Ashley, daughter of Gary Akers and Lynn Rita, was born in Covington, Kentucky is 26 years old. When Ashley was only a few weeks old her father carried her in a cradle to his studio, where she was content to watch him paint. Ashley began drawing and painting as soon as she could hold a pencil and a brush. She was always sketching small pictures of people and images from her imagination. Whenever she met people she would sketch them or draw something on request. Many people began to display her sketches.

 

At age five, she had her first exhibit with her father and began selling her art and accepting commissions. This tradition continues through an annual summer exhibition every year in Maine at The Green Schoolhouse Gallery, St. George, Maine.

 

She works hard at developing her skills, sketching and painting daily. Her father says, "Ashley's watercolors are very mature for her age, but what impresses me the most is her thinking process in approaching a painting; that shows maturity." At the age of seven Ashley had her first museum exhibition.

 

At age 10, Ashley received a letter from an attorney from Burlington, Massachusetts stating how much he and his family enjoyed having an original Ashley Akers painting in his collection. He wrote to see if Ashley would consider doing another painting on commission for him. His only requests were that she wait until one year had passed from when she painting the one they had already; and that she use the same doll as part of the subject matter. His long term plan was to ask her to do a new painting of the doll each year so that he could keep them all together, to track her obvious talent as she grew up. Ashley accepted the proposal. Ashley offered her first two Giclee prints to the public at age 12, and with the sales from these prints she paid her way to New Zealand and Australia, traveling as a Student Ambassador. At age 13, she paid her way through Central Europe; France, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland with the sales from her paintings and from commissions she received. Ashley's watercolor painting "Anne", a portrait of an antique doll, is in a special place in the Executive Mansion in Frankfort, Kentucky. Governor Patton commented, "You do exceptional work; don't ever stop using your talent for art." This painting is now in a special place in the Executive Mansion in Frankfort. She also exhibited her work at the Yeiser Art Museum, Paducah, Kentucky, during the show she was interviewed on the NBC TV show "Accents", she appeared on public television's "Kentucky Profiles" and was featured on "Kentucky Life," an award-winning weekly TV series.

 

Ashley's other activities include acting, ballet, modeling and filmmaking. She had the honor of performing in "Firebird" with the Cincinnati Ballet Company at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ashley is becoming a serious photographer as well, and is using the theme of imagination, childhood, fantasy, etc.

 

Having recently graduated from New York Film Academy in New York City, Ashley has been in several independant films and is currently developing her filmmaking skills participating in many film festivals. She has been involved in the National Film Challenge and also the International 48 Hour Film Festival for four years running. In 2010 her film with The Offenderz "Smitten" won Best of Cincinnati, Best Use of Character!
To learn more about her filmmaking and acting projects please visit her production website: www.A2Productions.biz