Local art scene a pleasant surprise

 

Despite having weathered the storm of living mid-city during the Christchurch earthquakes and their aftermath, artist Gayle Forster toughed it out rebuilding her life while retaining her position as tutor at Christchurch’s Hagley Community College, a post she had held for seventeen years.

“It was no-frills teaching,” says Gayle of her five teaching programmes. “Very little uniformity from no-frills pupils but a lot of talent, a keenness to learn and some great ideas from budding artists not afraid to express themselves in paint – quite different from the State system.”

Last year a casual visit to Mangawhai whetted her appetite for a change but the speed of the change took even her by surprise.

“Quite unexpectedly my offer on a house was accepted, I resigned my post, and my Chrischurch flat sold at the same moment,” Gayle recalls, all this without any knowledge of the art scene emanating from Mangawhai.

Gayle’s paintings reflect her fascination of the formation of the land, from Christchurch city and Banks Peninsula, the geothermal surrounds of Rotorua and the west coast mining environment.

However, where Christchurch was predominantly buildings, her Mangawhai art leans more towards water and coastal images of subject.

“The coastal scenes are positive and very inspirational,” says Gayle who never ventures far without a sketch-book close at hand. “Colour changes of the Estuary are often surreal and change with the time of day or the weather.”

Arriving in December gave her just enough time to make some new friends, absorb a little of what local artists were doing and set up her studio for the Art Trail in January.

Though her early education pointed to home science then a Diploma in Teaching, it was her Diploma in Fine Arts that set the direction her life would ultimately take. Art has become her interest, her passion and ultimately her vocation.

Though from a farming background, Gayle majored as a printmaker at Canterbury University. Her post-grad work took her to England for three years where she embraced her bold use of colour, then onto Germany and Japan where she furthered her studies in the woodcut, mixing colours from natural products and the custom of sharpening brushes to achieve the desired effect for each different project.

Her output has been extensive over the years with works hanging in several galleries around the country as well as publishing her own book, Storyscapes, on the history of her art.

“If I had a particular genre it would probably be ‘experimental’ but I like trying out different media,” says Gayle who also encourages this in the pupils who attend her tuition groups at Artstudiospace, the full working studio at her home in Grove Rd. This may deviate from the traditional watercolour, acrylic and collage to wood or even hot wax on canvas.

Gayle clearly has a lot to offer budding artists and Mangawhai also has a lot to offer Gayle Forster. She invites groups or individuals for tuition on a range of short or long courses.

NEW HOME: Artist Gayle Forster is keen be inspired artistically by her new Mangawhai surroundings.

By Rob Pooley

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