“TOUCH OF RED”

WILLIAM FORESTER

Facing Forward Gallery

“Touch of Red” artwork was created out of love by Cleveland artist Bill Forester. His story of loss, love and fighting back offers hope to everyone, especially to stroke survivors. In his article, “Art Saved My Life” he shared his story of rebuilding his life after he suffered from a debilitating and massive hemorrhagic stroke in 2009. After his stroke, he felt as though “his life was over”. His road of recovery has been a long one. Yet, he “ha[s] loved [his] journey back” with the support and love from his family, friends, medical providers, therapists and art community.

CWR is fortunate to own and to admire one of Bill’s pieces, “Touch of Red”, that manifests hope, inspiration, faith, perseverance. The warm yet vibrant red canvas radiates energy – and hope. In the middle of the canvas, you will find black dots and lines. These were added to the canvas much later. Bill decided to share one of his lingering symptoms from his stroke. These black dots represent what he sees in his field of vision on a daily basis.

About the Artist

Prior to Bill’s stroke in 2009, he was the Asst. Director for the US Dept. of Labor, a public speaker, and a university professor. Instead of continuing his daily life, he was faced with years of treatment and rehabilitation from medical centers in Cleveland and in foreign countries. After his stroke, he couldn’t pick up anything with his right hand. During his rehab treatment he re-learned to pick up objects. One such object was a paintbrush. Prior to his stroke, he had never painted. He was encouraged to start painting during rehab to help to regain use of his right arm and hand. Painting not only became part of his routine, but his motivation and a way to cope with his stress. He said that “art had given me a purpose” and “after my stroke, I found my hands.” Painting had offered him “a ray of hope”.

It's incredibly difficult to believe that Bill has neither received any formal art training nor painted prior to 2009. Two of Cleveland’s renowned artists, who are also featured in CWR’s Art Gallery, Robert Hartshorn and Leila Rose Cole, are two of Bill’s art supporters and mentors. He has been studying art under Hartshorn for the past eight years. They are good friends and Hartshorn proudly stated that “Bill has a natural artistic vision”. He “can see depth” and “can paint everything from seascapes, portraits and abstract art”. This is evident while looking at Touch of Red, and some of his other paintings, including an inspirational self-portrait series Facing Forward.

Facing Forward

“Facing Forward” is Bill’s mantra, the name of his art studio, the name of his first exhibition, and of a self-portrait series representing his journey back. Also, while receiving treatment in Mexico, he painted a self-portrait with the words “I believe in myself”.

Rob Hartshorn enlarged a copy of Bill’s fingerprint to display at the entrance of Bill’s first exhibit, Facing Forward. As guests arrived, they inked their thumb into a color stamp of their choice and then added their fingerprint to this enlarged art piece. The stroke left Bill without feeling in parts of his body. Bill was able to “see” his guests’ and friends’ touch since he couldn’t feel it during a hug or handshake. This piece is currently on view outside of Robert Hartshorn Studios at 78th Gallery located downtown Cleveland.

Giving Back

Bill has given back to the stroke victims and their communities in multiple ways. First, travels the world as a public speaker inspiring hope and perseverance to stroke victims. This started while receiving treatment in Mexico, including speech therapy. His message of spreading hope to other stroke victims was so important to him that he started to publicly speak again during speech therapy when his speech was still affected. Secondly, he continues to raise funds to support stroke victims and their families. When asked to speak in India, he was so moved by the area’s poor living conditions that he wanted to offer as much hope as possible. He raised enough funds to provide a young child and her family to build a concrete house, a vast improvement from their tent, and enough money to provide the child with an education.