Biography

Stanford Ashcraft has lived in Marietta GA for the last 13 years. He earned a BFA from Western Carolina University, in Cullowhee NC, specializing in painting and printmaking. S. Ashcraft worked and exhibited throughout the Southeast in the 1990s. He then turned to commercial arts in 2002, where he won multiple awards including sponsored advertising contests by Pepsi, Old El Paso, Banana Boat and Snapple.

S. Ashcraft paints in acrylic and oils. Finding brushes too limiting to fully express his vision, S. Ashcraft uses razors to apply paint to the canvas. This unique technique gives his paintings a marked texture.

S. Ashcraft also continues with his printmaking, and currently is expanding his art to include murals and displays.

Statement

I was striving for a radiance not achieved with academic techniques and brushes. Once I discovered razors, it changed my approach to painting.

My current body of work, The Garden Series, explores Southern and Victorian imagery and gardens. These paintings' unique compositions and texture evoke a magic and surreal mood.

The line between what is Real and Surreal is often blurred due to the encroachment of technology in our lives. What differentiates me from other Surrealists is that I work towards the believable, while most work towards that which is fantastical. It is funny that the results are often the same.