Charles M. Allen, a resident of Lafayette, CA., has been a San Francisco Bay Area Artist and illustrator for more than 45 years. Following service as an Army Air Force pilot during WWII, he completed a BA degree from Fresno State University and attended the Art Center College in Los Angeles before practicing advertising illustration, design, and painting in San Francisco. His commissions, from many of the nation’s largest corporations, have appeared in most national publications, and he has received a number of awards from the advertising industry. In semi-retirement from his illustration career, he has won the California, Nevada, Colorado and Rhode Island duck stamp competitions and completed wildlife and painting commissions.