About the Artist

Artist Fred Stasek was born in Berkeley California in 1956. He was raised all over the place, including Waikiki; La Jolla; Naples, Italy; Nananu-i-Ra, Fiji; Tallahassee; Seattle; Franklin, Vermont; and the atoll formerly known as Fanning Island. Since 1983 he has lived in Bodega, California. He currently paints out of The Old Creamery, a loose-knit artists’ community founded by painter William Morehouse, in a studio previously occupied by beat artist Wally Hedrick.

His mother, Sally Dubbert, was a sometimes-professional watercolor artist. Fred’s father, the late Dr. Charles R. Stasek, was a renegade marine zoologist who taught popular workshops in illustration and perception techniques.

An artist from shortly after birth, Fred is largely self taught, thanks to the resources available from the public library. Artist and teacher at SRJC, Maurice Lapp, is Fred’s unofficial mentor. Having taken many classes from him, and audited many more, Fred credits Mr. Lapp with imparting to him the deeper elements of true art, or at least trying to.

Fred has painted in a number of mediums, including oil, watercolor, and pastel. Most notable, perhaps, are small—5 X 7—watercolors painted specifically for a person on a specific occasion, like a birthday.

Over the years, since the age of eighteen, Fred’s day job has been that of a cabinetmaker and furniture builder. The results of his efforts can be found in homes and businesses around the Bay Area.

Fred combines his skills in woodworking and painting to create these unique works of art—RoomScreens.