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For Ken Forbister, wildlife art has been a life-long obsession. Raised in the mixed
conifer forest of the Sandilands in eastern Manitoba, Forbister was exposed to nature
at an early age as he accompanied his father on fishing and hunting trips.
He began to look and discover aspects of nature on his own, committing his
ideas to paper through drawing and painting. It was then he knew he wanted to be
a wildlife artist. Majoring in commercial art in high school, he accepted
employment with an outdoor sign company and later specialized in architectural
illustration. Though not the serious painting he desired, he credits both
sources as providing the discipline and detail that has enriched his art.
"There are many artists with talent and drive but only the successful ones
have learned discipline."
Throughout this period he continued to experiment, producing acrylic
paintings and pencil drawings of varied styles and subjects, but always his
interest led back to realism and within realism to wildlife. Now concentrating
solely on wildlife art, his work has sold to private and corporate collectors
across Canada. Purchasers are as diverse as Ducks Unlimited, the French
Consulate to Canada and a real estate firm. His ideas come from field research,
photography, specimens and pure imagination. "I capture the moment, the
basic idea with photography or my own memory, and then adapt it."
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