Jonathan Crenshaw, Homeless Miami Beach Artist Who Painted With Feet, Dead at 51

Jonathan Crenshaw, a homeless man with no arms who spent years amusing tourists and other onlookers by painting canvases with his feet on Lincoln Road, died at 51.

On May 12, 2023, just weeks after being cited for a local trespassing incident, Crenshaw was found unresponsive on a sidewalk outside a parking lot on James Avenue across the street from a string of motels. According to an autopsy report, a security camera showed him in a "squatted position" on the sidewalk before tumbling forward on his face.

His cause of death was found to be esophageal varices — or enlarged veins in the esophagus lining that can lead to life-threatening bleeding — which was caused by fatty liver disease, according to the report.

His death hasn't been publicly reported in local media until now, despite happening close to a year ago. A Wikipedia page for Crenshaw doesn't mention his passing.

New Times was unable to reach members of Crenshaw's family.

In a brief interview with a New Times writer in 2011, Crenshaw said he was born in Alabama but spent his childhood bouncing between places like El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California. He accused his mother of feeding him rat poison ("For the insurance policy, I guess," he said at the time). He told New Times he loved creating new artworks but had been harangued by the city for not having a vendor's permit. He also made unverified claims that he impregnated singer Gloria Estefan, whom he said had birthed about 200 of his children.

While it's unclear when Crenshaw arrived in Miami Beach, the unmissable character made a name for himself painting colorful mosaics with his feet on Lincoln Road, which he'd sell for up to $60. When he wasn't out painting, he enjoyed retiring to a hotel room to "eat good food, drink a beer, and watch television," he told New Times.

In 2018, Crenshaw was thrust into national spotlight after being arrested for allegedly stabbing a 22-year-old tourist from Chicago with a pair of scissors. He was later exonerated at trial.

A lawyer who represented him in the case as a public defender says that Crenshaw "wasn't scared a bit" about the prospect of a state prison sentence.

"The jury loved the guy," attorney Mike Mayoral tells New Times. "Jonathan was a sweet man...and although he had some days when he was irritated with life, understandably, he was always positive and just a harmless soul."

He again made headlines in 2022 after appearing in a video posted by Barstool owner Dave Portnoy's One Bite Pizza Reviews. The clip, which features the armless man dragging around a suitcase using what appears to be a leash, garnered millions of views and became the basis for several Halloween costumes.

"How's he pulling that?" a seemingly awestruck Portnoy asks, pointing to Crenshaw.

Responding to news of his death, social media users recalled their interactions with Crenshaw.

"I waited on him in a restaurant many times — always a nice polite guy towards me. Sorry to hear of his passing," one Instagram user said.

"He cursed me out when I offered $200 to paint my wife," a Reddit user said.

"Damn a true SoBe legend. May he rest in peace," another commenter on Instagram wrote.
Despite his viral fame, Crenshaw lived a troubled life.

Over the years, he regularly clashed with local police for everything from trespassing to disorderly intoxication to allegedly threatening law enforcement. In the fifteen years preceding his death, he faced a handful of charges, including battery on a municipal officer, battery on a code enforcement worker, public nuisance, resisting arrest, and cannabis possession.

Crenshaw was arrested several times in the months leading up to his death, according to court records. While clerk records don't provide details for his arrests, it appears he was detained in February 2023 for smoking cannabis on public property, in March 2023 under a municipal alcoholic beverage ordinance, and in April 2023 for alleged trespassing.

He died roughly a month after the April arrest.

Mayoral tells New Times that Crenshaw preferred to spend his time outside in Miami Beach rather than going to shelters.

"My understanding is that Jonathan, like many homeless people, was not comfortable going to a homeless shelter due to fear of being victimized by other residents. He really preferred staying on the beach. As to counseling, he didn't really seem to want mental health counseling. Besides saying things like Gloria Estefan was his ex-girlfriend, he was all there. No delusions. Actually quite rational," Mayoral says.

According to the autopsy report, Crenshaw suffered from phocomelia, a rare birth defect that involves severe malformations of arms and legs, as well as psychiatric disease. He was "known to consume alcohol" and suffered from substance abuse, weighing just 59 pounds when he died.

The report notes that police found a small amount of suspected weed in his wallet and empty beer cans near his body.