Small Town Famous Meet Broderick Crawford

By Tracy McCoy

Twenty years ago, the founders of the then Rabun’s Laurel approached local resident and Wildlife artist Broderick Crawford to ask if he would be the cover artist for their first issue. He was happy to do so and the first Rabun’s Laurel featured his art. Since then his art was featured on our 5th Anniversary issue and in this our 20th year we feature Broderick in our Small Town Famous spotlight. Except, he is more than small town famous, his art is known nationwide but he is still the boy from Tiger who would pick blueberries at Arrendale’s farm to get the money for a day at the county swimming pool.

Award winning is an understatement, to date he has placed 1st in 14 National Open Competitions, he has won 5 State Conservation Stamp competitions and his art was represented on the 2022/2023 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp. Broderick has had 25 2nd place wins. While he is proud of his accomplishments, he remains humble and doesn’t love the attention these awards garner. As we sat together at Crawford Art Gallery, the creative space he shares with his photographer wife Michele, it struck me. Here I was surrounded by incredible artwork on every wall, talking with him about his roots here in Rabun which date back to at least 1886. He laughed as he relayed stories of growing up in Tiger, Georgia. He might be famous, but his heart is still right here in these mountains.

Broderick is the great-uncle of Chandler Patterson, who lost his life in a tragic boating accident on Lake Tugalo in June of 2021. The entire community mourned his death as he was one of a kind. Chan never met a stranger and loved most everyone he met. He left an impression on everyone who met him. “I watched him grow up. He was the grandson of my sister Carolyn. I remember when he was just 6 or 7 years old, he got up at church and asked to be saved, all by himself. Then he wanted to join the choir. Losing him was hard for not only his family, but Chan was a fireman for the City of Gainesville and his work family suffered right along with the rest of us. If you’ve never been to a fireman’s funeral, you have never witnessed anything like it. It was tough to hold it together.” Broderick shared. A nonprofit called Dude21 was organized by his wife and others to aid families of fallen firemen. Chan Patterson’s impact has been far reaching.

Now we speak of another famous Rabun County fellow who headed to Nashville to make his mark, Jeb Gipson. A country music artist, songwriter, and friend of Chan Patterson, Jeb recently wrote a song dedicated to his friend. The song titled “House in Heaven” brings the emotion of his grief alongside his passion for music, resulting in a raw and beautiful tribute. When cover art was needed for the release, Jeb knew just where to go. He called Broderick and forwarded him a copy of the song and asked if he would do the cover art. “I asked him what do you want it to be? He said he’d leave it up to me after I listened to the song. I’ll be honest, it was hard to get through the song. It took me 4 or 5 times to get all the way through it. In the end I painted the song, I added almost every element from the song into the cover. I imagined my great-nephew walking into Heaven.” Broderick shook his head reminded of the emotion he felt.

The painting includes Chan’s great-grandparents: Mart and Eva Crawford (Broderick’s parents), and John and Burma Lou Patterson standing on the porch of the perfect mountain cabin. In the yard with a guitar is Chan’s maternal grandfather Lloyd Mitchell. All waving as Chan makes his way up the dirt path to Heaven. Meanwhile a deer is grazing, his dog runs to meet him, a boat sits on the pond nearby as geese fly overhead. Broderick easily captured the spirit of Chan and the heartfelt lyrics of the song Jeb wrote for him.

Broderick told me “This might be one of the most moving things I’ve ever been a part of. It was truly an honor to do this painting for Jeb in Chan’s memory. When he saw the painting I think he was pleased. Broderick will have open edition prints for sale in the gallery for anyone who might want one. The original painting is sitting on an easel in the gallery and is truly a sight to behold. Very moving indeed.

Crawford Art Gallery is located at 108 North Main Street in Clayton, Georgia. The gallery’s website is www.crawfordartgallery.com or you can call 706-782-8379. Stop in when in Clayton and look at all of Broderick’s art and Michele’s photography. Also Michele offers custom framing and does a beautiful job. If you stop you will stand in amazement and feel like you are visiting old friends.