The latest episode of Drawing with Fred will debut on Watertown Cable in October, and it marks the 30th anniversary of the show created by Watertown’s Fred Grandinetti.
As a child, Grandinetti was a fan of children’s shows and the lessons they provided. When he started Drawing with Fred, he drew upon those shows.
“The inspiration for my show came from the adult-hosted family series I watched growing up; The Uncle Gus Show, Rex Trailer’s Boomtown and Bozo the Clown,” Grandinetti said. “They were fun and subtlety offered mortality lessons. For example Bozo would say to his young audience obey your parents and of course, ‘Just Keep Laughing.'”
Looking back at the older episodes is like going back in time for Grandinetti.
“I run older episodes with newly produced ones so I have witnessed myself get heavier and balder as the years go on,” Grandinetti said. “It is fun to see a younger version of myself on the air. When I began the show I had no idea it would run this long. It’s a wonderful creative outlet and I hope, for the audience, an entertaining one.”
Drawing with Fred fans have provided Grandinetti with the inspiration to keep making new episodes.
“I’m often inspired to do new water safety, fitness, and cartoon introduction segments for my show,” Grandinetti said. “I hear from local resident who enjoy watching the animated cartoon characters they grew up with.”
Grandinetti provided the following announcement about the 30th anniversary show:
Watertown resident Fred Grandinetti’s award winning cable access series, Drawing With Fred, celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2022.
To celebrate Grandinetti produced an episode featuring the work of talented artist, Rachel Maytum.
Maytum said of her work: “I was born and bred in Enfield (North London) and have always been creative in one form or another. My family is very artistic. I used to be a Canine Beautician, cutting and grooming dogs, and then began working in the hospitality industry. It was only until I came across an online tutorial by Jason Morgan Wildlife artist in 2019 that I began drawing pastel art portraits as a hobby. I soon realized that I was pretty good at it and not long after, began doing art commissions. I have catered to Animal, People, Celebrity & Character Portrait Art Lovers, specializing in realistic pastel portraits and digital art portraits with the purpose of transforming photos into a unique, one-of-a-kind art piece.”
She continued: “My style is photorealistic; very similar to the actual reference photo. I have fallen in love with this style of art form. The types of commission art that I do now are either animal portraits, family portraits or character portraits. I have recently started doing digital drawings using Procreate and find this to be very enjoyable. I enjoy developing my skills and look forward to seeing how I grow and develop with my art in the next coming years.”
To see the work of this talented artist please go to https://www.rachelmaytum.com/graphic-designs
This episode also features a water safety tip by film and television actor Chad Michael Collins along with cartoons featuring Lil’ Audrey, Popeye, Bluto, Wonder Olive Oyl and The Three Stooges. Bozo the Clown and The Flintstones also make appearances.
It will be aired on The Watertown Cable Access channel from October 10th through the 23rd.
The art at the top of the article is by Jorge Pacheco, whose work includes drawing Popeye, Baby Huey, Beetlejuice, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Little Dot, Rocky & Bullwinkle and many others!