“Everyone wants to fit in and be noticed. Everyone is searching for something, every day, every hour.” – Keegan Allen, life.love.beauty
Keegan Allen is a young actor on the hit show “Pretty Little Liars (PLL).” He is also an artist and has quite the social media following Over 1 million followers on Twitter and 2.3 million on Instagram! What draws his fans is his creativity, and what keeps them connected is his authenticity.
On the phone he seems serious and yet sweet. I am just one of many phone interviews he is conducting that day, but his answers were well thought out and sincere. I admit I am a fan.
I’m guessing, he is probably twenty-something though he plays a character much younger on PLL. He tells me not to believe the age Wikipedia lists for him – “I don’t really like talking about my age,” he says. So I let the subject drop and I mention that through his book, and the art I’ve seen on his social media cannels (Instagram, Tumblr), I felt like he was an old soul. Keegan says he totally believes that, “I know I have lived before.” In his national bestselling book (according to Publishers Weekly) “life, love, beauty,” Keegan gives readers a glimpse into his soul. Through images and words, Keegan chronicles his life thus far.
Born to an artist mom and actor dad, Keegan paints a picture of a happy childhood. This is my favorite part of his book, in which, he tells stories of growing up in Hollywood and how he developed his love for photography.
According to Keegan, he started chronicling his thoughts in a photo journal when he was 10 years old. “And I would share the journal with other people.” The book is a compilation of sorts, of all those, papers, photographs and composition notebooks. And now he gets to share “this visual aid of his feelings” with an even larger audience. He confesses that he hasn’t written things down in a journal, as much, but continues to share images, words, and songs; his feelings and thoughts; through social media. “It’s like an interactive party,” he mentions. He likes being able to see what things resonate with people. He is never without a camera. “Perspective and composition are very important,” he says. “Sometimes I take a snapshot, just to capture the moment,” he says, “And often, I like putting “secrets out there” too like Easter eggs – and you have to look deeper.”
offpistepursuit.tumblr.com for more pictures. #LoveinNYC. For those who have it, lost it or want it.
A photo posted by Keegan Allen (@keeoone) on
Some friends have cautioned him about putting it all out there. “But,” Keegan says,”it’s okay to be a sensitive man. After all, we’re all in this together.”
We talk about music and motorcycles, and James Franco and art. And it feels like I’m chatting with a friend. But our phone call ends too soon and Keegan’s off on another interview. I can’t wait to see what Keegan will come up with next. To be sure, “life.love.beauty” is just the first of many creative projects from this young man on the verge.
