Craig Alan
Craig Alan is open to the idea that there is an energy outside of himself that fosters creativity. "I don't know what it is, but I know it's out there, and when I tap into it, when I'm having a communion with it, it flows through me," he says. "I try to be receptive to it. I don't try to fight back. If I do, I hit walls. I open myself up to be receptive to what the universe is telling me to create."
Born in 1971, Craig Alan began his creative career at a young age. In his childhood home outside Atlanta, Alan took a box of crayons to the walls of his parents home. Surely his parents were not thrilled, but by age seven they could not deny their son’s artistic talent.
After taking an introductory drawing class in primary school, Alan began to develop his technical skills at home. It wasn’t until the artist attended the University of Mobile, AL that he realized his passion could lead to a career. To support his schooling, Alan drove to New Orleans on the weekends to create portraits for passerbys on the street. The University expanded Alan’s artistic horizons, while his weekend excursions gave him the repetitive technical practice needed for artistic success.
Alan is most well known for his “Populus” series, which began while the artist was visiting his mother in Orange Beach, Alabama. Sitting on his mother’s 6th story balcony, he began photographing the beach goers below. Through the lens, Alan noticed the patrons grouped to gether to take the shape of a human eye. This experience sparked the idea of his most iconic artworks that have come to represent dozens of celebrities and icons of all ages.
