Allen is the President of the Markham Group of Artists. He an artist, speaker and art blogger.
While Allen has always been interested in drawing and painting, he has pursued his interest in art more fully after retiring from the business world. He works in acrylic, oil and watercolour. He is particularly interested in grasses, the subject of this show, and portraiture.
His popular presentation, “Art and the Internet”, has been delivered to most major art organization in the GTA. His latest presentation “Marketing Art Online” is providing inspiration to other artists. He writes a blog, called ArtGoneGlobal, about marketing art on the Internet and over 700 hundred artists subscribe to his newsletter.
In this grass series, Allen shows his fascination with the strength, flexibility and movement of grasses. His grass images have one foot in reality and the other in abstraction. His lively use of colour brings a new vibrancy and energy to these often taken-for-granted plants.
Regarding his portraits, Allen says, “I have always had a fascination with the members of this club we were born into, called ‘The Human Race’. As a species we are so much alike and so different at the same time. That fascinates me. My art explores the diversity of our looks, interests, feelings and motivations. My intention is to also tell a story about the people I paint, perhaps through an expression on their face, or a situation I have created for them.” |
