Tony has been painting spectacular Wildlife Art ❤️ for more than thirty years and has had sell out exhibitions on both sides of the Atlantic, from London to Birmingham to Scotland and all the way to Florida in the USA.
His limited editions and original paintings have been sold in the most prestigious Galleries & shops in the UK, a list that even includes the world famous department
Tony has been painting spectacular Wildlife Art ❤️ for more than thirty years and has had sell out exhibitions on both sides of the Atlantic, from London to Birmingham to Scotland and all the way to Florida in the USA.
His limited editions and original paintings have been sold in the most prestigious Galleries & shops in the UK, a list that even includes the world famous department store: Harrods.
He has been an adamant supported of Wildlife Conservation and various charities, including the Born Free Foundation and David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, to name but two. Having been on safari more times than 'he can remember,' including his first to Tsavo in Kenya, each time it has renewed Tony's commitment to raising awareness of wildlife protection.
Unsurprisingly, Tony's inspiration was the late artist David Shepherd (1931-2017), perhaps the UK's most famous Artist conversationist, David had been his hero since he was a teenager. Forrest's own words about David:
'A real hero who did so much for our precious natural world. David will live on in my memory and I thank him for doing everything he did for wildlife.'
Tony is one of only a handful of artists who has traversed various eras (& decades) of wildlife art publication and from my own knowledge has been licensed by three major UK publishing houses including: Solomon & Whitehead (defunct), Washington Green & more recently Demontfort Fine Art Publishers.
"My talent came at a very early age. At the age of eight I have a clear recollection of having a fascination with numbers painting, and painting surpassed all other forms of entertainment. I am happy to say that I no longer use this technique artificial!
During my years of high school in Devon I excelled in the art, and by the end of my school life, art seems to be the most appropriate and natural path for me to follow. The great catalyst for me, however, was seeing a film about the work of David Shepherd.
It was so exciting and inspiring that immediately sparked my interest in painting wildlife in oils. After leaving the university, Cornwall, in 1982, I gradually made the transition from technical illustration of oil painting over the next eight years.
In 1990 I was painting wildlife full-time, and after my first exhibition in the Hall of Marwell, at Marwell Zoo in Hampshire, I began my regular visits to Africa. I have been traveling to various countries in Africa and since then I feel that my work improves with each exciting journey, as well as my understanding of the natural world.
The inspiration for the work I do comes from animals and landscapes that I see around me. Hardly a day goes by when I do not see something I wonder what it would look like a painting! I always try to imagine how it could "enhance" the real thing and create a more potent effect in the paint. It is largely light and the atmosphere around the issue that makes me want to paint. Given the choice of a cheetah without light or a dead tree in the glorious sunshine, I would like to paint the tree before.
Whenever possible, I would also like to remind people about conservation. It has been said many times before, but we really are the only creatures destructive on this fragile planet. If we do not deal with this world, which belongs to all forms of life, not only the human race, and everything else around us will eventually suffer the consequences."
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