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BOBBIE CREWS
The Headlight Collection
Originally from Ohio, Bobbie Crews has called Knoxville, Tennessee, home since 1990.
"I feel an affinity with older automobiles, especially those from the thirties. The comfortable old leather seats and curved fenders speak to me of my childhood: cornfields in the sun, 4th of July parades, jars of fresh milk in Grandma’s Frigidaire, the aroma of Grandpa’s cigars, and the light-filled loft of the barn."
After raising three sons, her lifelong passion for painting people became a vocation in 1993, when she began painting watercolor portraits and murals in acrylics for local clientele. She returned to school to earn a BFA in studio art from the University of Tennessee School of Art, graduating Suma Cum Laude in 2007. Her favorite medium now is oil on canvas.
"I see cars like people; they too, have life in them. I'm drawn to their headlights -- they're like the eyes in a portrait. I focus on the 'face' of a car to capture its personality, as though it was a living, breathing thing. I want the viewer to be pulled into my subject before he or she begins to think about how I got there.”
Crews is a member of the American Portrait Society, the American Watercolor Society, the Tennessee Watercolor Society, and the Tennessee Artists Association. Solo shows have included the town of Farragut, the Knoxville Family Justice Center, and the Howard Baker Federal Building.
Bobbie also works as a courtroom sketch artist, teaches painting, and speaks to groups for and about art. Her community activities includes artwork for public education and awareness about domestic violence, as well as a voice for the victims.
Crews’ work is in private and corporate collections in North America and as far away as Africa.
Bobbie has completed over 100 various murals, including a dozen automotive for businesses and private custom garages, using oils on sheet rock walls and acrylics on cinderblock, in sizes up to 12 x 35 feet. Vehicles portrayed have ranged from a '33 Mercedes to a Dodge Viper.
"One of the first murals was a large outdoor piece on the side of a Texaco station in 1994. It was acrylic and latex and the architect designed the building to incorporate the art onto its exterior cinderblock wall. I portrayed a 1941 Chrysler Town and Country woodie at a gas pump, in a small town setting."
You can see some of her murals in the Howard Baker Federal Courthouse, the Knoxville Family Justice Center, the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, at the downtown Lyric Theatre in Loudon, Aubrey’s Restaurants and elsewhere.
Commission Bobbie to create a unique painting or mural for you!
Call Peter Aylett at 949-443-0500 or email for details.
Bobbie Crews can produce one-of-a-kind murals for your home or business, bringing your ideas to life. The subject matter and style can be adapted to the project and can vary from realism to abstract. Different substrates can be used, eg. canvas, masonite, plywood panels, or directly onto walls. Canvas work can be created in Bobbie's studio and shipped to any location for attachment on site. Acrylics or oils are used depending on the project and location.
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