Thomas [Tom] DeVany Forrestall

Waddington's Auction House Biography and Notes

On the reverse of this lot, three possible titles have been suggested by Thomas Forrestall (b.1936), however, a note on the reverse from the artist further encourages the viewer to "Give it your own title". Forrestall also provides the following information there: "Horses are wonderful. They draw me to them, not to ride or own but to be a witness. Many years ago I saw a rider take a tumble from a horse. No one was hurt but the incident stayed with me. I was a witness. As with most of what I create, standing back and taking it all in, one thing piles upon another, and then 2 or 3 more join up in my imagination and I get going. "Imagination is greater than knowledge" A great quote from someone, and it so applies in creating art. If you don't know the thing too well there's room for imagination and poetry (in paint) to take over and carry the whole thing off. Too much knowledge would stifle the art and the mystery of it all. Too much knowledge would turn me off, turn me against it. There's a magic point in preliminary studies where there's not too much actual facts that would dampen inspiration but enough to light the fire and behold the vision aglow. For better or worse I must make the creation my own. Too much knowledge, like a photograph, robs me of this possession, this control. I must occupy it. My painting sometimes uses photographs but they never, thank heaven, look like one... Distance has always been an ingredient in my art. There's always a personal connection to what I do. This is important but distance has to be there... Know too much and knowledge rules. Whenever I start to paint it's done with no idea how to do it, or how it will finish."