Lyric Portraits

Lyric Portraits Drawings, literally containing thousands of hand-written words instead of the usual contours, hatching, and shading marks.
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Forrest Young is an illustrator, musician, and teacher hailing from RVA. His “Lyric Portraits” and colored pencil masterpieces are just the tip of the artistic iceberg, hinting at a deep treasure trove of creative expressions. Graduating second in his 2002 class from Virginia Commonwealth University’s Communication Arts & Design Department, Forrest has shared his knowledge with students in countle

ss state institutions, including: The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, The Visual Arts Center of Richmond, VCU, George Mason University, Henrico, Fairfax, Lynchburg, and Chesterfield County Public Schools, as well as every public library in Virginia. With three Emmy Awards under his belt, Forrest’s drawings and drumming (yes, he’s a professional percussionist, too!) have been featured in numerous PBS documentaries. His illustrations have been featured in such publications as: The Society of Illustrators, Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, CMYK Magazine, Virginia Journal of Education, and has even been autographed by James Taylor in recognition of his efforts to promote Martin Luther King Day using his lyrics to, “Shed A Little Light.”

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Richmond, VA

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(804) 852-5796

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Portraits and other imagery made entirely out of hand-lettered words in ink over original blue-pencil drawings.

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More Than A Thousand Words…

You've all heard the old saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words..." But, what if an image literally contains thousands upon thousands of actual words instead of the usual contours, hatching, and shading marks? If an artist painstakingly hand-lettered countless words to depict the varying tones and textures of a subject, does this new spin on that familiar phrase mean that an image can tell an even richer story?

“Lyric Portraits,” is a concept that stemmed from my fascination with both drawing and writing. Years ago I had a joint show with local muralist, Happy The Artist, at the Richmond Public Library entitled, “The History of The Pencil.” In our research, we found that letter forms originally came from pictures, gradually evolving into what we write today. It can be difficult to wrap your head around, but this means that drawings made of words may come full-circle, back to what we as humans once used to communicate in the first place!

If you would like to see how a picture can be created out of words, check out my channel on YouTube: Forrest Young - ArtThruZ, and go to the “Lyric Portraits” playlist. In it, you will find pen and ink drawings I made of Martin Luther King, Mr. Rogers, Maya Angelou, Rufus Wainwright, Neil Peart, and much more, all using this method. If you have an idea for something you think would look great in words, let me know in the comments, or email me directly at: [email protected]. I want to make a difference in the world with this art. Perhaps certain subjects could inspire people to donate to worthy (wordy?) causes. That kind of thing interests me greatly.

— Forres Young