Meet Ryan Crawley | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ryan Crawley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ryan, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
So for me, it’s a funny story. I create art because I have to, but then when I saw 20+ paintings in my basement I realized I needed to bet on myself by selling my artwork.

I’ve always thought that selling art would be the hard part. Although now that I am, I really see that it ties back into running a business. Determination and consistency are key to building success. Discipline is key also!

I believe that creating this business, has made me a better parent, partner, and employee.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Honestly, it’s realizing that you’re doing this like body building. You’re building mental toughness to continue doing that thing you just don’t want to do.

The art part comes naturally for me, I’ve had a distinct style since high school. It’s not something I searched for, I fell face first into it. Now of course, I had to find people that enjoy it as much as I like making it, but the above paragraph hits the nail on the head.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Definitely Creston neighborhood.

1. Creston Brewery
2. Huff park
3. Riverside park
4. Lucy’s

Then I’d want to go to Monroe north.

1. Easternkille (I know it’s moving)
2. Speakez
3. City built
4 Garage bar

Then I’d probably go to east town for restaurants and breweries.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The Creston neighborhood. From meeting local artist who plugged me into the Grand Rapids art scene, to the organizations that believed in me, and of course the businesses/individuals that thought my work is worth being purchased.

All this enabled me to continue creating and sharing my gifts with others.

Website: www.rcrawley.com

Instagram: @rcrawleyart

Facebook: @rcrawleyart

Youtube: @rcrawleyart

Other: TikTok @rcrawleyart