Beau Stanton is one of the most exciting young artists today. Beau describes his work as a juxtaposition of Victorian patterns and classical oil painting technique. He is a third generation Pop Surrealist, mentored by the great Ron English. Originally from California he now resides in New York. I’ve became a huge fan and follower of his art and was thrilled to have Beau answer some questions about his life and work here.
David: Hello Beau, it’s such a privilege to talk with you and discover how you create. Can you describe your art and what you are saying with your paintings?
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My work combines classical oil painting with intricate patterns often making references to history, industrialization, and the apocalypse. I like to make allusions to a more sophisticated past and forgone era of glory. Although it’s not my intention to be overtly political in my work, there are several applications one could make to the current state of things.
David: The “Ascension of Kenny” is a painting you did for the South Park opening at Opera NYC. How did that particular painting come about?
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I’ve been a South Park fan since I was 12 years old so I was really nervous to tackle this project. The image came to me as I was thinking about how Kenny dies all the time. I thought it would be funny if the painting was a sort of parody of a Renaissance Jesus ascension painting but with Kenny being flanked by two large breasted females instead of angels. I guess that’s just how I imagine heaven would appear for boys that age.
David: Do you have a ritual or process that you go through when you are starting a new painting? What inspires your creative process?
Lately I’ve been exploring abandoned 19th century sites around the NYC area to collect photo reference and artifacts for my paintings. You can see a few of these adventures on my blog here: beaustantonart.blogspot.com Any kind of pre-modern architecture, ornamentation, letterpress printing, or decayed infrastructure serves as an inspiration.
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David: You live in New York but were raised in California, two different types of environments. How has that transition influenced your art?
It has definitely had an effect on my work. Besides the obvious proximity to the art capitol of the world, living in a city that has a lot of history and old buildings has really fed my fascination with history and provided a lot of important visual stimuli.
David: Where do you see your art going and what do you see on the horizons for your work?
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My main goal is to continually bring the work to a higher level, in terms of technique and content. I would like to work on larger much more elaborate pieces and also explore more printmaking techniques like letterpress and stone lithography.
Thank you so much Beau for being featured on the blog and showing your work which is absolutely amazing.
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Find more about Beau Stanton and his art on his website at: www.beaustanton.com
