HELMSLEY Galleries has announced its new exhibition of paintings by the internationally renowned artist, M J Forster.

The exhibition, which is located at Feversham Arms Hotel and Verbena Spa, in Helmsley, opens on May 9, with around 25 of the artist’s latest paintings on display.

M J Forster is a watercolour painter who works with bold expanses of colour. His paintings have been well received at exhibitions in London and throughout the UK.

Born in Oxford in 1975, Forster has lived and worked for many years in Northumberland.

He studied science at university but decided that he wanted to pursue a career in art and set about what he calls his own form of art degree, travelling the world for two years during which time he immersed himself in painting and reading art history.

 

York Press:

MJ Forster at work

Extensive travels provided him with rich and diverse experiences from which he was able to develop a unique style of painting on his return to Britain in 2003. Working in watercolour he concentrates on portraying the British landscape: He said: “It has always been the immediacy and the instantaneous spontaneity of watercolour that has appealed to me. The most underrated, misrepresented and misunderstood of all the painting mediums.

“In theory of course it’s simple; you can only lay a darker colour on top of a lighter one. The implications of that have taken me 20 years to begin to overcome. I’m a watercolour purist; I use no white paint, no highlights, no masking agents, only the paper.

“Unlike other painting mediums with watercolour there is no room for error, there is no pause, no rewind, only forwards, and no means of correction. It must be executed perfectly first time around, like an actor on a stage. This makes its performance as a medium all the more impressive, what it can do, the emotions it can stir, the visions it can achieve are it’s alone.”

Charles Merchie, general manager at the Feversham Arms Hotel and Verbena Spa, said: “We’re delighted to house the Helmsley Galleries in the hotel and we welcome M J Forster with his latest exhibition.

“Our guests are impressed by the talented artists we have on display and we look forward to seeing art lovers from across the North East travelling to Helmsley to view the works.”

Forster’s exhibition will be on view weekdays and at weekends from 10am.

To find out more about the exhibition, as well as more details on the artists which are exhibiting at the Galleries, go to helmsleygalleries.co.uk