Craig Birch was raised in a rural setting in southeastern Idaho. He attended and graduated from Ricks College and worked as an illustrator and graphic artist for a national wedding invitation and personalized stationery company. He was later senior artist and assistant art director for an expansive diet franchise corporation.

In 1984 Craig decided to obtain his BFA and relocated to San Francisco where he attended the Academy of Art College, one of the finest professional art schools on the west coast. During his tenure there he also received numerous commissions for portraits and did free-lance illustration for Oates Studios, a local talent shop whose clients included Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue.

After graduating, Craig moved his young family back to Idaho to enjoy the slower pace of life for his children to grow up in. During his residence in Idaho Falls he pursued painting full time, occasionally traveling to paint on location. He illustrated for local and national publishers in Idaho, Utah and Kentucky. He was invited to show at the Charlie Russell Museum Auction and Show in Great Falls, Montana in 1990 and 1991.

Craig and his family currently reside in the Phoenix metropolitan area, where he enjoys a robust demand for his commissioned portraiture and also teaches at the Shemer Art Center, Brio Fine Art Center and the Scottsdale Artist’s School.