Thirty hours of scratching for a single stare.

Aaron Stan has been drawn to making things since childhood. Drawing and painting came first — the simple pleasure of bringing something imagined onto a surface.

In 2005 he was introduced to scratchboard, and everything changed. The medium is unforgiving: a board sealed in black India ink, an image that exists only where the surface has been cut away, and no way to undo a stroke. That constraint became the appeal.

Over the years he has built a practice around precision — intricate textures, fine crosshatching, and the delicate interplay of light and shadow. Wildlife, portraiture, sport and city light all share the same starting point: total darkness.

Work is available as archival prints, gallery-wrapped canvas, and original one-of-one boards. Commissions are accepted on a limited basis each year.