Profile

One of Forrest Young’s portrait illustration techniques is a style of drawing which uses words instead of lines and shading to render form and value — thousands of hand-lettered words. He’s been commissioned for Lyric Portraits of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mr. (Fred) Rogers, Maya Angelou, Neil Peart (drummer and lyricist for Rush), Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Gandalf The Grey, Rufus Wainwright, and many more. His award-winning work has been published in Spectrum, PBS, CMYK, to name a few and he has contributed to numerous fundraising charities.

Forrest’s outstanding illustration and portrait skills in other media (colored pencil, collage, and watercolors) caught the attention of educators throughout his early years, ultimately landing him a scholarship to attend The Illustration Academy. There, he studied with Mark English, John English, Gregory Manchess, Gary Kelly, Sterling Hundley, Greg Spalenka, Anita Kunz, George Pratt and Robert Meganck. Today Forrest accepts commissions and helps students achieve their artistic goals. He is also an Emmy award winning drummer.