Jennifer Forster - Artist
MY STORY
WELCOME
Jennifer Forster lives on the cattle property Willaway, nestled at the base of the Snowy Mountains near Tumut, in regional New South Wales, Australia. From her woolshed studio and gallery, she looks out across the rolling valley, over the farm she shares with her husband John, and down toward the Tumut River. Surrounded by this ever-changing landscape, inspiration is never far away.
Jennie has worked as a professional artist for over twenty-five years, with a strong foundation in drawing and painting that underpins both her studio practice and teaching. She teaches drawing and painting across a wide range of media and is a highly sought-after tutor and art judge throughout regional New South Wales.
Jennie’s practice is rooted in close observation and a deep sensitivity to place. Drawing and painting form the backbone of her work, providing a language through which she explores light, colour, and atmosphere as lived experience rather than fixed description. Her paintings and drawings emerge from a sustained engagement with the environment, where looking becomes a quiet, intuitive act.
Working across acrylics, oils, inks, and mixed media, Jennie moves fluidly between representation and abstraction. Tonal impressionism anchors her approach, yet the process remains exploratory, allowing the material qualities of paint and mark-making to guide each work. She is drawn to the tension between control and spontaneity, seeking moments where the medium itself begins to speak.
Landscape and nature are central to her practice—whether encountered while traveling throughout Australia and overseas, or within the familiar rhythms of her own backyard. A sketchbook is her constant companion, serving as a visual diary that records fleeting impressions, shifts in light, and the emotional resonance of place. These drawings become both a meditation and a point of departure, informing larger works developed in the studio.
Ultimately, Jennie’s work is less about documenting what is seen, and more about responding to what is felt—the essence of a place, held briefly, then translated through paint
Jennie has presented more than thirty successful solo exhibitions and has exhibited extensively in joint exhibitions and competitive shows. She is the recipient of numerous awards, and her work is held in public, corporate, and private collections across Australia, New Zealand, China, India, England, and the United States
