Fred Mathews was in Chicago, Illinois. He loved art from a tender age and he graduated at the top of his class from Dunbar Vocational High School. He studied fine and commercial art and he excelled amongst his peers. Mathews is mainly self-taught. He uses his natural talents to combine his advanced air brushing skills with oils and acrylic to create modern urban and contemporary images. He produced remarkably sophisticated works of art when he was in high school. His works have been featured in Hype Hair, Honey, Upscale Magazine, Gallery Guichard, Griffin Gallery (Chicago), The Raw Art Show (Chicago), October Gallery (Philadelphia, PA), African Arts and Objects, (Chicago), Soul on Soul Entertainment (Heavy D), African Festival of the Arts (Detroit, MI and Chicago), Who’s Who in Atlanta Dyme’s Magazine, Black Expo, Chicago Defender, Atlanta’s Good Life Magazine, and is featured in Atlantas Movers and Shakers.
His influences are Annie Lee, Carl Owens, Gilbert Young and Ernie Barnes. He organized a fund raising event that brought awareness to breast cancer which affects so many African-American women in America and abroad. The artist shows the fervent concentration with which he has been pursuing his personal dream. Mathews’ artistic talents were actually encouraged by his parents and it was quite obvious that he would be an artist even though it was initially air brushing that beckoned him. He paints from his soul a reflection of his experiences and what he thinks people need to see too inspire them. Mathews’ paintings show the love he has for his people and the gift God gave him.
