Artist Fred Wagner

Artist Fred Wagner

Fred has been kind ebnough to write several step by step articles for us over the years. Issue 15 we published a beach sence step by step by Fred.

Fred Wagner was born in 1961 in Rochester, NY. He grew up in the town of West Irondequoit. Fred spent most of his younger years fishing and drawing. His talent started to develop at the age of 8, working in Tempera paint, pencil, and markers.

Fred concentrated most of his efforts on oil painting and drawing during his high school years. At the age of 17, Fred took a home study course in taxidermy. One of the projects was to taxidermy fish. The best way to paint the fish was to use an airbrush. After saving up a few dollars, Fred bought his first airbrush, a Paasche H single-action airbrush. He began to experiment with inks on paper and was very excited about his newfound medium. 

  Several years later, at the age of 19, Fred bought a copy of Airbrush Digest Magazine, and in that issue was an article about Mark Rush and his work on textiles. And that’s when this lifelong obsession with T-Shirt airbrushing began.

Fred hooked up with Mark in 1983 and spent the following summer season airbrushing in Fort Walton Beach, Florida while learning the ropes. It also was a particular time for Fred because he was a newlywed. He married his beautiful bride Dawn, and they are still together to this day.

  Now Fred and his family live in Fairport, NY, and enjoy the atmosphere of a small canal town. Fred is still airbrushing away and expanding his talents to automotive and helmet work. He strives to push himself towards excellence in photorealism and the perfection of his skills. Fred’s home page can be found on the internet at http;//home.rochester.rr.com/fredwagner, and he always enjoys hearing from fellow artists and patrons to ensure questions they may have, so do not hesitate to contact Fred at any time. Fred’s best advice is to always push your talents past what you think you can do, and you will always surprise yourself.