Ryan Crawley: Meet the Artist
Ryan Crawley is an artist currently based in West Michigan. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from Western Michigan University and continues work with acrylics and digital mediums exploring landscape, animals and more through abstract expression. He has worked with Lions and Rabbits on Windows GR, After Dark 2020 and Storm Drains, checkout more of his story below!
Q: How did you get involved with Lions and Rabbits?
A: A friend years ago when yoga was in the gallery
Q: What themes/ideas are highlighted in your work? Intentions?
A: Lately it has been journal entries. Each layer of the painting is completed in a day. I call this work therapy conversations. Other items: Animals (habitat loss), abstract landscapes or cityscapes
Q: Run us through your creative process - How do you start, flow and finish?
A: I start by creating a color field, with typically no more than two or three colors. When it’s a piece for myself, I allow the layers to tell me when to stop.
Q: What obstacles/struggles have you encountered throughout your career as an artist? Or challenges you face through your creative process
A: Always myself. Be that with the creative work, updating my website, or moods. It seems that I’m my biggest obstacle. It’s easy to make an excuse about something that is externally causing issues, but I’m being real. Nothing gets in our way like ourself.
Q: Can you share a little more about how your art career started. Have you always been in your field? Were you self taught or had additional schooling?
A: I started, after college, thinking I’d never make money. I fell into the biggest trap creatives fall into, by believing in what others tell you. When I actually started making strides in my artist career I started working with artists who are living that dream. It was the birth of my daughter that really set me up to challenge myself. I want her to know that nothing is impossible, but it will take hard work to make something out of nothing.
Q: Who/what are your biggest inspirations that play a key role in the work you produce?
A: That’s hard to say. I really like Duchamp, Monet, Van Gogh. Though I’ve been really bad at seeking contemporary artists out. Local artists that blow my mind are Nick Nortier, Esan Sommerall, Edwin Andersen, Guillermo Sotelo, Kyle DeGroff, Elliot Chaltry, Brad Goff, Jasmine Bruce, Chelsea Michal. I know there is more, but I'm forgetting at the moment and I appreciate every single one of you.
Q: Is there anything you wish you could change about your work?
A: Sure, but I think the beauty with my work is how imprecise it is. Without what I don’t like my work looses it’s signature style. It’d be a waste to change that.
Q: What mistakes have you made? What did you learn from them? What are you trying to get better at?
A: Continuing to tell myself I’m a contractor. Telling someone my price and leaving it there. Now I can be a salesman, and try to make something work within their budget. Although lowering the value for my work isn’t acceptable.
Q: Do you feel supported by your community as an artist? In what ways could you feel more supported?
A: I feel that’s going to be on going. I feel that local people need to understand more why being a collector is beneficial. The art in Grand Rapids is amazing, more people just need to see the “value” behind it and then start putting the money where the comments of “o I like that” are, it’s a tough transition. Though I believe it can happen.
Q: Describe a moment when you felt most proud of yourself
A: My first mural, it’s amazing to have my daughter say “daddy you made that”.
Q: What's most important to you about what you create, and how it impacts others?
A: For me it’s a compulsion, It doesn’t have to be important, but I have to create.
Q: What's next? What are you currently focusing on or looking forward to?
A: Nothing set as of yet, part of why I need to get in gear!
Q: What does being an artist mean to you? What is the function of artists in society?
A: Challenge our current perceptions of the everyday world. Seriously, I’d love to hear more people look at the mundane and understand that it is art. Creativity isn’t limited to traditional methods.
Q: And of course, if you could chose any vehicle to travel, real or imaginary what would it be?
A: This is hard, probably a fighter jet!
Follow more of Ryan’s work on www.rcrawley.com as well as Instagram.com/Rcrawleyart
Thank you for tuning into this week’s Meet the Artist, be sure to checkout more artist stories every week on our blog!
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