Brian Forrest – Seattle AsiaTown
Temple #2, Plaza, Maynard Ave. and S. King St., oil on canvas, 36 x 24 in
The Players, Maynard Ave., oil on canvas, 18 x 24 in
7th Ave. S., near S. Weller St, oil on canvas, 24 x 36 in
Archway, S. King St., oil on canvas, 24 x 36 in
The Players #2, Maynard Ave. and S. King St., oil on canvas, 24 x 24 in
Dragon, Jackson St., oil on canvas, 24 x 36 in
Hong Kong Cafe, oil on canvas, 36 x 24 in
Temple, Plaza, Maynard Ave. and S. King St., oil on canvas, 36 x 24 in
Introducing Brian Forrest and his new exhibit “Seattle AsiaTown”. His series of twelve remarkable paintings, depicting scenes of Seattle’s International District, are now on display at Beltown Lofts Gallery in Seattle, WA. Forrest explains his inspiration for his AsiaTown work in the following statement.
Seattle’s International District (a.k.a. Chinatown) is an excellent subject for painting with its vibrant color and energy. This part of town holds many cherished memories for me. As a child, my parents brought me here to do their shopping and to dine in its delicious restaurants. This is my tribute to Seattle AsiaTown’s beauty and mystery. ~ BF
Artist Bio
Born in Canada and bred in the U.S., Brian Forrest works in many mediums: oil painting, computer graphics, theatre, digital music, film, and video. Brian studied acting at Columbia Pictures in Los Angeles, digital media in art and design at Bellevue College (receiving degrees in Web Multimedia Authoring and Digital Video Production.) He works in the Seattle, WA area in design/media/fine art. Influenced by past and current colorist painters. Brian’s raw and expressive works hover between realism and abstraction.
Artist Statement
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, sometimes 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. Its 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 something worth holding on to.
Brian Forrest at Beltown Lofts Gallery
Hey Brian..dude.I loved your artwork.Very expressive art strokes with a hint of German expressionism. It looks like impasto.I’m visiting from San Diego for a week. How do I meet up with you? Would like to take a portrait of you before I leave town. Shoot me an email. My name is Elle at mydigitalpicasso@yahoo:disqus http://www.ellegamboa.com/.com