Born in London during the blitz. Alan Blavins’ claim to fame was being born under the kitchen table with his twin sister during a bombing raid. Alan should have known things would always be a little dramatic for him with that kind of beginning.
Art school was Alan’s destination after High School and once there, it was clear this was where he was meant to be. At the Camberwell School of Art under the guidance of Euan Uglow, He studied fine art and graphics and received my BA. Euan’s work can be found in the Arts Council of England, the British Council, the National Museum of Wales, The Ferens Art Gallery in Hull, Glasgow art Gallery, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Southampton City Art Gallery, the British Government Art Collection, the London Tate Gallery and The Hepworth in Wakefield.
From there Alan embarked on a 43 year career as an Art Director and Creative Director for some of the largest Advertising companies in the world in London, Hong Kong, Australia, Japan, New Zealand – Think Don Draper with an English accent. The last 29 years have been in the US where nine years were spent with Ketchum Advertising before developing a New Promotional Marketing and Advertising Company in San Francisco with Business Partner, John Randazzo. After a 20 year run on our own, it was time to move on and have some time to reflect and relax. Since retirement, it has become clear that now is the time to move forward with Alan’s true passion of Portrait Art – “I have developed a new venue to provide an opportunity for those who wish to preserve their memories on something more permanent than a photo on the Internet.”