He's been around the world and back again, but artist Matt Forster finds himself increasingly drawn to painting the landscape of the North-East, where he grew up. He talks to Steve Pratt.

MATT Forster came to realise that he was going to be an artist while at university. This was surprising as he was more likely to be found playing rugby than painting during his time there.

But, after completing his studies in sports science and geography, he returned to Hexham, where he grew up, and opened an art gallery.

"It was a really successful business," he says. "A lot of factors came together and made it work. I was painting mostly landscape of Northumberland, and was hanging everything I was doing."

To help pay the rent, he taught watercolour classes.

Then, after three years, he realised he'd reached his limit on that particular gallery venture. "I didn't want to tire people out with my work. With my last exhibition at the gallery, I sold everything," he says.

He packed his bags and his brushes, spending the next couple of years travelling the world, painting people and places as he moved around the globe from North America to New Zealand.

"There are some great landscapes, which are my first love. I was in Mexico for four months, and settled down for a time in New Zealand. I was doing a lot of studio work as all the ideas I had came together.

"I was painting 50 or 60 hours a week. You could reach a level of concentration that produced results I wouldn't have believed."

The landscapes in New Zealand reminded him of Northumberland, and eventually he decided to come home. Galleries showed interest in his work but he was determined to find his own space to show - and sell - his work.

The result was The Art Works, which opened last year in a former tyre warehouse in Falconar Street in Newcastle. Forster must now be one of the few artists with what amounts to his own personal art gallery exhibiting his work.

"As soon as I walked into the space, I knew it was the right one," he says. "I knew I needed somewhere big, but didn't think location was too crucial. Because I didn't have much money, I had to get open and selling as quickly as possible."

The warehouse hadn't been used for seven years, and the floor was thick with oil. Much scrubbing and painting later, the space emerged as a white-walled gallery and studio.

Balancing art and commerce can be tricky. He doesn't paint to sell, but needs to sell to live. "It's a coincidence that people seem to like what I paint," he says.

"The contact with people coming into the gallery is a big thing. I like talking to people, you learn an awful lot about an awful lot of things. It keeps you well connected and well grounded. To get that feeling is quite important."

Much of the art on show at present reflects his recent travels, from beautiful doorways in Mexico through dry stone walls to, nearer home, black and white scenes of Newcastle. Hadrian's Wall and Tynemouth are among other local places on view among his contemporary art collection.

The Art Works was officially opened by Sir Ian Wrigglesworth, chairman of Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, in December. Forster is looking to stage three or four exhibitions a year in this unique space. "This is very much phase one," he says. "I want to get involved in the community. I never want to say no to anything. You just have to react in a positive, decisive way to suggestions. I'm very open to what comes our way."

He's come far since first picking up a paintbrush when he was four and joining Hexham art group at 14. "Every Tuesday night I was there with all the elderly women. The group held annual exhibitions and I started selling when I was 15," he recalls.

He did A-level art, then took a foundation course in black and white photography at Newcastle College, but decided it wasn't for him.

He'd always played sport and went off to Loughbrough University to study and play rugby. "I kept my art going in the summer when I came home. I got quite a good following just by having one exhibition a year," he says. "I never painted when I was at university, just when I was home for the summer."

Forster says if you come back in a year's time all the paintings will be work he's done locally. More and more, he's returning to the North-East landscape that inspired his early work. He likes to progress, admitting the switches in style sometimes confuse viewers expecting artists to stick with one style.

"I observe and paint what I see. You won't get me sticking with one style, not now or in ten years. Maybe in 30 years it will be different," he says. "But I've a lot more to do before I think about specialising."

*The Art Works is open from Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. Entry is free.

Published: 08/03/2004