Alex Stanwick

Artist Bio

Hello, my name is Alex Stanwick, I’m from Parkersburg West Virginia, I graduated from Parkersburg South High School and I currently attend Marshall University as a Graphic Design Major! I have always loved to draw and create art, from a very young age I can remember drawing on walls and filling endless pages in my notebooks at school with drawings of cartoon characters and video games. My train for the Tri-State Artisans Express titled “Welcome to the Grid” is based on the 1982 Disney film “Tron,” a science fiction and action movie that starred Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer engineer who is able to transport himself inside a computer and interact with programs and data in human forms. I loved the original movie and its sequel that came out in 2010, “Tron Legacy,” particularly the art style and direction of futuristic and neon inspired cityscapes and bright color to distinguish between characters and factions within the films. The bright neon blue glow set on the deep black base is the most recognizable aspects of the original film. The light-cycles in particular, vehicles that resemble futuristic motorcycles with a similar neon color and glow, were my inspiration for the train design. I would like to thank everyone who was helped me complete this project, Brianna Jarvis (another Artisan Express winner) for helping me design my train and for supporting me, the faculty at the Visual Arts Center for providing myself and the two other Marshall student participants (Brianna Jarvis and Moriah Lockhart) a place to work together, the sponsors who made this whole project possible, and all my friends and family for supporting me.