Howdy Print | Minimalist B&W | Betsy Crum
Crum Art
Shop with confidence — every print is made, inspected, hand-signed and carefully packed in our Fort Worth studio.
Ships unframed in 3–5 days · Questions? Call or text 817-965-0169
The Quiet One — Black and White Howdy Print by Betsy Crum
Same big HOWDY as her loud sisters — tall carnival letters with stars punched clean through each one, like the marquee bulbs got up and walked off with the light still in them. Rows of bulb-and-spindle trim run across the top and bottom, a flourish straight out of circus and carnival art, back when a sign's whole job was to make you stop the wagon. Black letters, white ground, square as a dance floor. That's it. That's the painting. It didn't need anything else.
Betsy painted this howdy design in a handful of moods — a burnt orange loud enough for game day, a purple that bleeds Fort Worth — and then made this one, stripped down to ink-dark and paper-white. It's the monochrome member of the whole howdy family, and like most quiet siblings, it's the one everybody gets along with.
Where It'll Work in Your House
Anywhere. Truly — that's her whole talent. Black and white wall art is the great diplomat of decorating: it doesn't ask what color your sofa is, and it won't sulk if you repaint. Hang her in a rental where the landlord picked the beige, in an office where fun is technically discouraged, over a bar cart, in an entryway with zero natural light. She's also the connector piece in a gallery wall — a square print is the pin that holds a grid together — and she hangs beautifully next to Willie's black and white blessings, two pieces that both know when to hush.
Questions
What are the stars doing inside the letters? That's an old marquee trick — midway signs used to punch their bulbs right through the lettering so the word itself lit up after dark. Betsy kept the star-shaped punches and skipped the wiring. You get the twinkle without the electric bill.
Is a HOWDY print too playful for a serious room? In color, maybe — depends on the room. In black and white, it reads like typography art with good manners: crisp enough for an office that greets clients, friendly enough that you know it means the howdy.
Why is it square? Because a greeting shouldn't lean. The square format hangs solo over a console like it was built for the spot, doubles into pairs, and slots into a gallery wall grid without making the other frames scoot over.
Who made it? Betsy Crum painted her, working in Texas. Original family artwork, printed to order — there's a whole house's worth more in the Betsy Crum collection.
This is the howdy you buy when you can't commit to a color — and the one you keep after you finally do. And if the color bug bites you later, the late afternoon orange and the Fort Worth TCU purple hang like family. Because they are.
Fine Art Prints Made in Fort Worth, Texas
Since 1996, Crum Art has created original art, paintings, and fine art prints in Fort Worth, showing and selling work at hundreds of art shows across Texas.
Crum Art brings a distinct Texas and Western point of view to specific, meaningful images: pop art color, cowboys, cowgirls, animals, kittens, vintage signs, bluebonnets, humor, grit, and Lone Star nostalgia.
These are not mass-produced prints or generic wall decor. They are artist-made pieces with a Texas point of view, created for homes that feel collected, lived-in, and full of meaning.
Each print is produced to gallery-quality fine art standards, made to order in our Fort Worth studio, carefully inspected, and hand-signed by the artist. Every piece passes through our hands before it becomes part of your home.
Print Details
- Archival pigment inks on 100% cotton rag paper
- Unframed and sized to fit standard frames
- Studio-made, artist-signed prints only available directly from Crum Art
Made in Texas.
Frequently Asked Questions
What sizes does this print come in?
Our fine art prints are available in multiple sizes including 8x10 unframed matted to 11x14, 11x14 unframed, 16x20, 18x24, and 24x36. Each size ships ready to frame, making it easy to find the right fit for your wall.
Is this print good for a western or ranch-style living room?
Absolutely. Crum Art prints work beautifully in western living rooms, ranch house walls, and collected interiors. The editorial quality and distinct Texas point of view make them strong anchor pieces for a rustic western or Lone Star-inspired home.
How is this print made and what materials are used?
Every Crum Art print is produced on 100% cotton rag paper using archival pigment inks — the same standard used in fine art galleries. Built to last without fading, and hand-signed by the artist before it leaves our Fort Worth studio.
Can this print be part of a gallery wall?
Yes — many Crum Art prints are part of series and are designed to group together as a statement western gallery wall, or hang individually as a standalone piece. Each image is sized to fit standard frames for easy styling.
Will this look like an original painting or a print?
Crum Art takes the scanning and photographing of original paintings seriously — we work to capture the texture of the canvas or paper the original was created on, so that texture shows through in the print. Combined with the cotton rag paper's own subtle surface and the hand-signing, many customers say they cannot tell if it's an original or a print. That's intentional. These are not flat digital reproductions — they are fine art prints that carry the soul of the original.
Made with love. Signed by hand. Shipped with care. Hung with joy.
Product FAQ
Why make a black and white howdy print when the other howdy prints are full of color?
Betsy wanted one howdy that could walk into any room without asking the palette's permission. Paint colors change, sofas get replaced, but a black and white print never has to be redecorated around — it's the version of the design built to outlast every phase your house goes through.
Does the black and white howdy print read modern or vintage?
Both, and that's the trick. The bones are vintage — carnival marquee letterforms with star-shaped bulb punches and spindle trim, the kind of sign language old midways spoke. Stripped to black on white, the finish turns modern. Next to wood and quilts it reads farmhouse; next to steel and glass it reads gallery.
Where does a black and white howdy work that a colorful print can't?
Stair landings, powder rooms, kitchens with strong tile opinions, and hallways already committed to somebody else's color story. Black and white keeps its contrast in bad light and clashes with exactly nothing, so it goes where color prints have to be talked into.
Which prints pair well with the minimalist black and white howdy?
Start with its own siblings: the Game Day Orange howdy and the Fort Worth TCU Purple howdy share the same carnival lettering, so two or three together read like a set that was always meant to be one. Add the Front Porch Howdy — Betsy's painting of an old neon howdy sign — when you want the set to have a storyteller. The black and white one is the anchor that lets the colorful ones shine.