Tony Forrest
Painting Visually Powerful Masterpieces
British born wildlife painter Tony Forrest has established himself as one of England’s premier wildlife artists. Tony’s life took a dramatic turn after watching a TV program on the work of renowned wildlife artist, David Shepherd. “From that moment I was hooked on painting animals!” He was driven to perfect a similar painting technique using loose brushstrokes to create dramatic light and texture on canvas. ...More...
After college, Tony worked as an illustrator at an advertising agency until 1990 when he made the shift to painting wildlife full-time. His passion was fueled by his first ever one-man exhibition which resulted in half of his paintings selling on the opening night and the remainder, shortly thereafter. It was after this show that Tony embarked on his first trip to Africa.
Tony’s extensive travels include visits to the jungles of Rwanda to study and photograph the silverback gorillas, expeditions to the Masai Mara to capture the great migrations of millions of zebra and wildebeest and regular visits to the game parks of Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa. “I strive for perfection. Perfection for me is to produce a painting that is as visually powerful as possible. It has to really stir me emotionally. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t see something that makes me wonder what it would look like as a painting. I always try to imagine how I could “improve” the real thing. It is largely the light and atmosphere around the subject that makes me want to paint it. Given the choice of a cheetah with no light or a dead tree in glorious sunlight – I would sooner paint the tree!”
A staunch conservationist, Tony is a member of the Society of Animal Artists and the Worldwide Nature Artists Group. He has raised funds for the Tusk Trust, a charity which funds various conservation projects in Africa and in 2004 he participated in the “Africa To The Everglades” group exhibition at Native Visions Gallery which was attended by Dr. Jane Goodall.
“I take my art very seriously and feel genuine excitement at the thought of being able to capture and manipulate the natural world in oil paint in order to give people a sense of awe and wonder and hopefully also give them something unique which they can derive pleasure from every day”....Less...
British born wildlife painter Tony Forrest has established himself as one of England’s premier wildlife artists. Tony’s life took a dramatic turn after watching a TV program on the work of renowned wildlife artist, David Shepherd. “From that moment I was hooked on painting animals!” He was driven to perfect a similar painting technique using loose brushstrokes to create dramatic light and texture on canvas. ...More...
After college, Tony worked as an illustrator at an advertising agency until 1990 when he made the shift to painting wildlife full-time. His passion was fueled by his first ever one-man exhibition which resulted in half of his paintings selling on the opening night and the remainder, shortly thereafter. It was after this show that Tony embarked on his first trip to Africa.
Tony’s extensive travels include visits to the jungles of Rwanda to study and photograph the silverback gorillas, expeditions to the Masai Mara to capture the great migrations of millions of zebra and wildebeest and regular visits to the game parks of Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa. “I strive for perfection. Perfection for me is to produce a painting that is as visually powerful as possible. It has to really stir me emotionally. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t see something that makes me wonder what it would look like as a painting. I always try to imagine how I could “improve” the real thing. It is largely the light and atmosphere around the subject that makes me want to paint it. Given the choice of a cheetah with no light or a dead tree in glorious sunlight – I would sooner paint the tree!”
A staunch conservationist, Tony is a member of the Society of Animal Artists and the Worldwide Nature Artists Group. He has raised funds for the Tusk Trust, a charity which funds various conservation projects in Africa and in 2004 he participated in the “Africa To The Everglades” group exhibition at Native Visions Gallery which was attended by Dr. Jane Goodall.
“I take my art very seriously and feel genuine excitement at the thought of being able to capture and manipulate the natural world in oil paint in order to give people a sense of awe and wonder and hopefully also give them something unique which they can derive pleasure from every day”....Less...
