Featured Artist:
Allen Forrest
On Painting
Painting is a cross between a crap shoot, finding your
way out of the woods, and performing a magic act. Each
time I begin to paint I feel like I am walking
a tightrope sometimes scary, sometimes exciting, some-
times very quiet, and always, always surprising; leading
me where I never expected to go. Doing art makes me lose
all sense of time and place and go inside one long moment
of creating. Whenever I feel a painting in my gut, I know
this is why I paint. The colors are the message, I feel
them before my mind has a chance to get involved. Color
is the most agile and dynamic medium to create joy. And
if you can find joy in your art, then you’ve found some-
thing worth holding on to.
On Drawing
Drawing is like the foundation and framing of a house.
The ability to draw goes hand in hand with the ability to
visualize. What you want to draw and how you want to draw
can change with time. You must push yourself, but you
must also let go and let things happen. Allow what you
consider mistakes to be an opportunity to create some-
thing different than you intended, this may lead you to
an exciting new direction in your work.
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