Local art prodigy, Caya Rose Crum, is a senior at Paschal High school. She’s well-known in the school as an individual with raw talent when it comes to artwork. 

Born and raised in Fort Worth, Caya started her artistic career at a very young age. “My parents were artists, so I’ve kind of been doing it my whole life,” Caya reminiscences saying that her parents had exposed her to art by and would taking her to art shows to view artists from all around Texas.

Caya continues by saying her mother owns an art business where she sells photography prints, crumart.com, and her father is a photographer. Oddly though  Caya chose a different medium when it comes to art.

Caya specializes in painting. Examples of her artwork can be seen on  Instagram, heyitscaya, where she frequently posts. Her work is also visible all over Fort Worth in the form of murals.  The Welman Project, 3950 W Vickery Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76107, “The Forest Awakens” is a 55 feet long mural, plastered on the side of the building. The Swiss Pastry Shop located at 3936 W Vickery Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76107, is adorned with her first and most famous mural which she completed at age 14.  Her more recent mural is on the side of The Bearded Lady Restaurant  at 300 S. Main St, Fort Worth, TX 76104. 

Due to Caya’s rapid progression in art, one may stop to question how she’s gotten so far in painting when her parents do photography prints. Caya explains, “I’ve taken all the painting classes, but this year I’m in art history, photography, and AP drawing.”

Just when Caya seems like an individual who obtained her skills from formal  school classes, she drops the  bombshell that she is self-taught, and that although the classes she takes do help her; she has primarily taught herself most of the skills she knows.

If you are an artist you know that self-taught artists are some of the most humble and kind people. They are not proud or think they are better than others, so when Caya mentioned that because her parents did not have a quirk for painting, learning how to do so at a young age was very challenging. She claimed it’s important to stay humble, and happy, and not expect the best. There will always be a critic, and there will always be a fan. 

Paschal’s aspiring artists are definitely motivated by Caya, so she says to all the artists who are struggling with their skills, who have art block, or just do not feel good enough to compete with others, to keep pushing. Keep creating.

 You can see some of  Caya’s artwork at Dang Good Candy, 404 Houston St, Fort Worth, TX 76102 through October 7.