Thousands of people make up Populus series portraits

8 years ago

You know that feeling you have when you look at a picture of Seurat, those millions of dots attached and think but what patience it takes, it’s crazy! Well, the madness of the Californian painter Craig Alan goes beyond imagination because to create his portraits of the Populus series, instead of dots, he paints thousands and thousands of small people as if they were seen from above.

Craig, born in California but raised in Atlanta, studied fine arts and set design. His series of portraits perfectly reflect his approach to any aspect of life, where small details form the largest picture.

Craig designs and makes every single figure with extreme care and precision, mainly using black and white and sparingly adding a few colors. Every single detail, from the face to the clothes, is thought concerning the personalities of the little protagonists of his canvases. Among his mini-personages Craig inserts relatives, friends but not only. For example, in the portrait of the Joker we can find, looking very carefully, Batman, Dr. Crane, and many other characters, or in that of Wonder Woman are confused in the crowd many other mini-superheroes, from Super Man to Super Girl, from Flash to Aquaman.

Each of her portraits, whether it’s Elvis or John Lennon, Marylin Monroe or Audrey Hepburn, contains a number of small figures ranging from 400, up to 1,800. It is an art that requires between 50 and 150 hours of work and, perhaps, a pinch of madness.