Roy De Forest, one of the preeminent artists of the Bay Area, is considered a pioneering figure in the Funk and Nut Art movements, although he rejected the labels. He was best known for painting depictions of bizarre, often humorous narrative scenes painted in vivid colors that often embracing popular and fantastic imagery. At Tamarind, De Forest constructed images from his private mythology about journeys taken through fanciful landscapes that are inhabited by questing travelers and canine creatures.

De Forest arrived in San Francisco in 1950 to attend the California School of Fine Arts, then taught at the University of California, Davis, for almost three decades. His work has been exhibited at galleries and museums throughout the U.S. including the Museum of Modern Art (NYC); Philadelphia Museum of Art; University of California, Riverside; and Stanford University. His work can be found in Albright-Knox Art Gallery (NY); the Berkeley Art Museum (CA); the Brooklyn Museum (NY); Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (OR); National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.); the Walker Art Center (MN), and many more.