Artist Detail

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Allan Hayes

Visual Artist

About the artist: ALLAN HAYES - Fine Art Photography

Growing up in a small town on the outskirts of the advancing LA sprawl, Allan was raised in a well manicured middle class family with no particular edges. He spent his childhood in the comfortable no man’s land of the sleeping fifties.

At the age of 10, he and a friend sent away for 100 paperback books of their choice. When the books arrived, he remembers reading them as if they were gifts from heaven. Each book represented a carefully crafted message from the writer. These books were from other human beings sharing some of their inner selves.

Art was the way - perhaps the only way - you could see into the souls of others and share something of their inner experience of being alive. This early understanding of the power of art created an insatiable urge to study art of all kinds, even ranging through science and mathematics.

If you spend time with Allan, you will quickly notice he connects everything to our "primal past" - the millions of years of transition evolving to become human. He sees this as how we were forged - a way of understanding our deeper natures. Allan believes all that we do - even how we think and feel - must be related back to these deeper layers. The sophisticated rigors of modern times are only a thin, shiny film on the surface of who we are. Shiny, complex and ever changing, this commotion on the surface does not change the deeper structure that defines us. Allan strives to create art that connects us to this deeper self.

Placed in accelerated programs at an early age, Allan excelled equally in language skills, art and mathematics. At Stanford, he majored in World Literature and Philosophy, although his pursuit of knowledge was highly eclectic.

Allan founded Emerson-Hayes, a branding and marketing firm, which he ran successfully for 25 years in the heart of Silicon Valley. The firm was considered a powerhouse, setting trends and known for its captivating concepts and imagery.

But underneath it all, Allan yearned for the true freedom of artistic expression. Even as a small boy, he continually spent his time in nature as a way to awaken his inner spirit. "When I am in nature, everything is clearer. I feel more truly awake - alive."

Throughout "the corporate years", Allan spent a growing amount of time exploring natural settings, from the Himalayas to the volcanic craters of Hawaii. This passion for the natural environment led him to begin experimenting with photography as a way to express the deeper meaning in the human relationship with nature. Finally realizing this work had become the focus of his spirit, he shut down his business and has been developing a body of work that is rapidly achieving recognition and high acclaim.

"I want each piece to stun you with the power and beauty of our world."