Caption: Scott A. FitzGerald, a Cal State Fullerton alumnus, stands in his studio beside a pencil draft and the resulting oil painting. Photos courtesy of the artist.Download Photo
Reflection on a Wide-Ranging Career
Exhibit Showcases Creations of Artist-Alumnus Scott A. FitzGerald
He was once a student, later a campus lecturer and nearly always an artist.
Scott A. FitzGerald (B.A. art ’72, M.A. art ’74) says that his art career began when he sold a drawing to his first grade teacher. He made a $1, only to lose it as part of a $2 fine for carving a picture into his wooden desk.
The experience didn't change his passion. FitzGerald continued to develop his skills in a variety of art mediums, from photography to the complex technical process of making prints from etching on copper plates.
During his printmaking career, FitzGerald's artistry ranged from a series of etchings depicting 15 Orange County historical landmarks to a group of illustrations for Robert Louis Stevenson’s “A Child's Garden of Verses” published by Whittington Press of England.
He also created a series of detailed etchings of eight antique shops rendered in microscopic detail — a task that took him 10 years to complete.
"Each 12" x 18" print took 600 to 700 hours to produce, and each new print included an image of the previous print no bigger than a postage stamp," said the artist, who extended his creative energy to oil painting for the last 30 years.
"After many years of microscopic work on metal plates, the fluidity of paint is exhilarating," said FitzGerald.
A retrospective of FitzGerald's work will be on display through Oct. 29 in the Atrium Gallery of the Pollak Library. An opening reception will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. For more information, contact Veronica Chiang at vchiang@fullerton.edu.
Sept. 9, 2011
