Photos courtesy of Roger Curley
Ever since he was young, Roger Curley has created many forms of art and music. Even though his talents have taken him all over the world, Dublin is where he chose to settle down.
Curley was born in Pennsylvania, but he calls central Ohio his home, having lived here the majority of his life. When the Vietnam War progressed, Curley, a then art student at The Ohio State University would have to leave his paintbrushes behind for the time being.
“Guys were being drafted right and left, and I felt like I was going to be, too,” Curley says. “Chances were, if you go in the army, you might not come home. So, I decided to make a choice myself and chose the Air Force.”
While enlisted in the Air Force, Curley continued to draw and paint as an illustrator, sharing his work throughout the world wherever he traveled. However, he was also gifted in a different kind of art.
Curley was a part of the Castlegate Trio, a musical group consisting of him and a few other members of the Air Force based in Germany. They toured all over Europe, recording music, making the top 10 German charts and even performing in London on the BBC’s The Tonight Show.
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“I wouldn’t trade (my Air Force experience) for any college degree,” says Curley. “Those four years were just phenomenal.”
When he returned home to central Ohio, Curley worked as a layout artist for The Columbus Dispatch. It was during this time Curley began drawing portraits - the start of what would become his lifelong career.
“I’ve never considered doing anything else, just more and more of what I do,” says Curley.
Curley’s artistic style ranges from portraits, caricatures, graphics and cartoons. Even when he lived in Colorado for seven years, before returning to central Ohio to marry his wife, Doris, he noted the loyalty of his customers in his home state.
“It’s funny, I lived in Worthington before I moved to Colorado and I had more business from (Ohio) than when I lived in Colorado,” he says.
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His style is known around Columbus, having created some portraits of recognizable faces such as Jack Hanna, Walt Disney, and Nationwide board member Ken Davis and Jack Nicklaus.
Curley has lived and produced art in Dublin for 32 years and counting. He enjoys every second of his career, which gives him the opportunity to work on a variety of exciting pieces from family and pet portraits to celebrities.
“Dublin is so familiar, it is dependable… it is just home,” says Curley, “and I love all of the developments. It is kind of exciting, every day I have to drive down the street and ask, ‘What have they done now that’s new?’”
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However, now a day’s art is not Curley’s only job. Continuing his love of music, he is also a pianist at Von Maur for going on 12 years. Make sure to stop and say hi when walking through the Polaris Fashion Place department store.
“The reason I’ve done it so long and I will still do it a long, long time is because the demand is there from my clients and the things that I do make people happy,” says Curley about his art. “It serves a need and makes you proud of what you have done.”
To see more of Curley’s work, visit www.rogercurley.com.
Sara Dowler is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
