Today we’d like to introduce you to Colleen Allison.
Colleen, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I fell in love with the art the first time I stepped into a gallery and ran smack into a Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibit — it just so happened that that didn’t happen until I was 18 years old. I grew up in the Texas Panhandle where the mantra “Pull Yourself Up By The Bootstraps” is practically engraved on every book, ball, paper, and sign. I thought that art was just something you did for fun; I had no idea it could be a career. Then: MOCA. A young girl visiting Los Angeles for the first time suddenly walked into a reality where the thing she loved could be a career. I changed colleges, majors, lives (the first time of many). A friend loaned me a camera and I started photographing local shows (shout out to The Rocketboys for being the first group to let me drag them into a cornfield and pose them accordingly).
After two quarters at art school, I was offered my first paying photography gig, and as the ball started rolling, I dropped out of school for the second time and went on tour. The next few years led me to Los Angeles and once here, I continued photography (second shout out to Circa Survive for being the first band to take a chance with me on the road — a truly amazing group of people) and expanded into anything artistic I could get my hands on. I’ve been the shop girl in a tattoo shop in Hollywood, a scaremonster for the Haunted Hayride, a music video ‘vixen’, trained with a professional boxer, wrote a book of poetry and photographed arguably the most beautiful woman alive (looking at you, Beyonce). A few years back, the hustle of freelance got to be overwhelming and I took a day job to get health insurance and some stability. As I type this, I’ve newly quit that 9-to-5 and re-entered the amazing, harrowing, unmatched field of creativity and I couldn’t be more excited. I’m currently working on a speculative fiction novel, the most challenging artistic thing I’ve attempted so far. None of this would have been possible without the incredible amount of support I’ve received from my friends-turned-family.
Has it been a smooth road?
At times, it’s felt like a water slide — smooth, fast, fun — but there are those moments that you question everything. Why am I doing this? Do I really have anything to offer? Does anyone care? Growing up in a place that doesn’t consider art a career compounds this. There are days I feel like art is a selfish choice; that I would have more to offer in a service-based career. Maybe that’s true. All I know is that I feel most at peace with myself when I’m creating. Money has never been something that motivates me, which is lucky because this career choice is not one that guarantees wealth, but I’m happy, and I think that’s the best you can do for yourself.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Colleen Allison Photography – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I’m just straight-up obsessed with art. Photography has been my main discipline for the last decade, specializing in live band photography and portraiture. Living in Los Angeles feels like having a never-ending stream of inspiration — there’s so much passion and talent everywhere. I’ve been on both sides of the camera, and that gives me insight into how it feels to be picked over by a lens and how to counteract that so my subject feels at ease and can just come as they are.
I also run social media accounts and write poetry daily, in addition to working on a novel. I love acting and still do it whenever the opportunity arises.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Oh, man. Los Angeles. I once looked at the red traffic lines running through my Maps app and thought, “It’s kind of beautiful if you imagine the traffic as lifeblood, pumping through a city that’s alive with possibility.’ An hour later, still on the 405, I had different insights (and maybe a few cuss words) to describe it, but overall, this city fills me with inspiration daily. Go outside and talk to anyone — you’ll meet such a diverse community that is knit together with the passion and grit required to navigate life in this beautiful, challenging city.
I’ve met a family here; like-minded people who help me grow and feel like home.
Contact Info:
- Website: colleenallison.photoshelter.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @cols2thewall
- Facebook: facebook.com/colleenallisonphoto
- Twitter: twitter.com/myfavoritealias
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
