|
About the Artist
 |
| Craig Routh was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1960 and resides in Denham Springs, Louisiana with his wife and two sons. He grew up with a great appreciation for fine art, influenced by his father, an architect/artist and his mother who is an interior designer. At an early age, Craig showed a propensity for drawing, painting & sculpting. He won his first award at the age of eight, winning the first place ribbon in a local contest. He went on to win numerous high school art awards for his watercolor paintings and at the age of seventeen, began to enter professional watercolor competitions. In 1979 he was one of the youngest artists ever to be accepted into the prestigious Walt Disney World’s “Festival of the Masters” Art Show. He has since participated in many of the finest art events across the South and Midwest and has won numerous awards for his work. Craig has received numerous commissions for book, poster and greeting card illustrations. |
Education |
| Craig attended Southeastern Louisiana University and Louisiana State University, but considers himself a self-taught artist. His unique style of blending realistic and impressionistic images has been achieved over many years of independent study and experimentation. His watercolors are a vivid weaving of soft and sharp elements. He exploits the medium to its’ greatest effect using color and contrasting elements of light and dark, real and abstract to bring life to paper and paint. |
Early Works |
| His earlier paintings are dominated by sensitive character studies of the people he has met while exploring the rural back roads and cities of the South. These include the old farmer showing off his Prize pumpkin – Eleanora, an old woman peeling potatoes on her back porch – and “Sweet Emma’s Band”, a portrait of the historic Preservation Hall Jazz Band. These scenes, painted in such life-like detail have resulted in portraits commissioned by Louisiana State University as well as many other private commissions. |
Current Work |
| The Louisiana landscape is the subject of his current work as he looks to the natural beauty of the rivers and swamps for inspiration. A canoe trip into the bayou reveals a visual treasure of material – an ibis soaring over majestic trees in Cypress Flats, an alligator moving slowly through the murky water below. |
Illustration |
| |
The Routh Collection Greeting Card Company |
| In 1994 Craig, his wife Leslie and his father Stan Routh began The Routh Collection Greeting Card Company (www.louisianagreetings.com), a whimsical collection of Christmas, Mardi Gras and everyday cards that feature the unique culture found only in Louisiana. Craig is also the creator of “ABC’s in Cypress Trees”; a humorous and colorfully illustrated alphabet based on Louisiana cypress trees and wildlife. |
