Wales

Uber Wales has a more complex pictorial plane than many other works in this series.  The eye is led from the meandering river in the foreground, through to a stretch of open water and onwards towards the majestic beauty of a mountain range.  The distinctive palette reflects a moment in time; on a late afternoon day, a window of low autumn light in the clouds casts its gaze on a reflective lake.  The golden leaves of the birch recall a hazy memory of summer sun.  The scene portrays the balance in nature of the intimate and vast changes in the Welsh landscape.

‘There are several components of this piece’ Forster reflects, ‘that really bring a number of very contrasting subject matters together.  My intention is to take a journey of the eye sweeping around the whole composition starting and ending as if you can just walk into the frame and be in the painting; to allow the viewer personal ownership of the scene, and project their own feelings on the work.’

‘I wanted this scene to have a very peaceful sense to it; very contemplative. This is the sort of view you might take in while sitting on a bench. Observe the light reflecting on the lake, a sense of a light wind and a quiet birdsong from the abundant trees and babbling stream working its way from the mountains to the lake. This creates a natural barrier separating the viewer from the rest of the painting.’

The scene evokes the crispness of late autumn, resonating in the feeling of cold with the early snow fall on the hills. There is again a sense of something ahead; the sky is relatively unsettled. There is also a feeling of an obstruction; of denseness within the impenetrable forest.

Perhaps no other writer or artist best embodies Wales, as Dylan Thomas; particularly in his ode ‘A child’s Christmas in Wales. ‘The silent one-clouded heavens drifted on to the sea. Now we were snow-blind travellers lost on the north hills, and vast dewlapped dogs, with flasks round their necks, ambled and shambled up to us, baying “Excelsior.”’.  In recent times, the Welsh painter Kyffin Williams has gained national and international acclaim for his work on Welsh hill farmers. His unique application of paint, layered impasto with a palette knife, is now much revered and mimicked.   Places of note in this beautiful country include the Celtic Manor Resort, stunningly located on the foothills of Newport.  Rural mid-Wales is the setting for the Lake Country House, providing the perfect base to explore the surrounding countryside.