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About me:
I was Born in South Dakota and
have been a current a resident of Lemon Grove, California, for 18 years.
Painter from the age of seven.
Awarded a scholarship for study at the Chouinard Art Institute, Los Angeles.
Studied privately with Willie McGrath, San Francisco, and Parrieta Hester,
San Diego.
Studied art at Saddleback Junior College.
Currently in Painting IV
class at Cuyamaca College.
Member of the San Diego Portrait Society and the San Diego Art Institute.
My work has been sold to private collections in New York, Chicago, Manhattan Beach, Chula Vista, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, and San Juan Capistrano.
I have exhibited in shows in Los Angeles, Rancho Santa Fe, La Jolla, Poway Center for the Arts, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, and San Diego.
The Lemon Grove Historical Society mounted a solo exhibition of my work in The Parsonage Museum in 2001, and commissioned a series of murals on Kumeyaay history and Lemon Grove pioneers as a permanent installation in the museum. The murals can be seen on Saturdays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. or by appointment on weekdays between 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. (call 619-460-4353).
Working on the mural
My recent awards include: Best of Show in the 2004 La Mesa Juried "Walkway of the Stars", and the Showcase and President's Choice in the 2004 Cuyamaca College Student Art Show.
As a colorist, figure painter, muralist and portraitist, I am not seeking the purely "beautiful," but rather a strong, clear expression of the essence of a person or object or place. Among my current commissions are portraits, landscapes, and the "American Family" series. The latter involves painting on large canvases and wood with a combination of oils, pastels, acrylics, charcoal, and fabric and paper collage, to express the inner lives of a diverse family group touched by tragedy, joy, and the "mysterious mundane" of everyday life.
On one level, my work is an homage to my father, the late Vernon Allen, who studied with Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin and went on to become an architectural draftsman, aviation draftsman, and later in life, a water colorist in Carlsbad - and to all those driven to make art in an effort to see the world with fresh eyes. Art is a voyage of discovery - and there is no telling what one might bring home from such a journey!
My father wasn't the only influence in my family. In fact, all of my family were artists at times during their lives, and each had a tremendous influence on my later work. Some of their works can be seen below at:
Margaret Allen (my late mother)
Patrick Allen (my late older brother)
Mike Allen (my younger brother)
