Just as a painting becomes more clearly defined with the addition of each brush stroke, so too the artist evolves into a more complete being with each work he produces.

                                                      
                                                               "The Lotus Bowl"

Over the past four decades Don Crowley has moved from commercial artist to fine art painter, creating an oeuvre which includes still lifes, portraiture and a wide range of landscapes and action scenes.

Following his 1995 induction into the prestigious "Cowboy Artists of America, Crowley walked away with a gold medal in drawing at their 30th Anniversary Show for his piece, "Apache Peridot Miner", proving he could compete with the best.    "After 43 years in the business, I am finally comfortable with the title of "artist", Crowley confides. "However, I still pay close attention to the competition. In fact, I've spent my entire life admiring the work of other artists and always feeling a bit inferior to them."

"To be honest, I owe all my success to the "Power Of Negative Thinking". Breaking into one of his irrepressible smiles, he adds, "Fear is one of the greatest motivators there is. I used to worry all the time about trying to create a certain look, but I have finally accepted myself for who I am, understanding what I do well and continuing to hone those skills."

                                      
                                                             "Water in the Draw"

"Because I have always liked Vermeer's approach of extreme realism, the most frequent comment on my work is that "it looks just like a photograph". I know this is meant as a compliment, but it has inspired me to work towards a more painterly style. I have come to realize that I don't have to work a piece to its "ultimate finish"; not every detail is necessary or even desirable. In fact, experimenting with new techniques is what keeps me interested."

"Painting is such a mysterious field, and there is so much to learn", Crowley sighs. "There are so many different approaches to it that 10 or 20 lifetimes would hardly be enough to absorb them all. In fact, one of the things I find most unusual about younger artists is that they have no interest in what their contemporaries are doing. I have always adhered to the philosophy espoused by W. C. Fields that "anything worth having was worth stealing."

"Of course, I don't mean that literally, but when I attended art school, we all had our heros like Fetchin, Rockwell, N. C. Wyeth, and of course, the Old Masters like Vermeer and Rembrandt. Observing the way in which they solved problems was a revelation, and I still borrow a good solution whenever I can."

Touring his home, one quickly notes the melange of influences that have shaped the Crowley look. Several works by James Bama adorn the walls; a tribute to a close friend whom Crowley still credits with giving him the courage to pursue a career in western art. And, other carefully chosen pieces by admired contemporaries such as Michael Coleman and Ken Riley underscore the high esteem in which Crowley holds the work of his fellow artists.

Much of the home's warmth and personal charm, however, can also be attributed to tasteful artwork created by its owners. Intricate wood abstracts and delicate still lifes are a reminder of Crowley's New York phase, while the handiwork of wife, B.J., an accomplished artist in her own right, is also proudly displayed throughout the house.

                                                             
                                                                "The Dreamer"

Pursuing her passion for Chinoiserie, a popular French art form which imitates Oriental styles and techniques, BJ has created exotic works which range in size from a hand painted fireplace screen down to a intricately decorated egg shell box. Intimate pieces which make this house a home.

After 20 years within these walls, home has become not only an integral part of Crowley's life, but of his art as well. Nestled on a one acre tract in far north Tucson, the site is still sufficiently remote that it has been the backdrop in numerous paintings.

"Perhaps I shouldn't point this out", he jests, "but I've got this grouping of rocks that I've posed my models around for years and years. Without those things, I don't know what in the heck I would have done. They make a perfect stage and when you change position around them, you get an entirely different formation so it's not like you're painting the same scene over and over. The distant mountains are also very picturesque so I have everything I need right outside my back door."

Familiarity of setting also carries over to familiarity with subject. For the past two decades Crowley has used the five children in the Martineau family, members of the San Carlos Apache tribe, as models for his work.

"Littlest Apache" has always been one of my favorite pieces", he confides. Rachel was only two years old when I began painting her, but she is in her twenties now and works as a Blackjack dealer in Wisconsin. Times do change."

"As my models have aged, my subject matter has evolved as well. Since they no longer have that innocence of childhood, I have had to find different ways to utilize their talents. I have discovered they are skilled at beadwork, hide tanning, quilt work and other sewing activities, not to mention the traditional dances which they often perform at the yearly powwows."

"Now, instead of simply doing portraits, I often capture my subjects in scenes gathering food such as acorns, corn or jujube beans and later in preparing that food for the family. I also picture them out tending the flocks of sheep or tending the horses. ("Cactus Plums" and "Camp Cook" are works which exemplify this approach.")

"The San Carlos Apache also engage in the unique activity of mining peridot, a gem which is found in commercial quantities only on their reservation and somewhere in South Africa. Mining is quite a picturesque operation - numbers of the tribe, mostly women, sit in shallow holes, breaking up rocks in search of the illusive gem."

"I was particularity fascinated by one older lady who was busily sifting rock so I offered her a modest fee to take her picture, but she didn't want to be bothered. Just as I started to leave, she changed her mind and got up. At the same moment, somebody set off a dynamite charge, and a football sized rock shot over the hill, landing right in the hole where she had been sitting. Once it dawned on her that my offer had saved her life, she suddenly became very cooperative about posing for the drawing.

"In order to paint, I must experience the setting or the event. I simply don't have the talent for visualizing a scene and recreating it on canvas. For this reason, I employ drawings and photographs to capture the image and then finish the painting in my studio. I prefer working indoors because I can control the light and also the weather.

                                                    
                                                           " The Lotus Bowl"

Entering Crowley's studio, the phrase "organized clutter" comes to mind. Lining the far edge of the room are file cabinets which contain drawer afteber drawer of photos taken during ranch visits and other research trips, while stacks of art books, arranged in a random order known only to the person who is their constant user, fill a large table near the door. Baskets, saddles, drums and other traditional Native American props occupy every nook and cranny, and a beaded ceremonial dress hangs in instant readiness. Several works are drying on easels and, "Morning Prayer", a work in progress holds an honored spot in the filtered north light awaiting the artist's return.

Crowley usually produces a 9 x 12 oil miniature of his subject before beginning the full size piece. "Doing this allows me to visualize the finished product and work out any problems before going on to the larger canvas", he explains. In fact, he has just used this technique to work out a change to "Morning Prayer". Utilizing a mylar overlay on the small piece, he quickly adds clouds to the clear blue sky in back of the model. Modestly seeking affirmation, he offers, "I just happened to see those clouds this morning. Don't you think they give the painting a more dramatic effect?"

Since becoming a CA, Crowley has begun producing more pieces featuring the working cowboy. For the last 20 years, he has been visiting Arsenic Tubs, a ranch situated in the heart of the San Carlos reservation and operated by the Apache people in conjunction with the University of Arizona. "Both the tribal management and the university personnel have graciously allowed me to observe and record ranch activities. I now have volumes of material which hopefully will find their way into more of my paintings".

Recently Crowley has also begun painting men as well as women. One of his favorite models is Paul Flannery, a Canadian Cree, who posed for his piece "Crow Bonnet".

"Paul is a remarkable man", Crowley states. "He was one of Canada's most decorated soldiers. Before he left for war, the tribal medicine man told him not to be afraid because he had a double that would always walk six feet in front of him and in battle the enemy would only see this double."

"On two occasions, he was the only survivor of his patrol, and another time when he was running down the street in an Italian village, sniper fire from near by buildings struck the ground exactly six feet in front of him. It has been an honor to paint Paul, for I consider him to be one of the world's truly great people".

Crowley's quick readiness to praise others is one of his most endearing charms. Indeed, it is in these moments when he talks of his models and his plans for future paintings that he begins to radiate a sense of contentment which speaks louder than words saying "here is a man who is at home both with his environment and with his art."

DON CROWLEY BIOGRAPHY

Only four years after his birth in Redlands, CA in 1926, Don Crowley experienced an event that would shape his life for the next 66 years. "Using crayons, my current form of self-expression at the time, I drew a bunch of converging colored circles which suddenly took on a magic life of their own", he relates. "There before my very eyes was a full blown caravan replete with horses and myriad of other ornate trappings. It was the darndest thing I ever experienced, and I've been trying to recapture that elated feeling of total creative accomplishment ever since".

Crowley's childhood fantasies of becoming an artist continued through-out his junior high and high school years. "I spent numerous hours turning out bad copies of great masterworks", he confides. "Art had become an obsession, but my career nearly ended before it began when mother discovered my sanctuary in the family chicken coop and forced me to return to my regular schooling."

Another creative hiatus occurred when World War II intervened. Although he produced no artwork during his two years in the Merchant Marines and two years in the Navy, Crowley's service time was not wasted for it qualified him to continue his education under the GI Bill of Rights - a program he applauds as "the best thing the government ever did."

                                   
                                                    "Raindrops"

Determined to obtain the finest art instruction his windfall would buy, Crowley enrolled in the Art Center School (now the Art Center College of Design) in Los Angeles. The young artist spent five years under the master tutelage of Stanley Reckless pursuing a rigorous, commercially oriented curriculum, which stressed anatomy, drawing and design.

1953 found Crowley on the threshold of his dream. Following graduation from the Art Center, he married fellow student BJ Brown, and the two young artists set off for the commercial art mecca of New York City where he quickly secured a job with the Charles E. Cooper Studio. Opaque watercolors became his stock in trade, and over the years he produced portraits for "Reader's Digest", book covers for Grossett & Dunlap, and a series of Oriental still lifes for a major cruise ship line.

Although the work was lucrative, strenuous deadlines and fierce competition finally took their toll. "I don't remember ever having a free weekend in the 23 years I worked in illustration", Crowley reminisces.

Fate intervened at this point with a two prong thrust. In 1973 co-worker, James Bama, who had moved to Wyoming three years earlier, returned to the Knoedler Gallery in New York with a one-man show of Indian and rodeo pieces. "It was a knockout", Crowley recalls. "Suddenly I realized that I could perhaps do that same kind of work."

As though on cue, an invitation arrived from former colleague, Sam Wisnom, now a resident of Tucson, offering Crowley the opportunity to exhibit his paintings in an Arizona show. In order to be competitive, Crowley changed his subject matter from still lifes to Native American portraiture. The change of style eventually necessitated a physical change as well, so in 1973 the Crowleys permanently relocated to Tucson.

As if to confirm the wisdom of this choice, the artist's stunning Native American images soon became a stable commodity at the Husberg Gallery in Sedona, and in 1981, Crowley also began doing limited edition prints under the auspices of Greenwich Workshop.

"For me, being able to make a living as a painter has been a dream come true", Crowley confides. "I thank God every day of my life for the privilege of being able to do what I love."