"Chicago-based gay visual artist Dan Crowley is a creative person with a considerable adult following. Working in multiple media, including sculpting, painting, and illustration, Crowley has established himself with pieces in private collections as well as public and commercial exhibitions. He even had a popular comic strip, ""Uncle Dan,"" that ran for three years in the now-defunct gay publication, Nightspots.
With his first book, ""Danny, Growing Up Gay & Creative"" (Rattling Good Yarns Press, 2021), Crowley enters the world of all-ages books.
As he writes, ""It's not easy growing up in a world that tells you to hide who you are,"" and via a series of illustrated vignettes, Crowley tells his story of learning who he was and how he became himself.
Gregg Shapiro: Dan, I'd like to begin by congratulating you on the publication of your first book 'Danny, Growing Up Gay & Creative.' How long was the book in the works?
Dan Crowley: This was the project I decided to focus on when quarantine time struck on March 12, 2020. I had several book projects in pieces and wanted one of them to be completed during that time. I worked on it all during the lockdown. I decided on this book because I needed to be sure to send out healing thoughts to people who are going through this now."
"Chicago-based gay visual artist Dan Crowley is a creative person with a considerable adult following. Working in multiple media, including sculpting, painting, and illustration, Crowley has established himself with pieces in private collections as well as public and commercial exhibitions. He even had a popular comic strip, ""Uncle Dan,"" that ran for three years in the now-defunct gay publication, Nightspots.
With his first book, ""Danny, Growing Up Gay & Creative"" (Rattling Good Yarns Press, 2021), Crowley enters the world of all-ages books.
As he writes, ""It's not easy growing up in a world that tells you to hide who you are,"" and via a series of illustrated vignettes, Crowley tells his story of learning who he was and how he became himself.
Gregg Shapiro: Dan, I'd like to begin by congratulating you on the publication of your first book 'Danny, Growing Up Gay & Creative.' How long was the book in the works?
Dan Crowley: This was the project I decided to focus on when quarantine time struck on March 12, 2020. I had several book projects in pieces and wanted one of them to be completed during that time. I worked on it all during the lockdown. I decided on this book because I needed to be sure to send out healing thoughts to people who are going through this now."