The Artist Behind Art Crawford
Dr. Clinton
Crawford
Professor Emeritus · MFA · Painter · Guyana / United States
Origins
Born into Humble Beginnings,
with a Gift
I was born into very humble beginnings with my gift and insights. At age 8 or 9, my grandmother who raised me bought a set of paints and brushes — she was tired of me painting every possible space under our elevated home on concrete blocks. From the onset of this simple and not so obvious present, my journey as an artist began without the aid of any formal training.
I always determined to myself to be an artist of note. My grandmother and childhood friends saw in me something special, even when I doubted my path.
With all of the distractions of growing into adulthood, I never relinquished my desire to create scenes from my immediate green lushness and very colorful surroundings. I was and still am an avid devotee of sunsets and unusual land formations.
The Journey
From the Atlantic Coast
to Santa Barbara
My early career was identified with landscapes and seascapes. I was born on the Atlantic coast of South America in a small country called Guyana — land of many waters. By my late 20s I migrated to the United States to pursue an undergraduate degree in Communication and the Arts, which I completed successfully.
I then moved to graduate school at the University of California at Santa Barbara, where I completed my Master of Fine Arts. It was during this foray that my artwork took what some called a dramatic detour into the world of magical realism — a juxtaposition of what we commonly call the real world alongside the world of an otherworldly consciousness.
I identified with the freedom to express myself in ways that were not governed by the conventions of classical and contemporary western art parlance and expression.
The Philosophy
Symbolic Logic &
Dream Consciousness
The creation of symbolic logic took center stage as I reflected on objects I was familiar with but turned them into symbols of how I viewed the world — in a word, my consciousness. Sky and water were no longer separate entities; they became fluid and interchangeable for me. Land formations and atmospheric conditions were assigned to different locations in the world I created from my imagination.
The vivid, vibrant colors in my work are influenced by being born near the equator, where light plays a dominant role in one’s sensibilities. My palette is reflective of that experience, even though I am more than four decades removed from that tropical sphere.
Generally I let my canvas and initial brush strokes guide my composition. The images evince from the uncensored interplay with my dream consciousness state and my lived experiences. Light and dark contrasts are used to create a dramatic platform upon which the viewer can be a participant.
Artist Statement
The works gathered here under the Art Crawford name belong to a body of paintings that illustrate Portals to Other Dimensions, alongside earlier landscapes from the Land of Waters series and the Symbolic Logic studies. They are aligned with a literary and artistic philosophical tradition called Magical Realism: a juxtaposition of real and imagined worlds.
Born in Guyana, South America, I have been a painter from the early age of seven. My voluminous collection is largely done with oils on canvas. However, the works in the Portals series are acrylics on canvas.
As a specialist in classical African Civilizations, my works are also informed by my travels to the Nile Valley and beyond. Symbolic logic is at the base of my creation — life begins with an egg of some sort, hence it reoccurs in my expression. Without water, there is no life.
“Now in my mid-seventies, I continue to learn and heed the voice from within. I have learnt to let go and not insist on controlling the outcome. It’s the most liberating feeling one can experience.”
Dr. Clinton Crawford
Professor Emeritus · Painter · Scholar