At first glance, his art seems a series of blotches on canvas that forms portraits or objects, but a closer look reveals that those tiny specks are actually people crowding around in such a way as to create a work of art. No, these people have not been placed there to compose the art, but meticulously sketched on the canvas…individual by individual!
This art is the hallmark of Craig Alan and he calls it his Populus series. The inspiration for creating this series came as he was viewing a wedding party from a balcony that overlooked the Orange Beach in Alabama. So distant were the wedding guests that they appeared as specks and they seemed to him to be making the shape of an eye merely by their position on the ground.
Says Craig, “Inspiration begins with a ‘What if…’ as I consider alternate imagery, surfaces, effects, results, etc. It comes from the past in conjunction with now. Like a bolt of lightning.” And lightning did strike him, as he went on to include in his Populus series numerous celebrities and icons, such as Audrey Hepburn, Darth Vader, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Freddie Mercury, Gandhi, James Bond, James Dean, John Lennon, Lady Justice, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Pablo Picasso, Queen Elizabeth, Salvador Dali, Van Gough and many more.
Craig, born in San Bernardino in 1971, was raised in the Atlanta area. From the very childhood, he was interested in art. The walls of his parental house bear testimony to his artistic passion. When he turned seven, his artistic talents became evident, as he excelled in an introductory drawing class in school. He went on to develop his artistic skills and went in for a formal art education.
Craig came into his element when he started pursuing art in the summer art classes that he got while on a soccer scholarship at the University of Mobile, Alabama. He even started drawing and selling the portraits of passersby to perfect his flair for portrait making. His art was influenced by disparate elements, such as techniques in makeup and set design that he learned to pursue theatre and pottery. The university’s most prestigious exhibition, called ‘Art with a Southern Drawl’, included one of his works, chosen out of 1,600 entries.
After a slight diversification towards framing art that took his four creative years, he reverted to his passion of art and joined other artists. Today, his works are displayed in over 15 galleries in major US cities, more than 40 galleries in England and nine galleries in Germany and Canada. He also has a sizeable following on the internet.
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Craig Alan Studio
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