By Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Scott Alan Fertig, 41, an artist best known for his commissioned work as a caricaturist, muralist and illustrator, died of cancer May 2 at his home in Arlington.
Mr. Fertig's landscapes and city scenes have been hung in galleries, including a 45-piece exhibition that ended this week in Pittsburgh. He also exhibited his work at a gallery on Capitol Hill.
He loved observing and sketching interesting faces. A 2002 Washington Post article described him as "obsessed" and said that he would go "to the local Starbucks weekly for a face fix and a shot of caffeine as he surreptitiously draws in his sketchbook."
He also found a way to feed his compulsion, the story said, by drawing caricatures at Washington parties. He would set up his sketch pad at holiday and other parties and deftly use pencils, pens, markers and paint to produce about 10 faces per hour.
"I like to have a lot of different tools and mediums," he told The Post. "If you get too used to one tool, you make things that look more generic."
In creating caricatures, he said he often drew what a subject wanted to see. "At the old folks home, you don't draw every wrinkle," he told a Post reporter. "When I'm doing caricatures, I'm both an artist and an entertainer."
Mr. Fertig continued drawing at parties throughout the Washington area until December, although he had become ill, his wife said.
He was born in Pittsburgh and began drawing in three dimensions at age 3, his family said. As a youngster, he enjoyed cartooning and also grew to love landscape art in the tradition of the Hudson River School paintings.
After graduating from high school, he studied painting, drawing and sculpture at Carnegie Mellon University. He continued to pursue art as a vocation when he moved to the Washington area in 1999. He lived in McLean first and moved to Arlington in 2003.
His love for vintage cars was evident in many pieces, which included commissioned portraits of cars, dogs, houses and of course, people. One of his murals was a 20-by-9-foot painting of Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famers that covers a wall in a private home.
Mr. Fertig had the ability to recognize subtle beauty in life and in others, his family said. "Regardless of any situation, Scott was able to uplift and bring out the best of those around him," said his wife, Carolyn Matous Fertig of Arlington.
"He was a deep thinker with a quick wit and imparted meaningful insights and sound advice to those close to him," said his sister, Christina Fertig of Pittsburgh.
Mr. Fertig also was a great storyteller who loved recounting and animating stories of his childhood in Pittsburgh and his life in McLean and Arlington, said his brother, Todd Fertig of Jersey City. He especially liked talking about road trips in his vintage cars, which included a 1956 Chevy, a Ford Falcon and a Dodge Dart.
Survivors, in addition to his wife, sister and brother, include his parents, Elwin and Teddie Fertig of Pittsburgh.