What I was trained in, and what I am doing now seem in many ways miles apart. When I graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, I was oblivious to the fact that the golden age of illustration that inspired me had been over for over 40 years. I loved the classic illustrators Norman Rockwell and N.C Wyeth. The kind of work I had in my portfolio was not suited for the art market I came into.

An Art Center alum at Disney Studios looked at my portfolio. He was very frank about my prospects of getting a job there - nil. He showed me a sketchbook of a young animator named Andreas Deja. In it were hundreds of drawings of Peter Pan, Cinderella, Mowgli, and many other classic Disney characters. This, he said, is what you need to get a job here.

I focused on revamping my portfolio - figure drawing and going to the zoo to draw animals. In a few weeks I had a new, more animation-friendly portfolio.

At that time Don Bluth was touted as the new Walt Disney, and his studio would preserve the legacy of classical animation. I dropped off my portfolio, and a couple of days later John Pomeroy offered me a job. They were staffing up for the video game Space Ace. They were looking for character animation trainees.

It became painfully obvious that the job required more than just drawing skills. I really struggled. At Bluth I learned my work ethic - the studio expected only the very best from you. But at the back of my mind, animating was not a good fit.

I reassessed my career as an illustrator, focusing on developing a style in illustration that was my own. I sought out clients, mostly on the east coast who were appreciative of a more narrative approach to picture making. I'd describe my style as caricatured reality. I observe stories unfolding in my surroundings and exaggerate to make the point I am trying to get across clear.

When I see something that compels me to make a picture, I work digitally first just to get it down in a concrete form. I work from memory trying to get what I saw in my minds eye. When I have something I am satisfied with, I translate the digital sketch into an oil painting.

Right now I live near downtown L.A. and that landscape is very inspiring to me. The skyscrapers are grouped in a very compact way that creates a single silhouette that is very monolithic almost alien in scale. The play of light between buildings is amazing. Sometimes it seems like it creates its own weather and atmospheric effects like a mountain.

My approach is very intuitive. I love a quote by Van Gogh that says something like "I first dream what I paint then I paint what I dream." I guess that's as close to my process as I can come. I see a fragment of something then I close my eyes and fill in the pieces. Technically, my process is very sloppy. Whether its digital or traditional media, like oil painting, I believe in happy accidents, so I try to set the scene for a few to happen. I will hold a tool in a way that is out of control or use a non-traditional art tool like a squeegee or a wad of paper towels dipped in paint. Working digitally, I will use a blunt brush to paint detail and a fine brush to paint large open areas of a painting.

I somehow got into the habit of using colors that most color theories would say not to use - not to be annoying, but I am drawn to unusual color combinations. Usually I am drawn to a major color and its compliment in grayed down form and then an accent. I guess it's like composing a piece of music you are trying to get the viewer to see things in a progression. Color guides the eye and can allow the story to unfold in the way that you want it revealed.

I came back to animation when I got married, had my first child, and was looking for more steady employment than the life of a freelance illustrator. I met, and was greatly influenced at this time by the artist Paul Felix. His art has always been an inspiration from the time I met him to today he always pushes the envelope of great design.

I have to mention my great supportive Wife, Valerie who has been my rock.

I showed at two galleries in the Santa Barbara area -

The Cody Gallery and The Groves Gallery - and tried my hand at running my own gallery - The Blue Oak - for a few years. I was honored and privileged to carry the work of some of the animation world's finest artists. It was great fun.

Since the time we sold the gallery I have been painting quietly on my own trying to build a body of work and focusing on my painting style, towards what I hope will be my future career as a full time painter.

Fred is a member of the Creative Talent Network. Are you connected?