When Fred was a young boy, elementary school age, his mother would send him off to school with lunch money and he would return home with art supplies. He came from a very large family, 8 children. Paper was in short supply so he would use grocery bags as his canvas.

In high school, Fred met the teacher that changed his life as an artist. This teacher, Larry "Mac" Macaray, recognized Fred's creative talent and his obvious skill. He challenged Fred to make art outside the boundaries of skill. He encouraged him to go places with his imagination and without the restriction of creating what he thought he should create, something he believed would be acceptable. Through this teacher's guidance Fred was given the gift of freedom to create outside the standards of "acceptable" art and within the limitless boundaries of his own imagination. This single experience began the foundation of all his future creation process.

For years afterward, Fred would experiment with a variety of styles and techniques, all of them self- discovered. Fred did not pursue art education, but rather education through his art. During what would be college years, and young adult years, he took a couple of art classes, but found his direction as an artist coming from within himself, rather than through instruction, so he left the school system and began to make a way of his own.

Fred experiences art through the process of creating. He does not begin with ideas, he allows them to present themselves as he works. He rests in his work rather than laboring to bring something to fruition. As a result, he is extremely prolific.