Stan graduated with honors from the University of Tulsa’s College of Fine and Professional Arts in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  He returned to his native Georgia and worked with his brothers at Studio Designs Printing Company while teaching art at the high school.  His art career soon led the way to opening his own gallery.  Art classes were also offered at The Wingfield Gallery and Stan hosted the works of many other artists and craftsmen as well.

 

Many areas of interest were inspiration for his paintings.  The rich history and magic of Georgia’s Golden Islands produced watercolors of most of the landmarks on St. Simons Island, Cumberland Island, Jekyll and Sea Island. 

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While visiting Snug Harbor in Easton, Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay, Stan discovered an ample supply of subject matter for his paintings:  The watermen fishing in their skipjack boats, the crab shack at St. Michaels,  the Canada Geese, and softshell blue crabs.  

 

Milledgeville, Georgia, Strickland's adopted “hometown,” is an antebellum capitol of Georgia dating back to pre-civil war era in 1803.  It is an historic paradise. He has portrayed several buildings of the old college campus,  Governor's Mansion, St. Stephens Episcopal Church, the Old Capitol building, Andalusia, (the home of Flannery O'Connor,)  Lockerly Hall Plantation and many other landmark homes. 

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Portraiture has been another favorite issuing forth paintings of his daughter, a dramatic painting of a child playing a violin, corporate portraits for Thiele Kaolin, a self-portrait used on many brochures, paintings of his wife, Jackie, Elizabeth Jones and Lord Gordon David Parry of Neyland, Wales, a friend of the artist.  Other poignant portraits can be found among his originals like, "Thinking About Leaving," a study of a black man standing in a field of cotton.  You will notice as you peruse this gallery, that many of the paintings include people and animals.

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Stan began his art career painting abstract pieces.  I mention this because you just might run into one of them.