1.02.2013

Spotlight: Artist Craig Alan

Hey . . 

I came across the work of artist Craig Alan recently and was amazed, you will be too.  Born in 1971 in California he was always drawn to the artistic side of life (I can relate).  It was not until his family transferred to New Orleans that his creative side came to light exploring his own ingenious instinct.  His earliest experimentation took the form of street portraiture, which helped him perfect his flair for replicating the human form.  His sophomore year at the University of Mobile he began vigorously training in art.  After earning academic excellence at the university's most prestigious exhibition, "Art with a Southern Drawl," 42 of Craig's pieces were chosen from a field of more than 1,6000 submissions.

 Take a look . . . 



Craig was a member of the marching band in high school and he says he knows first hand how getting people to work in any sort of coordinated fashion is as difficult as herding cats.  These aerial portraits of people organized in the likeness of pop culture icons and places seem like it'd be a doozy to put together, Craig agreed and instead of wrangling crowds into formation, he painted each figure in trompe l'oeil fashion - amazing, right?  The inspiration behind the artwork came when he took photos from a building balcony and was intrigued by patterns created by the teeny tiny people walking about below.  It's that right there that shows the true mind of an artist - awesome.