Nevada Artist FRED BOYCE

Fred's art combines a lifetime appreciation for the beauty of nature with an inborn urge to express that appreciation, in art.  Art studies began for him at San Antonio Vocational High School, where one half of each school day was devoted to learning Commercial Art.  During his senior year in high school he worked as an apprentice to Jack McGuire helping produce nationally syndicated cartoon strips.  After three years in World War II he became a staff artist in a Los Angeles art service, producing art for advertising.  During the Los Angeles stint, he studied at the  Hollywood School of Art and became proficient with watercolor landscape painting.  His career lead him to New York where he served as art director in advertising agencies.  His work as a free-lance artist has been published by such national corporations as Kendell Oil, Wurlitzer, Sylvania, Birge Wallpaper, Western Horseman, Wyoming Wildlife, Pennsylvania Game News, Greys Sporting Journal, Wildlife Art News and others.  In recent years, he has devoted his art career entirely to painting in oils, watercolors and acrylic medium as well as etchings.

He won the 1987 Nevada Trout Stamp Art Contest and was commissioned by the Nevada Wildlife Record Book Committee to create a painting of each of Nevada's nine record book Big Game animals which were reproduced in the 1990 Record Book.

He was chosen as "Artist of the Year" five times by Ducks Unlimited and has created several commissioned paintings for this national conservation organization.

Fred finds inspiration for paintings throughout the state of Nevada.  He says, "Living in Reno places me in one of the nations most inspirational painting grounds."  He finds inspiration in the Nevada desert with its variety of unspoiled mountains and valleys - and is equally fond of the Truckee River which flows form Lake Tahoe through Reno, just minutes from his studio - a great place for plain air painting and fly fishing for trout.  The Sierra Mountain range, also only minutes from Reno, provide a never ending source of landscape compositions and wilderness experiences.