A Modern Day Old Master

Scott A FitzGerald
A Retrospective
Pollack Library Atrium
Cal State Fullerton Campus
Through Oct. 29

Scott A. FitzGerald 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.

FitzGerald has been perfecting the art of etching for the last thirty years. Often called a modern day old master, he works alone in his studio creating only a few prints each year. A 14" by 20" copper plate filled with microscopic detail may take 600 hours of careful work. Each print becomes a miniature world waiting to be explored. Although a dedicated artist at an early age, Scott was not aware of the art of etching until his sophomore year in college. He recalls his first experience with the traditional art form, "I knew at once that this was my medium. I liked the technical challenge of the difficult process and the magic of pulling a print off an etching plate."

After receiving his Masters degree in art from California State University, Fullerton in 1974, Scott went on to teach at the University for two years. Since then he has devoted himself to printmaking and has produced over 250 prints.

As an artist with a strong interest in history, Scott began in 1974 to do a series of 15 prints of local historical landmarks. He has worked on a group of etchings as illustrations for Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses with the prominent English printer John Randle at the Whittington Press. He has also collaborated on a project with the writer Ray Bradbury. Perhaps his most ambitious work has been a series of eight antique shops, rendered with such intricacy that they took ten years to complete. Each new print in the series includes an image of the previous print no bigger than a postage stamp, yet in surprising clarity.

Scott says about his work, "I want to create images that are warm and inviting, where there is always something more to discover. I believe that good art continues to grow and reveals itself with time. The longer you live with it, the more enjoyable it becomes."