Young 26 year old Lizzy Marie Crowder has found a niche that is not only highlighting her talents, but also the fourteen communities of the Southeastern conference. HottyToddy.com recently interviewed the aspiring artist here in Oxford:
HottyToddy.com: Tell our readers about yourself.
Liz Crowder: I’m an Oxford native, born and raised. A nice mixture of Irish, German and Cherokee with a splash of Southern charm. I’m a self-taught artist. I also enjoy writing, but my true love in life is my daughter, Lydia.
HottyToddy.com: This idea you have developed about painting the 14 SEC communities, how did it originate?
Liz Crowder: The idea came to mind when I had just finished Ole Oxford. I thought to myself, “Oh boy! My LSU family (on my father’s side) were gonna get jealous because I didn’t do one for Baton Rouge.” And then it hit me: “Liz, just go on ahead and do the entire SEC… every single town.” I wanted to make everyone happy in all honesty.
HottyToddy.com: It is our understanding that Alabama, LSU, and Tennessee are also done. What is the timeline to complete the balance?
Liz Crowder: Each painting is on a 30×40 canvas and takes around 90-plus hours to complete. I have a 24 hour turnaround for print reproduction and copyright submission. In all, it’s about a two or three week process per team and town.
HottyToddy.com: We’ve never seen work quite like yours. What do you believe set you apart from other local artists?
Liz Crowder: I believe my work speaks for itself. I have spent 22 years loyal to the creative process. You can see that my heart is in it. We live in a cookie-cutter society. My work is 100 percent original. You can’t compare it to anyone else. It’s artists like myself who redefine the standard of art and create trends.
HottyToddy.com: Your talent is amazing. At what age did you begin perfecting your skill?
Liz Crowder: I started drawing around age four. My Dad still has my first “masterpiece:” a crayon drawing of two hot air balloons with colorful patchworks of different patterns. Creating has always been my shadow, metaphorically speaking. It’s always there.
HottyToddy.com: How do you plan to market and promote your works?
Liz Crowder: My secret weapon is two-fold. Matt Reardon is the brains behind the unique marketing strategies we implement. Matt is a regional partner with Sentext Solutions and he handles everything on the back end. The text plaftorm he provides is responsible for over 60 percent of my sales.
HottyToddy.com: How important is social media to your success?
Liz Crowder: Social media is very important for all businesses, especially independent artists because social networks are all visual outlets. However, the ability to be seen on Facebook is dwindling fast considering that Facebook has once again decreased visibility for businesses to reach its customers down to less than six percent. SMS marketing, which has a 99 percent open rate (within two minutes) is in a vertical growth status whereas Facebook has remained stagnant, but they’re both excellent marketing tools when used together properly.
HottyToddy.com: Your dad being an Ole Miss Rebel, did this have a great influence?
Liz Crowder: My father has been my greatest influence. He taught me to see life beneath the colors.
HottyToddy.com: You mentioned Double Decker previously. How important is this event to Oxford and to entrepreneurs such as yourself?
Liz Crowder: The “who’s who” go to Double Decker. If you’re a merchant and live in Oxford, you have to attend. It generates a wide variety of prospectors and tourists. For the art community, it’s an opportunity to showcase our work as well as become more closely connected with the brick-and-mortar businesses in our community.
HottyToddy.com: Where can potential customers go to view your creative talent?
Liz Crowder: Anyone can view my gallery on my website: www.lizcrowder.net.
HottyToddy.com: Writing is also included in your interests. We hear there is a coffee table book in production.
Liz Crowder: Yes, Steve, the rumor is true. There’s not one, but two books in the works. The coffee table book titled Pride of the South will encompass all 14 teams, full page prints of the paintings, individual bios per painting, bloopers, hidden secrets and of course, loads of historical fun facts. My second book, Beneath the Colors is an autobiography, but its true purpose is to voice my theory: combating racism through color theory.
HottyToddy.com: How do buyers and curiosity seekers get in touch with you?
Liz Crowder: They can visit my website, www.lizcrowder.net, email me at lizcrowderdesign@gmail.com or call me at (859) 745-4902 or (662) 832-7841.
Lizzy Marie Crowder is an artist with a cause and possesses the talent to showcase her message. Oxford is becoming more and more a mecca for these types of developing artists. It’s refreshing that residents of our area do not have to travel to Santa Fe and faraway places to experience culture at its finest.
Steve Vassallo is a HottyToddy.com contributor. Steve writes on Ole Miss athletics, Oxford business, politics and other subjects. He is an Ole Miss grad and former radio announcer for the basketball team. Currently, Steve is a highly successful leader in the real estate business who lives in Oxford with his wife Rosie. You can contact Steve at sovassallo@gmail.com or call him at 985-852-7745.
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