Craig Pursley    

Artist ~ Illustrator

(603) 747-3050 craigpursley@roadrunner.com 

Born in Nebraska in 1954, Craig began drawing before starting kindergarten. Lacking unlined paper in the house, he would pull out the liners from his parents record albums and fill them with drawings of horses and wildlife. With the encouragement of his parents, and better paper, Craig continued to grow in ability to the point he was doing freelance work before graduating high school. In 1971 he was chosen as Nebraska's Outstanding Young Artist. In 1972, he finished an 8 foot by 24 foot mural that still hangs at his high school.

After starting at Hastings College, he transferred to and graduated from Colorado State University in 1976 and immediately began teaching art at the middle school level. At the same time, he continued a part-time job he begun in college as a police composite artist for several law enforcement agencies including the FBI. Craig was credited with playing a pivotal role in the capture of many criminals with over 300 composite drawings.

Also during this time, Craig began to exhibit in galleries in Northern Colorado as well as enter shows where he often won or placed highly, including a Best of Show in a National Art Show in western Nebraska in 1983.

                                                                          Craig's oil painting of a '57 Chevy that was chosen as Best of Show

In 1983, Craig moved to Southern California where he began working for the Orange County Register newspaper as an illustrator, a job held for 23 years. During that time, he specialized in portraits of sports, political and entertainment figures for every section of the paper.