The influences on Crosbie's work are many and varied: He was born and educated in China where he developed an interest in Chinese and Oriental philosophy; he developed his skills in draugtmanship at the Glasgow School of Art; and he studied in the Sorbonne and in particular in Leger's studio which, he said, was one of my proudest experiences.

He has exhibited widely and a major retrospective of his works was held in 1980 at the Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh.