Looking for something?

Tap outside or press close

InspirationArt & Culture

Überpainting: Artist takes his unique style to create layered watercolour artworks

It was in 2008 when Northumberland artist Matt Forster slipped into a style of painting he likes to call Überpainting, with Über – in a literal sense – meaning over, over done, over layered and over the top. Using four different washes of the same watercolours, he creates deliciously muted landscape artworks that consist of successive layers of paint, each uniform in tone and colour.

Written By:
Stylised landscape with pale birch trees, purple rounded bushes and a winding blue stream across layered fields in muted greens, browns and yellows

Taking inspiration from the British countryside, Matt loves to paint mountains, coasts and trees, celebrating the diverse landscape that this fair isle enjoys. Speaking of his unique approach, he explained: "An Überpainting is created within a restrictive framework: I have a rule set that I work to. Some rules are imposed by the inherent restrictions of the medium itself, while others come from me.

"This is what created the consistent appearance of the paintings despite the variation in subject. For example, If I were to draw a comparison between painting and literature, oil painting is the novel, watercolour is poetry, and Überpainting is like a sweet sonnet. So it’s out of this restriction – coupled with a consistent appearance – that a greater creativity emerges."

To find out more visit www.mjforster.com.

Layered watercolour landscape with tall trees framing a misty valley and distant mountains beneath a golden-hour sky
Weathered wooden door with peeling paint set in a pink-walled archway, overhung with climbing ivy in muted watercolour layers by Matt Forster
Layered watercolour landscape painting depicting rolling snowy hills with distant trees and buildings beneath a soft, clouded sky in muted purples and golds
Layered watercolour landscape with white birch trees in foreground, yellow fields and blue stream, purple mountains and dark trees under mauve sky by Matt Forster
Stylised woodland scene with layered watercolour washes in muted greens, purples and browns, showing tree trunks and a stream in the centre
Share

Further Reading