Frederick Spratt

In 1962 he took a sabbatical in England for one year, where he lived and painted representationally in St. Ives Cornwall, United Kingdom.

[3] In 1970, he moved to Los Angeles and began to experiment with color theory, but continued teaching classes part-time at San Jose State University.

[4] Spratt's color theory work is regarded for its mutability—changing with the available light, time of day and season of year, with each viewer and with each viewing.

[5] For thirty years he experimented with color theory in three main series: Semaphores, Scrolls and Diptychs, all of which are characterized by their flat application of acrylic lacquer onto aluminum.

In 2004 Spratt described his artistic endeavor in the following way: “It seemed I was seeking a way to put paint in the service of art while freeing it from the harness of depiction or narration.