Other Works



Lady and Tower

West Balcony

Fairy Piece of the Sacred Garden

Stanford Ashcraft

Stanford Ashcraft paints with acrylics and oils on canvas. However, his distinctive technique of applying paint onto the canvases with razor blades gives his artworks a very unique texture. His razor arsenal includes blades of various sizes and types, from large scraping blades to tiny-point X-acto knife blades. Ashcraft puts this unique process to work to create compositions with a magical, surreal mood.

There is also a precision to his work, as seen in the chess pieces, model ships and elegant costumes in his current series entitled Idyll Game. Like his previous work in The Garden Series, he blends magic and reality with playful charm.

Ashcraft has lived in Marietta GA for the past 14 years. He earned a BFA from Western Carolina University, in Cullowhee NC, specializing in painting and printmaking. He worked and exhibited throughout the Southeast in the 1990s. He then turned to visual design in 2002, where he won multiple awards in advertising.

Ashcraft's paintings were featured at the 2012 Art & Design Show House hosted by the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art in Marietta GA. His work continues to gain exposure and become familiar in Georgia and nationally.

Along with the new pieces of the Idyll Game series, Ashcraft's show at 2 Rules Fine Art in July and August 2013 will also include some pieces from The Garden Series.

Artist Statement

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

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.

My Idyll Game series is a playful satire of romance and luxury. The images reflect energy and tranquility. They are influenced by 19th century masters, the Surrealists, and classic story books.