BIRDS AT SUNSET IN FLORIDA GULF OF MEXICO

At the heart of 1North Studios is the dynamic duo of William Robert Stanek and his wife, HC Stanek. They are celebrated as "living legends" and "national treasures" for their unwavering dedication to the arts and publishing industry. As a combat veteran and a staunch advocate for individuals with disabilities, Mr. Stanek is committed to supporting fellow veterans and promoting the value of books and libraries. With over three decades of experience, his contributions have garnered numerous accolades and recognition from top-tier publications and throughout the publishing industry.

But the magic doesn't stop with William - his wife HC Stanek is the woman behind the scenes, managing the day-to-day operations for the past three decades. A talented photographer in her own right, her candid street photography and people-focused works have been showcased in numerous gallery shows and career retrospectives alongside her husband. Her famous works, such as "Tip Toe I See You" and "Salt Water Taffy", were featured in their recent Vienna exhibition, leaving viewers spellbound.

Despite our rich history and esteemed reputation, the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a devastating blow to the arts industry, leading us to close all physical gallery locations and shift our operations online in Spring 2021. We urge you to support our studio by patronizing our online gallery, purchasing our works and telling others about our studio. Thank you.

Patronage has a long history in the arts. Help us keep the dream alive by donating to the arts programs managed by our parent company 360 Studios...

~ Donate to our Arts Awareness Program.

~ Donate to our Artist Stipends & Funding Program.

~ Donate to our Artists Expenses & Families Program.

For a long time, 1North Studios and its esteemed family of galleries, which includes 360 Studios, Studio 24, and the creative studios of Robert Stanek, have had the privilege of showcasing the works of many professional artists and photographers who are masters in their respective fields. Now, we embark on a new chapter in our history and are delighted to focus exclusively on the photography and art of Mr. Stanek (and to a limited extent, his wife, HC Stanek).

Our most celebrated contributors, William Robert Stanek and his wife, have been recognized as "living legends" and "national treasures" for their commitment to the arts and publishing. As a combat veteran and an advocate for people with disabilities, Mr. Stanek remains dedicated to supporting fellow veterans while promoting the value of books and libraries. Having written nonfiction as William Stanek for over three decades and fiction as Robert Stanek, his contributions have received many accolades and recognition from top-tier publications and the publishing industry, including a feature article in his hometown newspaper, The Olympian, which described him as "A Face Behind the Future."

At 1North Studios, we are committed to providing our customers with the highest quality of art. This is why we hold ourselves to extremely high standards to ensure your complete satisfaction. Our collection of artworks is entirely original and exclusive, so you can rest assured that the piece you receive is a unique masterpiece. So why settle for the ordinary when you can experience the extraordinary with 1North Studios and the iconic William Robert Stanek?

William Stanek is the creator of the award-winning Snapshot in Time series, the award-winning Perspective series, the award-winning Secret series, and the award-winning Elevate series. He is celebrated for his unique perspectives, natural colors and stunning use of natural light.

Did you know? From homeless at 17 to celebrated author and artist, it's been a long road for William Robert Stanek. William's English teacher in the 4th grade recognized his writing skills and encouraged him to write, as did his Uncle Wally, and both of whom told William to never stop.

At 17, in his senior year of high school, William found himself homeless and living in his car, but still managed to finish high school. After graduation, he joined the US Air Force. Military service brought William to fields of combat and special operations duties in foreign lands around the world. During deployments, there was never a day William didn’t look death in the face and find death looking back. Because of that service, William says he will always know that when the darkest of hours arrives he will not hesitate.

Be sure to visit all of our studios online. Thousands of iconic photographs… hundreds of canvas paintings…

360 Studios, Studio 24, and 1North Studios. Plus, don't miss the award-winning watercolor paintings of Robert Stanek Studios.

To contact us directly, send email. More about our founder at http://www.williamrstanek.com/.

Talking Art Prints with Hui Cha Stanek "Our artworks on canvas are stretched around wood frames using a traditional method," Hui Cha says. "The kind of art you see in art galleries and museums."

What process do you use for printing art on canvas? "Our art is printed on canvas using a fine art printing process called Giclee, pronounced zhee-KLAY," Hui Cha says, "Our prints use museum-quality pigment-based inks to capture every shade of the original work."

Is Giclee printing high quality? "Giclee prints are in fact the gold standard for high quality," Hui Cha says. "Not only that, the giclee printing process assures longevity of any work of art. The colors in Giclee printed artwork can last decades without any visible fading, ensuring art can be passed down through generations."

Is Giclee printing expensive? "Giclee is more expensive than traditional print," Hui Cha says, "Yet worth every penny to achieve a quality result that often cannot be distinguished from the original artwork."

Do Giclee prints have a surface texture? "Only if printed on a textured surface or using the artistic knife varnish style, which is one of several coating finish styles our art can be printed with. The other finishing styles are matte, semi-gloss, silver canvas, and high-gloss clear coat. At checkout, use the preview options to see which finishing style you prefer."

Do Giclee prints increase in value? "It’s very common for Giclee prints, especially, limited editions to go up in value. Prints also go up in value as the artist becomes more well-known."

NOTE: A watermark may be displayed online to protect the intellectual property of our professional artists and photographers who rely on income from their work to live and support their families. The finished product will not have a watermark. If you’d like to license any of our art or photography, please contact us.

Our founder, William Robert Stanek, and his wife have dedicated decades of their lives to the arts and publishing. Dubbed 'A Face Behind the Future' in 1996 by his hometown newspaper, The Olympian, Mr. Stanek’s work has been featured in and/or recommended by The Wall Street Journal, Publisher's Weekly, Parenting Magazine, and many other fine publications and periodicals.

“William and his wife are a dynamic duo, not only in publishing, but in the arts as well, together responsible for some of the most iconic works in landscape, architecture and travel photography over the past three decades.”

“Widely respected in the arts and literary communities, William and his wife are forces to be reckoned with. They’ve changed the way we look at the world.”

“Not only an award-winning writer, but an award-winning photographer and artist William is a preeminent force in the arts and literary communities.”

"William has a presence and a charisma that's inescapable. He's a gentle giant, a warrior poet, and a beautiful person. Someone you feel privileged just to know."

“A living legend recognized worldwide for his distinctive works that span more than three decades.”

”William, celebrated for his unique perspectives, natural colors and stunning use of natural light, is a national treasure.”

Please bookmark our site and tell others about the beautiful artwork available here. Thank you!

Talking Sunsets with William Robert Stanek You've been called the Michelangelo of sunsets. "Well, yes," William says smiling, "It’s better than Mr. Sunset, I guess."

Yes, you’ve also been named Mr. Sunset, and no wonder your sunsets are breathtaking. What's your secret? "Patience," William says, "I never rush when it comes to sunsets. I set up, watch and wait. I watch the sunset begin, evolve and descend below the horizon, taking pictures over time."

Your sunsets are some of--if not the--most beautiful in the world. The colors are mind-blowing. "Capturing the perfect sunset, rich and deep, full of color, takes a great deal of work," William says. "Hours. Most people don’t realize sunsets change throughout the year like the seasons themselves and are also affected by your vantage point and the lighting."

Lighting? We’re talking about sunsets. "I know sunsets are nothing but light. Except the perfect sunset depends on the sky, whether it's cloudy or has rained recently, whether your view to the sun is clear or partially blocked, more."

I guess that’s why you’re Mr. Sunset. You once said some of the most beautiful sunsets happen after the sun has set. Can you explain? "I did," William says, "and they do. Sometimes the most bold and rich colors can be captured just after sunset rather than before. Patience, always with sunsets."

The global pandemic devastated our company and forced us to permanently close our physically galleries around the world. We’re trying to keep the dream alive by moving online and in this way strive to support the nearly 100 photographers we’ve worked with in the past. It will take innumerable sales and many years to claw our way back to even, but we’re confident with your help we can succeed.

Many of our photographers and their families have gone more than 2 years without steady income. If you help us keep the dream alive, we can continue to deliver great art to the world at fantastic prices! Not only that, we can continue to reward our partner photographers. 80% of our profits from all sales go to the artists themselves to support their work and their families.

But without your support the dream will die. We won’t be able to keep alive the work of our photographers.

Not familiar with art? Although stretched canvas prints are the #1 most popular choice, we prefer the brilliant colors and unmatched beauty of HD Metal prints. Why? HD Metal prints include a back frame and are ready to hang without needing any extras. With HD Metal prints, you also don’t need to decide on which finishing coating to use. You get a high-gloss finish automatically at no extra cost.

Sizing art can be difficult. For a master bedroom where art will be hung on either side of the bed, 30 x 20 inches (77 x 51 cm) or a few inches either way is usually just about perfect. This also is a good size wherever a single artwork will be used to accent, such as over the bed in a guest bedroom, in a hallway, dining room or kitchen. With framed art, don’t forget the frame adds to the size, so you might want to start with a smaller size artwork. For example, the 1.5" gallery wrap frame adds a total of 3" all around to the size of the artwork. Thus, if you wanted a finished size of about 30 x 20 inches (77 x 51 cm), you’d want to start with art that was about 27 x 17 inches or a few inches either way.

For feature art in your home or office, another size that’s usually just about perfect is around 42 x 28 inches (108 x 72 cm) or a few inches either way. If you want artwork to dominate most any room you may find that 60 x 48 inches (154 x 123 cm) or a few inches either way fills the need. For large bathrooms, 24 x 16 inches (62 x 41 cm) is often ideal for centerpiece art, yet if you want to hang two artworks, you’ll usually want something smaller, say 16x12 inches for a master bathroom or 12x10 inches for a half bathroom. Again, don’t forget these are finished sizes, including any wrapping frame.

Thank you! Free shipping and easy returns in the USA and Canada. Elsewhere, you’ll find rolled prints are really easy and low-cost to ship just about anywhere. When you receive the rolled print, you can pick out a frame locally and then hang the artwork in your home.

Talking Art Collecting with William Robert Stanek "I don’t know how anyone lives without art on their walls to fill their days with beauty and joy," Mr. Stanek said recently when asked about art collecting. "Start with one print of something you truly love and work your way from there."

"In 1986, at the age of 19, passing through Hawaii on my way to my first duty station overseas, I stopped in a gallery owned by a little known artist who introduced himself to me as Robert Wyland. I was fascinated by his original oil on canvas paintings and particularly smitten with one featuring whales. This was a very large original oil on canvas, about 6’ in length as I remember it, with a list price was somewhere above $4000, and I managed to talk Robert down to $3500. Being homeless at 17 taught me a lot about saving and value, I’d saved every penny of my military pay that I could during boot camp and twelve months of training school and I knew value when I saw it. I wanted the painting more than the car I was saving up for."

"There was another smaller piece featuring dolphins that we negotiated as well. I left the gallery with Wyland’s card and price quotes written on the back, determined to scrape together the money. The day before I left the islands, I went back to the gallery, but hadn’t put together the money, so I browsed limited prints and settled on a few I loved. An associate of Wyland’s put three prints aside for me, and I rushed out to get the cash from the bank, about $650, but I never made it back. My military flight got moved up and I had to rush to the base to head off to my duty station in Japan."

"Today, just thinking about it, I’m crushed. Not because each of those prints is worth more than the average home or because the original oils are worth many millions, but because of all the days and years of joy I missed... Buy art because you love it, enjoy it each day, and you’ll have no regrets. Prints, especially limited prints, can appreciate in value just like original work on canvas, so prints can be an investment too, but the joy of ownership is the best part, even if your art collection is only one piece."

Talking Photo Series and Cityscapes with Hui Cha Stanek You and William have developed a number of photo series. Can you talk about them for us? "William is the idea guy," Hui Cha says. "I help out with the planning and coordination of everything. He’s developed ‘One Day At,’ ‘Snapshot in Time,’ ‘Elevate,’ others.”

You and William are always on the cutting edge. Few others are even doing work like this and yet you’ve been doing this for years. Help us understand exactly what is a photo series? "Our photo series,” Hui Cha says, “are small collections of works with a similar theme that are meant to be displayed together, even if only in a pairing.”

Can you go into more detail?” “Sure,” Hui Cha says. “Some collections may only be 2 or 3 works, but other collections may have 8 or 9. Anytime you see 1 of something, 2 of something, etcetera, in our product listings the work is part of a series and you can use the search option at the top of the page to look for others in the series.”

Why did you develop photo series? “Over the years,” Hui Cha says, “we found that a lot of people buying our art wanted several works with a similar theme for a particular wall or room in their home or office. Our photo series fill this need by providing a selection within a specific theme in a way that’s easy to find.”

Many of your photo series are in cities. One of my favorites is A Day At Mont Saint Michel. I own the whole collection. "That’s fantastic to hear,” Hui Cha says smiling, “Cities fit so well into our photo series, so many landmarks and locations for the theme. A Day At Mont Saint Michel is a perennial favorite in our 1North galleries. William takes his French heritage very seriously. If you only knew how much effort went into capturing its essence so spectacularly… The reward though is seeing people’s faces light up.”

Join us in supporting the arts and saving our galleries! 1North Studios was founded in 2007 by the Stanek family, with a passion for showcasing the best in art and photography. For many years, our family of galleries, which includes Studio 24, 360 Studios, and the creative studios of Robert Stanek, represented numerous professional artists and photographers, bringing their works to audiences around the world.

Unfortunately, the COVID pandemic has forced us to permanently close our physical gallery locations and move online, beginning in Spring 2021. But our commitment to exceptional art and photography remains as strong as ever. All our selections are 100% original and exclusive, and you won't find them anywhere else.

Our founder, William Robert Stanek, and his wife are true living legends and national treasures, with decades of experience creating works of art and publishing that have earned critical acclaim. William is the creator of several award-winning series, including Snapshot in Time, Perspective, Secret, and Elevate. His unique perspectives, use of natural colors, and stunning use of natural light have made him one of the most sought-after artists and photographers of his generation.

By purchasing art and photography from 1North Studios, you'll not only be supporting our family of galleries, but you'll also be helping to keep the dream of the arts alive. We invite you to explore all of our collections online and choose the perfect piece for your home or office. Thank you for your support!