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Chris Forsey
Chris Forsey began his career as an artist, as an illustrator in a publisher's studio after studying art and graphics in Bristol. He is a self-taught watercolour painter, and is constantly trying to extend and add to his skills in water-based media. He has exhibited on numerous occasions with the Royal Watercolour Society and the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour. Chris is also a tutor of painting and runs his own watercolour classes in Surrey, Sussex and the Greek Islands. He also gives lively and informative demonstrations to art societies and groups throughout South East England.
Chris says of his work: "I endeavour to re-appraise my style and technique on a regular basis and this has led me towards a mixed-media approach to my work, combining watercolour, acrylic, pastel and gouache. I am exhilarated by colour and surface and enjoy creating textured layers of dry-brushed colour that allow hints of complementary hue to glow through, thus creating an exciting surface of scattered, broken colour."
"I specialise in landscape subjects, exploring the themes of man-made alongside organic: buildings by water; structure emerging from a rocky cliff, sometimes with figures contributing to this theme, inhabiting the middle ground between buildings and the wildness of nature. I am inspired by downland, coastal scenes of the UK and the Mediterranean, café life and townscapes. I try to capture the sense of place at a specific moment, season or time of day, always endeavouring to bring passion and immediacy to my work." Chris was awarded the prestigious F Donald Blake award for a contemporary watercolour by the Lincoln Joyce gallery in 2006 at the RI spring exhibition and has also received The Matt Bruce Memorial Award for light and colour at the 2007 RI exhibition.