Stephen Gray Blancett was born in Southeast Ohio. He studied Commercial Art at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and Business at Nova Southeastern University and has lived in Florida for the past 30-years.

Blancett started painting and winning awards for his work at the young age of seven.
At about that age, he received a set of magic markers. “I used them to color the neighbors’ Cocker Spaniel. The poor thing looked like the Partridge family’s bus when I was done. I never would have been caught, but I signed my name on the dogs’ back end. I still remember that neighbor knocking on our door, holding that multi-colored dog and telling my mother: ‘Look what your son did!’ It took weeks for the ink to fade from the poor dog’s fur. I guess, I’ve always wanted to be an artist,” says Blancett.

For over 30 years Blancett has worked two sides of the advertising and publishing businesses, as a creative/art director and model for clients ranging from Citi Corp to Jockey Underwear. Stephen said: “I love the business, but find creativity is sometimes limited by a market or product. My fine art gives me the fuel and freedom to express my feelings, my individuality and myself. It allows me to be me.”

Until the mid 1990’s, Blancett painted portraits and pastoral scenes in watercolor almost exclusively. “I enjoyed working in watercolors, but felt no ownership of a style. I tried many approaches, but it always looked like someone else’s work. The results were okay, but too wholesome for me. I like things that are bright, colorful and sometimes sexy. It may have taken me a long time, but I have discovered my own style – my own way,” says Stephen.

Blancett's works are in the collection of many notable celebrities, and in corporate and private collections around the world. His work has been featured in numerous publications and exhibited in galleries across the United States and Internationally. He was honored in 2011 as the Visual Artists of the year, by Lee County Alliance of the Arts.

StephenBlancett.com

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