Caya Crum’s artwork embodies a rare combination of contemporary Western influence, vibrant pop culture and the occasional homage to history. At just 18, the Fort Worth native and TCU freshman has already produced an acclaimed body of work — and she’s just getting started. “I hope to create memorable pieces that resonate with people and contribute to making the world a better place,” she said.

Given that both of her parents, Betsy and Carl Crum, are professional artists, Crum’s prowess comes as no surprise. “When I was little, I would make art pieces and sell them out of lemonade-type stands in front of our house,” she laughed. By the time she was in 8th grade, she had received her first big commission offer. “I realized I wanted to do this for the rest of my life, so I started learning more about the process of selling my art,” she said.

At just 14, Crum completed her first large-scale mural — for the Swiss Pastry Shop on West Vickery Boulevard, a beloved staple for baked goods. The owner of the building wanted to commission an art installation for the side of the building to attract more business.

Crum enjoys reimagining well-known images with her own contemporary flair. Another trademark is her consistent use of vibrant, eye-catching colors.

“The one condition was that the mural endorsed their famous Black Forest Cake,” Crum said. She delivered — and then some. If you drive by the bakery today, you’ll see a pristinely crafted painting spanning most of its wall, featuring a background of intricate, fine-line sunflowers and, of course, a woman enjoying a slice of cake.

Last year, Crum graduated from Paschal High School, where she took painting classes from yet another artistically inclined family member — her uncle. During those four years, she completed several more murals of astonishing scale and complexity, including the striking exterior walls of The Welman Project and The Bearded Lady. In addition to building a robust business on commissions alone, Crum also exhibited pieces in over a dozen galleries and art fairs and sold work at notable Texas institutions like the Montgomery Street Antique Mall, Buc-ee’s and Hotel Drover.

Crum’s parents are multimedia artists who founded Emmy Award-winning documentary film company, Brazos Film & Video. They are also the founders of Crum Art — an online store where they sell Caya’s and their own artwork. The family’s collective body of work captures their love of what they call “all things quirky, kitschy and Texas,” featuring ebullient photomontages, paintings and more that pay tribute to icons from Ann Richards to Topo Chico. Crum Art has hundreds of five-star reviews — not only for the quality of its pieces but also for its fast shipping and service.

Crum enjoys reimagining well-known images with her own contemporary flair, such as hiding a Whataburger sign in the background of a historical painting or relocating The Beatles’ iconic Abbey Road crossing to the Stockyards. Another trademark is her consistent use of vibrant, eye-catching colors.

Caya Crum’s post-graduate plan is to spend a couple of years following in her parents’ footsteps – selling her work at art shows not only in Texas, but all over the country. From there, her master vision is to buy an old building in Fort Worth and convert it into her own art studio.

“There’s a running joke in my painting classes that if you ever see a hot pink canvas lying around, you know it’s mine,” she laughed. With subjects ranging from Ruth Bader Ginsburg to David Bowie, Crum’s universal themes and enticing visuals could arguably appeal to anyone.

Judging by the level of success Crum has already achieved as a remarkably young artist, it’s probably safe to say she would do just fine without a college degree. For her, attending TCU has always been a lifelong plan — and one she will use to catapult her success even further.

“There are art skills you need in order to be a self-employed artist, but there are also a lot of practical and business skills that you don’t get if you don’t go to college,” Crum explains. Her major is in studio art with a concentration in painting. This semester, she is broadening her expertise with classes like Photoshop and personal finance. She has also enjoyed exploring her interests outside of painting — an archaeology course, for example, has had surprising influences on her craft.

In the last two years, Crum showed her work in the first and second annual Fort Worth Art Fair in Sundance Square Plaza. 

Every year, Crum travels around Texas with her family to set up shop at various art shows and festivals. The Crums kicked off this year by continuing their tradition of selling out of a booth at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. Crum derived inspiration for her pieces from iconic Western artist, Frederic Remington.

“I like to combine traditional styles of artwork with a newer, pop art style, and we had a bunch of work like that in the booth this year,” she said. 

The Crum Art crew will exhibit and sell their work at Round Top’s Marburger Farm Antique Show March 26-30, San Antonio’s King William Fair on April 27, and Fort Worth’s ArtsGoggle in the fall. They will close out the year at the Junior League of Fort Worth’s Christmas in Cowtown and Austin’s Armadillo Christmas Bazaar.

Crum prefers to do most of her painting in the evening – after she’s finished her college homework, and always with a movie playing in the background. She lives on campus and splits her painting between the campus and her family’s home in Fort Worth.

As a college student and a working artist, Crum has her work cut out for her — but she’s developed a routine that keeps her on track. No matter the time of year, she starts every day by going for a run. If she has time, she’ll sneak in some work before her first class in the morning. During Crum’s lunch breaks, you’ll often find her packing up her sold artworks. When classes are over for the day, she’ll head to the post office to ship them off to customers.

Because her freshman art requirements focus primarily on specific painting techniques, Crum is rarely able to work on personal projects during school. “I would say that I do 95% of the work for my own art business outside of school time,” she said. A self-proclaimed night owl, Crum prefers to do most of her painting in the evening — after she’s finished her homework, and always with a movie playing in the background.

As of now, Crum’s post-grad plan is to spend a couple of years following in her parents’ footsteps — selling her work at art shows not only in Texas, but all over the country. From there, her master vision is to buy an old building in Fort Worth and convert it into her own art studio.

“I want to start my own company, my own branch of Crum Art, I guess you could say,” she said. “I love the idea of having a space where I could invite other artists to come and collaborate. There are so many amazing artists in Fort Worth, and I think there’s definitely a need for more conversations with one another.”