by Paul Newton | pnewton@ruralmissouri.coop
Brandon Crandall was an intuitive kid. Growing up in rural Adair County, he would stretch his imagination by constructing Legos or building things on the family farm. “I probably made some things that my parents didn’t like, like I would be welding a go-kart when I was 12,” he says. “But it spurred my imagination and my mom pushed me to use that for things like doing Bob Ross paintings with people 50 years older than me.”
That interest in art and building as a kid helped shape Brandon. “I just realized I had a mechanical mind that could think three-dimensionally,” he says. “I could think spatially about objects whether it was mechanical or art.”
That path led Brandon to a career as a sculptor for nearly two decades. Today, inside his studio in rural Brashear, he creates highly detailed sculptures — both big and small — that are proudly displayed throughout Missouri and across the world.
Brandon went to the University of Missouri to earn a degree in computer engineering but realized art was his passion. “I guess I was more of an artist with an engineering bent,” he says. He graduated with an art degree from Mizzou in 2006 and has sculpted ever since.
His sculptures are located throughout Kirksville, on college campuses and beyond. The sculptor’s largest piece can be found at Northwest Missouri State in Maryville. Brandon was commissioned in 2022 to create an 8-foot-tall Bobby Bearcat statue that weighs 600 pounds.
Most of the projects Brandon takes on are big and can take up to two years from initial meetings to installation, including many months at the foundry. “It can be a lonely process,” the Tri-County Electric Cooperative member says. “I go through these emotional highs and lows. I’m more of a journey guy instead of the destination. But, it is fun to see it from concept all the way to being finished and people enjoying it.”
What sets Brandon’s sculptures apart is the intricate details he includes. “Through the years I’ve really devoted time to giving my sculptures the sense of motion even though it’s a static statue,” he says. “I love that look.”
One of his most recent creations Forest Maestro was dedicated in downtown Kirksville in August. It depicts a young boy holding a stick he’s found directing a choir of animals. Linda Treasure is president of the Kirksville Art Association — which commissioned the piece — and says the sculpture adds to the sense of community in Kirksville.
“Public art is something that we as an association are interested in creating,” she says. “We dedicated it to coincide with our 50th anniversary and there’s just so much detail to his work. The texture of the little boy’s hands and the claws and fur of the little critters. It’s just remarkable.”
Other notable sculptures Brandon has created include Selfless, which honors firefighters and is on display at Fire Station No. 3 in Blue Springs; Purple Heart, which honors Medal of Honor recipient Jehd Barker on Truman State’s campus and a bust of A.T. Still for the Hall of Famous Missourians inside the Missouri State Capitol.
With the increasing popularity of 3D printing, Brandon says the sculpting industry is transforming. “It’s crazy how fast it’s changing,” he says. “I think that’s scary for some people, but you have to evolve. I think there will always be a spot for the traditional sculpting techniques I do.”
Brandon’s success as an artist has kept him increasingly busy and in high demand. “Over the past decade I haven’t had to question if this is the right path for me,” he says. “Every time I finish a project I have another one starting. It’s exciting.”
While his work can be found outside of Adair County, Linda says his additions to Kirksville don’t go unnoticed.
“It gives people something to be proud about,” she says. “And the fact that we have nine of his sculptures here is something every citizen of Kirksville should take pride in.”
For more information or to contact Brandon about his sculptures, visit www.crandallsculpture.com.