Creekmore, Raymond

Raymond Creekmore (May 5, 1905 – May 1984) was a prolific artist, writer and sailboat designer. Creekmore was an American artist who, in the beginning of his career, "wandered" extensively, using his experiences in observation and his direct and expressive draftsmanship as vehicles to bring the sensitivity and ways of life in foreign lands to America's local shores. Creekmore was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. He moved to Baltimore, Maryland, graduating from the Maryland Institute School of Mechanical Arts (now "MICA") in 1930. During his days as an art student, he became friends with another student artist, Leonard Bahr and they shared a studio for a while as well as a love of sailing, and remained lifelong friends. Creekmore was an easy-going student with a great sense of humor. After graduation in 1930, he worked his way through Europe with a sketch pad, and in 1933, spent five months in Mexico. By 1936, he set out again "on a shoestring" with his sketch pad as means of support. He stayed in villages in Japan, India, Mongolia, and China, and kept illustrated journals. Between trips, he worked as a Baltimore Evening Sun staff illustrator, with sketches of his travels and of local news...