COVID devastated the arts and forced us to permanently shut down our physical galleries and move online, beginning in Spring 2021. Now for the first time, original LIMITED EDITION prints of the stunning Bugville watercolor paintings are available for purchase online. As a partially disabled veteran and father of a daughter with Down Syndrome, Robert Stanek is a vocal champion of veterans and the disabled. He also is a champion of books and libraries, frequently donating his time and resources to support related causes.

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.

Washington-state-based author/illustrator, Robert Stanek is renowned for creating beautiful, vibrant scenes full of wonderful color. Called a living legend and national treasure, his words and illustrations have captivated the hearts and minds of millions over the past thirty years.

Did you know? William Robert Stanek is French/Scandinavian. His grandfather on his mother’s side was a Beauchamp from Montreal Quebec in a long line of Beauchamps from Quebec who immigrated to Canada from Basse-Normandie France in the early 1600s. In France, he has traced his family line back to the Beauchamps and Deschamps of the early 1400s and to the Normans who conquered Britain in the mid 1000s, who in turn were descended from the Vikings of Scandinavia.

His grandmother on his mother’s side was a Trolle in a long line of Trolles who immigrated to the United States in the late 1700s and early 1800s from Scandinavia. In Denmark, Norway and Sweden, he has traced the Trolle line back to the 1300s and to the founding fathers of Denmark in the 1400s and 1500s. Trolleholm Castle is Scania Sweden is named for his ancestors and has been owned by a Trolle since the 1700s.

It's important to note that Mr. Stanek illustrates and paints Bugville and Ruin Mist art as Robert Stanek and also writes fiction as Robert Stanek. However, some may be more familiar with his "William Stanek" work. Mr. Stanek wrote nonfiction for more than three decades, writing as William Stanek. His full name is of course William Robert Stanek. Persistent rumors that Robert Stanek is the artist Banksy are false. Mr. Stanek categorically denies that he is Banksy and says, "I’ve never been to Bristol, London or New York. End of story. Period. Please buy my art because you love it, not because you think I'm someone else."

NOTE: A watermark may be displayed online to protect the intellectual property of our illustrator who relies on income from his work to live and support his family. The finished product will not have a watermark. If you’d like to license any of Mr. Stanek’s illustrations, please contact us.

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."

We need your support now more than ever. Help us keep the dream alive! Due to the worldwide pandemic, many of our photographers and their families have gone 2 years without income. 80% of the profits go to the artists themselves to support their work and their families. Be sure to visit all of our studios online...

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. Learn more about our founder at http://www.williamrstanek.com/. 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."

Without your support the dream will die. We won’t be able to keep alive the work of our artists and 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.”