David Scriven Crowley has been painting and creating works of art for over fifty years. He has exhibited widely and holds places in many private, corporate and museum collections. He studied at The Hartford Art School, The University of Hartford, Hartford, CT and has received countless awards and commendations. After spending most of his life on Cape Ann in Massachusetts, he has now made Cushing, Maine his home. His works include landscapes, portraits and non-representational work.
A major retrospective of his work was mounted by the Cape Ann Art Museum in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 2004.
All works are for sale, click on image above to view detail.
Click on image above to view.
Glancing out my window while drinking a second cup of morning coffee, I saw a school bus go down the road. This is not unusual, since we have several children living along our street in our beautiful adopted town on the coast of Maine. Although the bus moved right along, I noticed instantly that the passengers on board were not children. In fact the faces of the people were all dark skinned, some wearing brightly colored bandanas. As the bus turned the corner, I noticed a sign on the back that read "Agricultural Workers". There are only a few farms on our peninsula, so I wondered at this phenomenon. An hour or so later, Daphne, our nine month old Jack Russell terrier, and I were ready for our morning walk.
We headed out as usual towards the meadow where she loves to run free at the end of the road, about a mile and a half from our home. After walking twenty minutes, I saw a few folks in the road and the school bus I had seen earlier. They had arrived at Boynton Farm to pick blueberries. I knew that the farm cultivated blueberries, but this was the first time I had actually seen anyone set up to pick them. The jumble of people emerging from the bus, each individual, with their brightly colored clothes and equipment was a bouquet to my eyes.
The morning fog hung heavily in the field, clouding the edges of the hedgerows, and this explosion of color was a truly remarkable sight. While Daphne barked, I waved to the crowd of men and women setting up strings to mark off sections of the field. Several waved back and smiled. When we returned home I could not stop thinking of what I had seen. Since I am a painter, I had the idea to sketch the workers if it was possible. I packed up my car with a few supplies and once again headed down to Boynton Farm.
There they were, spread out in the field among the stringed markers, berry rakes in hand filling large light blue containers with the delicious fruit. The fog remained and seemed to highlight the colors of their clothing as well as the baby blue plastic boxes scattered among them. I asked the foreman if it would be alright to sketch them. He was a bit wary, but gave his permission while keeping an eye on me as well as his crew. Our garden is overflowing with produce in September so I brought along a basket full of organic yellow cucumbers and bright red tomatoes. I asked several of the workers if they would like to have a tomato or a cucumber. Most of them were happy to take a few things. Some among them, however, were not interested and seemed uncomfortable at what might be construed as charity. One fellow was happy to pose for me holding the cucumber. His countenance was somehow lovely, a combination of sweetness and resignation.
I don't know the man's name, but while painting him I came to see in his eyes a lifetime of work and pain. Yet, there along with the weight of a hard life, was profound kindness. I will never buy produce again without thinking of those folks. Afterward, I went on line to see how much money migrant workers make. I was not shocked to see that one dollar an hour minus expenses was common. I have to wonder what forces have put me here in my comfortable world, and at the same time, put those folks in a blueberry field far away from their homes and family for so little.
"Andrew with Faith and Reason" was inspired by a painting at The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston "Automedon with the Horses of Archilles", a masterpiece painted by the French artist Henri Regnault in 1868. The painting was executed in a neo-classical style which was considered romantic at the time. The work is, never-the-less, a wonder of draftmanship and, to my mind, a work of genius. I didn't wish to replicate the neoclassical subject so asked my model, a Rockland Maine fisherman, to wear jeans. While posing, Andrew Benow told me his story of growing up with strongly religious parents. Recently, he had to tell them, with great difficulty, he did not believe in their faith anymore. This story gave me my title.
My work is about emotion, the profound sense of a mandate so demanding and so compulsive that the need to make something MUST be satisfied. Even if the lack of time, the lack of funds, and the market do not support the idea, the emotional desperation for a project to be realized is so compelling as to force itself into fruition. These concepts manifest in many forms, usually complete (in my head), before they are begun. The process is, however every bit a part of the creation and through the development of the work, small changes of direction may occur. Usually, these deviations are subtle, but may at times alter the direction of the original idea. The ideas are spiritual, political, social, environmental, humorous, or may simply be about beauty.
"They say it's hard to be a hero in your own hometown because everybody is watching. That said, I'm thinking your paintings are so powerfully wonderful, you would be an artistic hero back here." - Paige Kippen Holmes
"Wonderful surprise - talent and great imagination!"
- Elizabeth and Mike Marks
"It's always [in] the small towns where you find big things...Awesome work indeed." - Robert Wilcox
"Marvelous, simply breathtaking...your paintings and poetry touch my inner landscape." - Joan Vose
"Great! Very different and...Amazing!" - Kate Lavoie
"Thoughtful and thought-provoking art...What a treat for the eye and the soul." - Gail Welch, Trudy Richmond
Visit our new gallery at:
409 Main Street in Rockland, ME
Summer Hours: 11 AM - 5 PM, Wed.-Sat.
Gallery: 207-594-0733
Studio: 207-354-0238
For more information about the artist, to request a studio visit, or to inquire about the sale of works, please complete form below.
In addition, Mr. Crowley offers Giclée prints of his works. Inquiries are welcome.
Contact Form
Click on image above to view detail.
Recent Exhibitions Include:
- Husson University, Bangor, ME (solo show '10)
- Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockport, ME
- Cape Ann Art Museum, Gloucester, MA (solo show '04)
- Walker Art Museum, Brunswick, ME
- Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, ME
- Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, MA
- Marietta Art Museum, OH
Mr. Crowley has works in many museum, corporate and private collections.
Visit David Scriven Crowley's Gallery at 409 Main Street, Rockland Maine
© David Scriven Crowley. All rights reserved. | 409 Main Street, Rockland ME 04841 | Gallery: 207-594-0733 | Studio: 207-354-0238 | E-mail: info_davidscrivencrowley.com
