"Where the Worm Dieth Not..."
ca. 1940s


"Whosoever Confesses Me..."
ca. 1940s

BIOGRAPHY

Frederick William Lawrence was the inventor of realistic airbrush painting. He was born in Canada in the late nineteenth century and served with a Canadian provincial police force. He fought with the Royal Canadian Army in Europe in the First World War and was severely wounded. After months of hospitalization he was shipped back to Canada. When he had fully recovered, he moved to Michigan and worked for a while in the Experimental Division of Pontiac Motor Company where he learned to finish cars and operate a Duco (paint) spray gun. Around 1930 he found work as an auto body refinisher at Chieftain Motors, Pontiac dealers in Oklahoma City, and it was there that he first began trying to "make pictures." In an idle period between jobs, Lawrence turned to the wall of the spray booth and attempted to paint a tree. The results were enough to encourage him to continue, and soon he had honed his skills to a degree that his discovery was featured in science magazines and in Ripley's "Believe It Or Not!" syndicated feature. By the mid-1930s he was giving "performances" at automobile shows, spray-painting realistic portraits and landscapes in less than an hour. However, as more and more airbrush artists copied his techniques the novelty of his act wore off. Following the Second World War, Lawrence was only one of thousands of commercial artists "painting with air," and he died in relative obscurity.

BOOKS

The End is Near! Roger Manley. Illustrated. Bio.