Crumpton has not had an address since he graduated high school in the early 2000’s. Instead, he’s been living mostly in spare closets or on cots in studios. He owns very little, often giving away everything but the clothes on his back before jumping on another one-way flight. I don’t know anyone who’s booked more one-way flights than Crumpton.

We met in college. Crumpton and I worked together as much as possible, at school and in our own makeshift studio where we practically squatted. We threw parties, screen printed into all hours of the night, and slept on occasion. We actually lived together for a time. He moved into my spare bedroom - there was already a bed in there - bringing nothing more than a duffle bag and the clothes he was wearing (jeans, a gray t shirt, black vans, glasses, maybe underwear).

When he moved out he had that same duffle bag, but had acquired a small trunk that held whatever art supplies he collected. All the art he created in the time we were together, he gave away. He is always giving his shit away. When he moved to Chicago; everything he wanted to pack was thrown into his Honda, but the backseat wasn’t even full.

Crumpton intuitively understands that impermanence is part of existence, that everything will one day be gone. Paint a wall in some city and never go back again. Rip a page out of the sketchbook and paste it up. Paint the side of a train and walk away before it rolls down the track into infinity. Lack of permanence is an ongoing them, both in his life and his work. No plans, just do and jump - create and let go.

Crumpton connected with one of our college professors, now an installation artist. She was on the cusp of global recognition, and needed an assistant to help install her large, immersive, vegetative-reptilian sculptures. Crumpton made the leap. He had no idea what was ahead, but he trusted his intuition and had faith that he was going to land somewhere. Moving was easy — no lease to break, no possessions to pack, few relationships to sever.

He moved to Georgia, to her studio. From there he traveled the world. Milan, San Francisco, Lodz, New York, Paris. He worked with our professor and developed his skills in a formal setting. His sketch books and sketchy adventures in train yards show his growth as an artist. Graffiti provides him with a sense of place, a way to participate in a world of constant forward movement.

“Give it away,” he says. That has how he has always been - and his embrace of that idea has taken him from small town graffiti kid to a highly conceptual, driven artist. The more he develops his craft, the greater his satisfaction when he leaves his work behind. The more he paints and walks away, the more the world feels like home.

1 Notebook from Naples/2 Work in Progress/3 Notebook from Paris/4 Work in Progress/5 Extinguisher/6 Sub Urban Vision/7 Notebook from Lodz/8 Perception Blurs Reality/9 Notebook from Madrid

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Paint and Walk Away