Fred currently holds the elected position of Treasurer and the appointed position of New Member Contact for the second largest active Illustrators Society in the USA, the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators (PSI). Under Fred’s guidance, PSI has maintained a secure financial base for the benefit of the PSI membership. PSI maintains an aggressive schedule of creative and business programs for illustrators of all levels of experience. Fred’s experience in recruiting, mentoring, educating and inspiring illustrators is a natural result of his 45-year career in the craft of illustration, teaching, and professional advocacy. Fred also served PSI as its second President, and he wrote their By-Laws and followed through on the filings for 501c3 federal IRS status and Pennsylvania non-profit status.
Fred has presented programming to graphic creators including the topics of negotiation, pricing, copyright, business practice, long-term financial strategies, tax law for sole proprietors, marketing, and navigating the complex route from employee to free-lance success. He has spent countless hours advocating for the creation of such royalty sources for American artists as ASCRL and educating the illustrators in the tri-state (PA/OH/WV) markets about these benefits. Fred has led PSI fundraising for three large exhibitions the past 20 years in collaboration with the Smithsonian-affiliated Senator John Heinz History Museum involving both institutional and individual outreach.
Fred’s ability to inspire volunteer activism within organizations is an aspect of Fred’s stewardship and natural frugality. His long-time philosophy includes the truth that the more work gets done with volunteer hours the less the organization spends of its monetary resources. This has led to PSI’s financial base doubling during Fred’s last 14 years as Treasurer of PSI. Fred also led the fundraising and construction for the Swiss Nationality Room in the Nationality Rooms program at the University of Pittsburgh (raising almost $400,000 for this effort between 1998 and 2012). He served his church (Saint Alban’s Anglican, Murrysville PA) for 15 years (2005-2020) as Treasurer where he helped stabilize and grow the church finances during a period of testy provincial realignment and property disputes.
Fred’s successes in creator activism come from his wide perspective on the field. This perspective was informed by his work developing the At-Large Chapter of the Graphic Artists Guild in the late 1980s which gave a voice to over 600 graphic artists nationally who did not have a formal voice in Guild affairs. Fred was elected the first President of the At-Large Chapter in 1987 and served three terms in that role. Fred was also the first non-NYC illustrator elected as President of the GAG National Board in 1991. Fred served on the Advocacy, Affiliation Study, and Pricing and Ethical Guidelines survey and publishing projects during his Guild involvement. He was involved as President for the Guild’s first all-member national conference “Eye To Eye” in 1992 in Washington DC.
Fred’s free-lance operation, F Carlson Illustration, includes many different entrees to the marketplace. Fred’s ability with hand-letterforms takes his business beyond traditional illustration clientele into complex assignments and negotiation with corporate clients in the logo marketplace. Fred taught advanced illustration at Carnegie Mellon University between 1981 and 1994 and maintains a truly positive network of former students and studio interns who have succeeded in the field.
