, MJ Forster has developed a distinct style and technique associated with the medium of watercolour, reinvigorating what is traditionally perceived as a conventional medium. The work has an almost graphic quality, and contains a feeling of enhanced hyper reality, perhaps intimating something close to a utopian ideal. The fascination and inspiration for the contemporary paintings though, is deeply rooted in the artist’s immediate and wider environment and in particular the unique and varied British landscapes.
Initially, MJ Forster’s watercolour work has a sense of perceived simplicity. The heightened colour values are realised by a series of controlled watercolour washes empathetic to the screen-printing process. The methodical layering of the separate washes, applied dry on dry, allows the surface to open up a much broader palette. Forster likens the work to a sonnet in the sense that they are created within a restrictive framework and out of that limitation a greater creativity emerges.
The artist’s process for each original watercolour is one of reductionism. Likened to a sculptural form, the pictorial space is put through a rigorous design process until what remains is the very core of a place. Through this Forster explores the quintessence of British landscapes, painstakingly executed over a series of studies, every one an advancement on the last.
Working Plein Air in these challenging yet inspiring locations has defined the way the artist has sought to find the very soul of the landscape.
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Silver Birch With Eight Sheepwatercolour 18½" x 26½" £1450 |
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West Coast Of Scotland - A Portrait Ofwatercolour on paper 18¾" x 12½" £750 |
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Highlands - Echoeswatercolour on paper 9¼" x 13" £475 |
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South Coastwatercolour on paper 6½" x 24½" £650 |
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Silver Birch Medium Portraitwatercolour on paper 18½" x 12½" £850 |
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Expansive Silver Birch Landscapewatercolour 15" x 38½" £1850 |
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Small Silver Birch Landscapewatercolour on paper 8½" x 11" £525 |
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The Valleywatercolour on paper 15½" x 19" £1100 |
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Angle Tarn, The Lake Districtwatercolour on paper 480mm x 330mm £750 |
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Early Morning, Beech treeswatercolour on paper 240mm x 350mm £575 |