Frazetta

Frazetta Roars!

2012-02-09T06:53:00.000-08:00

I used to own this little gem of a sketch and stupidly sold it many years ago. What a great image, isn't it? I always thought of Frank whenver I'd see it...Frazetta roaring at the universe, defiantly confronting everything and anything. It might be Tarzan, or a barbarian, or a caveman, but, for me, it's a Frazetta self-portrait. The shadows, the mood, the lines pulsing with life around him all make this drawing resonate and simply explode with the naked power of life. That's what Frank is all about, namely, life. and life lived to the fullest. It turned up at the San Diego Con last summer with a hefty price tag of $15,000.

I 'm going to leave it up here to guard my site while I take a break. I have some living to do...photographic safaris, vacations, and projects of many kinds. I'll be back with more posts after I recharge my inspiration. I still have things to say about Frank and sex and photography. I also have some video, some Lord of the Rings studies unseen, and a few other surprises. The world of Frazetta is vast. I'm trying to open a few new doors and pave some new pathways. I consider this a starting point for future Frazetta fans and scholars to move the stories forward and deepen their content. That is the only way he is going to stay relevant and known and loved. We need to provide his living art with a wide assortment of living voices. My story is a small part of a very grand mosaic. Frank needs to occupy a permanent and important place in art history.

I'll continue to monitor the site for submitted comments.

Thanks again to everyone for adding energy to this site.

Frazetta And Flash Gordon

2012-02-07T06:26:00.000-08:00

The conventional wisdom about Frazetta and the science-fiction genre is that he had little motivation for the subject matter. Frank explained in several interviews that he had to push himself to get motivated enough to draw or paint in that genre. He much preferred the worlds of ER Burroughs and RE Howard.

There are a couple of exceptions to this. The story goes that early in their friendship he was visiting Al Williamson. Al was showing a 16mm print of an early Buster Crabbe Flash Gordon serial to some friends. Al, of course, loved those early Flash Gordon episodes and never tired of viewing the adventures of Flash and Ming the Merciless. In an earlier post I showcased the original art where Frank was showing Williamson how to draw Flash and add zip-a-tone textures

While viewing the movie Frank sat down at Al's drawing board and started drawing a large version of Flash Gordon. He added a big monster and a shot of Dale in the background. Flash had his obligatory signature headpiece on, of course. Everyone thought that headpiece was extremely "cool". Frank brought the original back to his studio and did the final inking. This was in late 1950 or so. Later, Frank offered this piece to Steve Douglas, the art director at Famous Funnies that Al had introduced him to, for possible use as a Buster Crabbe Comics cover. Steve turned it down because he wanted shots of Buster Crabbe on the cover, not Flash Gordon. Frank threw the cover on top of his cabinet and there it stayed until many years later when a friend (Frank said it was Larry Ivie) grabbed a bunch of originals off the cabinet top and partially tore several pieces. Unfortunately, this FLASH cover got torn and is now missing a small portion of the monster's left wing. Frank never repaired it. He just left it. Many years after that Frank sold the original art to rock star Glenn Danzig. Glenn had it for many years before moving it to Hollywood writer and famous SEINFELD writer David Mandel. A number of years after that I was able to pry it from Dave's hands by offering a top quality Wattterson watercolor featuring Calvin and Hobbes. That watercolor originally was intended as a ROLLING STONE cover and it was traded from Watterson to comic historian Rick Marschall. I suspected that Rick traded him a Krazy Kat sunday for it. Luckily, it finally ended up in my hands.

I took the FLASH cover to Frank. He suggested that we simply cover up the torn area with a nice logo/stat. He told me what to do and I did it according to his directions. The cover is a huge 15x24 making it as large as the Weird Science Fantasy #29 cover, the largest of Frank's illustrations.

The other finished Flash Gordon illustration dates from 1976. I asked Frank its origin and he told me that it was just done for fun. I suspect that it was probably earmarked for the last Middle Earth portfolio, Woman Of The Ages, published in 1977. If anyone else has other info on this drawing I would love to hear it. I asked Frank about it several times and his answer was the same each time, namely, he did it for fun. Shortly after completing it, Frank gave it to his son, Billy. Short of cash, Billy reluctantly sold it many years later. It is a magnificent drawing with very energetic brushowork that pulses with life. The princess, of course, is sexy and sultry as only Frazetta can do it. Flash's finger touching her breast is an understated and very sensual touch to an already highly eroticized composition. I asked what the "F" stood for on the cod piece. Frank said it represented "Flash" and "Frazetta". He said that he couldn't just let Flash have all the fun with that girl! He wanted to be in on the action. That's Frank!

Frank ultimately drew precious few images of Flash Gordon. In the very early 50's he drew two pencil images of Buster Crabbe. One was partially watercolored. It was published as the back cover to one of the early WITZEND fanzines. The other was a simple head shot of Buster Crabbe. Both pieces were drawn with photo reference from well known stills from the first two FLASH GORDON serials. Later, he drew a wonderful sketch of Flash Gordon that was traded to Charlie Roberts. That sketch appeared on the cover of the infamous bootleg, Frazetta 300 Drawings, an effort of very poor quality. But, again, collectors and fans didn't care, we just wanted to see more and more Frazetta art.

Frazetta: Death Dealer Study

2012-02-06T08:29:00.000-08:00

Here is a previously unseen Death Dealer study. Alex Acevedo bought most of the Death Dealer Studies from Frank in 1994, but he missed buying two of them. The other one is entitled "The Snow Queen" and it, also, has never been seen. Hopefully I can post an image of it in the near future.

I love the action of this study. It would have made an incredible finished oil. Unfortunately, the TOR Death Dealer novels came to their end and the money was no longer there, so Frank never finished those last two concepts. Frank did paint another unused concept in his final years depicting Death Dealer and a swarm of greenish vampiric witches/demons. He did it all left-handed. It was showcased in the museum for a very short while. The family still has it but it's never been seen and, alas, I don't have an image of the final oil.

DocDave Winiewicz

Frazetta Published Page for THRILLING COMICS #71

2012-02-01T07:49:00.000-08:00

Here is the published version of that previously rejected splash from THRILLING COMICS #71. You can see the many differences. It is great to see that unpublished version however.

DocDave Winiewicz

Frazetta's Looie Lazybones

2012-01-31T19:48:00.001-08:00

Here is a splash page that is currently being auctioned by Russ Cochran.

Can anyone identify this page from an issue of THRILLING COMICS in the late 40's? I've never seen it before and I suspect it might be unpublished. I thought I'd throw it out there for those with a substantial Frazetta comic book collection.

Russ' Auction site:

http://russcochranauction.auctionanything.com/Home.taf

Three Sexy Frazetta Women

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

A nice sketchsheet featuring three lovely ladies, partially colored in colored pencils. They were done simply for the joy of drawing and with no other purpose in mind. None of the images were published or subsequently used for another project. This sheet was found partially crushed in the back of a dresser drawer upstairs in Ellie's room. Thank God it survived.

How Frazetta Bought A Home

2012-01-26T11:34:00.000-08:00

An interesting piece of Frazetta history, this document dates from the early 70's and depicts a listing of paintings that Frank was giving to Russ Cochran to sell. Russ Cochran, of course, was Frank's first art agent and was directly responsible for creating the market for Frazetta original art. Russ' importance to the Frazetta story is significant. Frank was attempting to raise enough money to pay off the new home and land in Pennsylvania. The listed numbers are the sale prices. Russ would take his cut out of those prices. And, yes, Russ did sell them all. He sold them during the period of 1971 to 1975. The FIGHTING MAN OF MARS was added later. Frank never thought highly of the piece. He thought it was a simply static portrait with nothing special about it. I disagreed with him completely. The princess is spectacular and the entire environment is filled with mood and atmosphere and glorious heroism. We decided to use it as the cover to both editions of the Frazetta Reference volumes.

Frazetta As Home Designer

2012-01-23T06:33:00.000-08:00

These pages are home design revisions from the mind of Frazetta. The Frazetta home in Marshall's Creek, PA underwent many changes from the time of its purchase in the early 70's. It started as a single story cottage, run down and filled with clutter. There was a barn off to the side. Frank added a pre-fabricated second story to the cottage, then he added an expanded living room, then he added a new studio. These sketchbook page revisions reflect a time when Frank wanted to expand the house further with a swimming pool. Originally the pool was going to be enclosed and feature a very primitive jungle motif with rocks and vegetation. At the very last minute Frank rejected this idea because of potential humidity damage to the paintings. He called the idea "Frazetta's Folly".

There is one museum design in the group that derives from the home designs. The original museum idea featured a separate studio apartment for Frank on the second floor. This would have been Frank's private getaway area. He wanted some separation from Ellie. Ellie said it was too expensive, nixed the idea, and plans reverted to a single story design.

At one point Frank wanted to build an all new home on a different part of the lake. Frank Junior had just built a large home across the other end of the lake and Frank wanted to outdo it. Frank's medical issues put an end to those ideas.

Many people wonder why Frank chose the Pocono mountain area as his destination. Frank was clearly disenchanted with the whole NYC-Long Island area. Ellie had found a large tudor-style house that was turnkey move-in ready, but Frank wanted no part of it. He said "no". He was tired of neighborhood living. He wanted space; he wanted the stereotypical "room to breathe". The reason for Pennsylvania is that the National Cartoonist Society would have yearly golf outings at the Shawnee-on-Delaware resort, the Shawnee Inn, owned by Fred Waring, an early supporter of the NCS. They gathered to celebrate his birthday every summer. In addition to cartoonists, many celebrities would show up. This is where Frank played golf with Hal Foster and met Jackie Gleason. This was located right in the middle of the Pocono mountains. These outings influenced Frank. He loved the mountains and the isolation of the area.The land was very atmospheric, very moody and mysterious. The summers featured heavy fogs and constantly changing weather patterns. The vegetation was thick and rich; the area was populated by many animals from deer to rabbits to coyotes to bobcats. It was the perfect location for Frank. It was this very 65 acre parcel of land that influenced George Lucas and Clint Eastwood to buy up sections of California. They both saw what Frank had and they wanted the same thing.

Frank settled in and let the world beat a path to his door. It was a magical house in a magical setting.

A Frazetta Gem

2012-01-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

In the early 1970's Russ Cochran asked Frank to do a couple of drawings for his publishing company. Frank produced an exquisite fox face logo in a circular motif and a standing fox illo for Russ' letterhead. This sketch sheet contains a study for that project. Frank also included that wonderful cascading piece of ribaldry on the sheet. Horny and aggressive amazon warriors chasing reluctantly tumescent men. An amazing little presentation is it not? Straight from some exotic fever dream in the highly eroticized corner of his mind.

The original was discovered in the back of a drawer in 1994 where it was purchased by Alex Acevedo of the Alexander Gallery in NYC. It was partially crinkled and executed on very light paper, so Alex had it archivaly drymounted onto a heavier board. It has since been cut apart.

Frazetta As Cover Model

2012-01-19T07:45:00.000-08:00

Most of you viewers have seen these covers by now. We included them in the second revised edition of the Definitive Frazetta Index/Reference. What is interesting is that absolutely no one knew about these covers until fellow collector and friend, Andrew Steven ( who helped co-edit and fact check the Frazetta Index. He was invaluable in the final finish of the book) discovered these in a bookstore. He was stunned and puzzled when he saw them for the first time. He immediately called me up to discuss this discovery. I was amazed. Andrew had a vast paperback collection and a

comprehensive collection of Frazetta volumes. We approached Frank for the background story. Frank said that he did the covers as a favor to the art editor and a way to pick up some quick cash. He never told his wife, Ellie, nor did he keep any copies of the published covers. He simply forgot about it and never mentioned it to anyone. It was his little secret and he used all the money to buy cameras and lenses. I had him sign my copies, cursively, of course. I think I have the only signed copies in existence. This is an interesting little facet to Frank's diverse career.

100th Post: Frazetta, Memory, And Memoirs

2012-01-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

Well, we have reached a little milestone with the 100th posting. I thought that a few comments are in order concerning my approach and philosophy in producing this site.

I think it is very important for people to share their experiences directly in the form of memoirs. This is the way to preserve cultural traditions and important knowledge for future generations. Anything that augments understanding and adds to the appreciation of a significant creative life is important. I have been gathering these stories for years from many sources. Of course, history should never be written by just one person. I do not have absolute knowledge about Frazetta. I never claimed to know everything. I am just sharing what I do know. Frazetta, as everyone knows, often changed his mind and answered questions with different facts. I always gave more weight to what Frank told me before his strokes. His mind was clearer and his answers were more consistent. There is much more I wished I did know, questions I wished I had asked. My knowledge of Frank's early school life and art education is very weak. I am thankful for all the stories published by Russ Cochran, Nick Meglin, Roy Krenkel, Al Williamson, Neal Adams, Arnie Fenner, and others. In particular I would highly reccomend the Frazetta tribute that Arnie Fenner added to the latest SPECTRUM volume (#19). He addresses the issue of Frank's proper consideration and he shines a light into all those dark, closeted issues that need to be brought into the light. Arnie knows, as any right thinking reader knows, a good biography must be honest and look at all aspects of a life, both good and bad. Look at the current biography of Steve Jobs. It contains a blend of all the great things he accomplished, and the darker sides of his life and personality. It provides us with a complete picture without prejudice or propaganda. Other artists' biographies are equally candid in their portrayal of the artist's life. Look at the brutal elements in the life of N.C. Wyeth who allegedly had an affair with his daughter-in-law and fathered his own grandson. Anything less than total candor is a waste of time. A biography needs direct veracity, not pie-in-the-sky fairytales. My earlier web site was hacked into and shut down because I dared to post a trilogy of essays that began to deal with the raw and unvarnished truthful elements surrounding Frank's life, e.g. the truth behind the museums, the truth behind the myth of Ellie Frazetta, etc. Some people did not want to hear it. They preferred to wallow in self-serving constructed myths and carefully contrived phoniness. The internet cowards and haters will always be there. Fine...let them write their own stories. The truths will emerge; it is just a matter of time. When all is known it will only enhance Frazetta's reputation. I am certain of that.

Hopefully, this is just the beginning of a process that will guarantee him a place in art history's pantheon. I didn't ask for this job, but fate has a way of handing out certain responsibilities. I was placed in a unique position to share life with Frazetta at a very deep level. Our friendship transcended the realm of art and extended into many more dimensions. We incessantly talked about everything and shared experiences and thoughts continuously over the period of 25 years. I am less interested in the plain biographical facts of his life, e.g. the dates, the relatives, the timeline of his career. I leave that for others. I am interested in presenting the essence of the man himself, what makes him tick, what makes him so special and unique. Frank wanted his memory and life shared in an accurate way. He was very afraid that incorrect things would be said. He hated some of the things Ellie was saying at the museum. It bothered him deeply. If enough untruths are repeated over and over, people have a tendency to consider them as the absolute truth. Frank gave me free access to his mind and soul; he was honest with me. Loyalty was always a big thing for Frank. If Frank detected any disloyalty, then that person would be cut out of his life, period, no chance at redemption. Frank was loyal to me and I to him. That is why I am presenting these little essays...to provide a window into the authentic Frazetta and the life he lived. Frank, the man, cannot be understood without understanding the family dynamics, and the complex relationship he had with Ellie. The last 30 years of Frank's life were pivotal to his career. His life became increasingly more complex and difficult. His extreme medical problems transformed him and everyone around him.

These are my direct experiences. There is nothing to disagree with here. If someone else has a different perspective on Frank or Ellie, then by all means, write your story down and let history judge its' truth. I was there. I saw all this family joy and extreme family pain, and recorded it as best as I could. A lot of it is painful to read for many people. However, it is the truth. Great men's lives often embrace great contradictions. Frank was no different. In addition to his staggering artistic successes, his life was also full of contradiction and failure. Often, his neglect of critical family issues planted the seeds for disasters to come. I admired Frank; I loved him as a dear, dear friend; and I felt a profound pity for him. This is simply a record of my thoughts and experiences and reflections. My hope is that others will continue to build on these ideas and facts. The Frazetta story continues to evolve and grow and influence.

I added a recent portrait of myself to this essay. I'm smiling. I smile a lot. I have good reason to smile. I'm sitting on a mountain of golden memories and surrounded by fantastic examples of Frazetta's art. Life is very good, indeed!

A big "thank you" to all the readers of this site who share my passion for Frazetta. I don't know how long I can keep this going, but for now, it is a lot of fun to keep Frank's memory alive in some tangible way.

Posted by docdave at 3:56 PM

2 comments:

Scott Williams said...

These posting are of profound value and importance Dave. Thanks for being there amid the good times and the ruin and the pain and giving us an insight to the life of the Frazetta name.

Scott

February 21, 2011 9:54 AM

docdave said...

Thanks again Scott. I feel a duty and a responsibility to Frank's memory to get these things said. Frank wanted it that way. We all loved the guy so much!

DAVE

February 21, 2011 10:29 AM

Frazetta Teaches Himself To Watercolor

2012-01-16T07:45:00.000-08:00

This is an extremely early sketch page where Frank taught himself to watercolor. The backside contains a very dynamic cowboy drawing along with other studies. The front contains swatches of color and a seated man study with carefully applied tints. There are very light pencil notations on the page where Frank writes down various color overlay combinations. My early photograph did not pick up those textual additions. The color on the page is not haphazard or random. It is Frank working through various types of blendings and transparent layers for different effects. This is a very interesting piece of Frazetta history. It is currently owned by a collector in europe.

Early Frazetta Watercolor

2012-01-15T06:30:00.000-08:00

A very early watercolor portrait that looks to date from the early 40's, although I cannot be sure. The back of this piece has the word "Falanga" written on the back. Could this be a school project where Frank drew his old teacher Michel Falanga? Is it a family member, a well-liked uncle? This is a little mystery waiting to be solved. One thing for sure, it is a fantastic study and showcases the very early genius of Frazetta. There is so much life in that face, very expressive and beautifully colored.

Frazetta: Tarzan And The Antmen

2012-01-12T09:26:00.000-08:00

Tarzan And The Ant Men was produced as a spec piece to show publishers what Frazetta was capable of. Vern Coriell, one of the founders of fandom and one of the early passionate enthusiasts of all things Burroughs, first published it as the back cover of the great BURROUGHS BIBLIOPHILES #29 fanzine. It was originally drawn as a watercolor. It ultimately ended-up in the collection of Robert R Barrett, another early fan of Frazetta and passionate collector of all things Tarzan and Burroughs related.

Frank wanted to get the Warren magazine oil from CREEPY #9 back, which he had previously sold to Bob. He offered a deal whereby Frank would get the oil back and, in return, repaint the Ant Men in oil and toss-in another Frazetta Burroughs illustration. Bob agreed. The result is what I think is Frank's first repaint. I have reproduced both versions. I have also included the original sketchsheet. Notice how Frank is playing with the figure of Tarzan to get that heroic walking gesture just right. I think the repainted version is better, but I do enjoy some of the color blendings in the original watercolor. I also like the "eyes open" face of Tarzan. This is the first time that a decent image of the watercolor has been seen. The fanzine version is simply too dark and muddy. It gives no insight into the obvious qualities of the original. However, for its time, we were all glad to see it. BURROUGHS BULLETIN#29 is still the greatest of all the FF fanzines/bootlegs.

Vern Coriell told me he preferred the earlier version because the repaint was stiff and featured a standardized washboard stomach that wasn't as inventive.I told him that I disagreed, but I certainly thought his points had some validity. The second version is simply more 3-dimensional; it has more of that Frazetta "presence" I wrote about earlier. The body creates a visual impact. Tarzan is seeminly striding into your living room. It has energy. It's an interesting comparison to ponder. The question of Frazetta repaints is a heated one. Everyone has their opinions.

What do you think?

Frazetta and the Old Man

2012-01-11T07:10:00.000-08:00

I walked into the kitchen and was greeted by Ellie Frazetta. This was late in 1995. She said: "Hi Dave! Frank is anxious to see you. He started painting left handed. He finished his first oil. It's a picture of an old man. I looked at it and started to cry." Before I could ask Ellie why she cried, Frank emerged out of the studio, shook my hand, and offered me some coffee. We went directly to the studio. The words of Ellie still puzzled me, but not for long.

I walked into the studio and saw the small painting of a little old man on his easel. I immediately congratulated Frank on the outcome and expressed my amazement at how well it turned out. It was his very first left handed oil after his major strokes. Before this he had drawn a number of pencil drawings of varying quality. This was a breakthrough.

I knew then and there why Ellie cried. Frank had painted himself, how he felt, how diminished and frail he had become. Somehow, some way, his subconscious had directed him to this subject matter. I didn't pursue it. I shot a few photos of the oil, made some more laudatory comments, and then moved on to another topic. That little oil hit me like an emotional sledgehammer. I had to sit down. I couldn't even look at Frank for a few minutes. I sipped my coffee. I felt sorry for Frank, deeply and profoundly sorry. He felt his mortality and loss of native powers. He was trying to exorcise those feelings with this oil. He never returned to that theme. I don't blame him.

It's often been said that the true autobiography of an artist can be seen in his works. At this moment, that was never truer.

Frazetta: Princess Of Mars

2012-01-09T07:23:00.000-08:00

What makes this large oversize sketch sheet special is that it is the first set of ideas drawn for the Doubleday Books MARS series of Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. Also, notice that Frank's original idea for the cover depicts the scene where John Carter flies in the air attacking a thark. Ultimately, he rejected that idea and used the more standard heroic pose of John Carter and the Princess with the giant moon behind them. The rejected cover design was then used as an interior illustration.

The sketch sheet is simply a wonderful work of art in itself.

My Frazetta Bibliography

2012-01-07T08:21:00.000-08:00

A number of people have asked me to post my personal bibliography of Frazetta writings, etc. Well, here it is:

FRAZETTA Bibliography……………….Dr. David Winiewicz

BOOKS:

CHRISTIE'S AUCTION CATALOG, October 31, 1992, New York: Christie's Publications [Interior Essay]

CHRISTIE'S AUCTION CATALOG, October 30, 1993, New York: Christie's Publications [Interior Essay]

CHRISTIE'S AUCTION CATALOG, October 29, 1994, New York: Christie's Publications [Interior Essay]

CHRISTIE'S AUCTION CATALOG, November 17, 1995, New York: Christie's Publications [Interior Essay]

THE DEFINITIVE FRAZETTA REFERENCE (Index and Checklist), Edited by James Bond. Assisted by Dave Winiewicz, Vanguard Publisher, October, 2008.

THE DEFINITIVE FRAZETTA REFERENCE (Index and Checklist), SECOND EDITION, Edited by James Bond. Assisted by Dave Winiewicz, Vanguard Publisher, August, 2010.

FANTASTIC ART OF FRANK FRAZETTA, Volume 4, New York: Peacock Press/Bantam Books, 1980 [Production assistance].

FANTASTIC ART OF FRANK FRAZETTA, Volume 5, New York: Peacock Press/Bantam Books, 1985 [Production assistance].

FRAZETTA PILLOWBOOK, Northhampton, MA: Kitchen Sink Press, 1994 [Essay: "Another Side of Frazetta"].

FRAZETTA BOOK ONE, Pennsylvania: Frazetta Publications/Sun-Litho Press, 1996 [Production/Editorial assistance and introductory essay: "The Very Best"].

FRAZETTA CLASSICS: COMPLETE JOHNNY COMET: Vanguard Productions, April, 2011 [Production assistance]

FRAZETTA CLASSICS: COMPLETE WHITE INDIAN: Vanguard Productions, April, 2011 [Production assistance]

HERITAGE SIGNATURE AUCTION CATALOG, November23-24, 2001, Dallas: Heritage Coin Publications [Writing and Production Assistance].

HERITAGE SIGNATURE AUCTION CATALOG, March 15-18, 2002,

Dallas: Heritage Coin Publications [Writing and Production Assistance].

HERITAGE SIGNATURE AUCTION CATALOG, July, 4-7, 2002,

Dallas: Heritage Coin Publications [Interior essay: “Carson of Venus”].

HERITAGE SIGNATURE AUCTION CATALOG, October 13, 2002

Dallas: Heritage Coin Publications [Interior essays- “Secret People”, etc.]

HERITAGE SIGNATURE AUCTION CATALOG, December 7, 2002, Dallas: Heritage Coin Publications. Text descriptions.

HERITAGE SIGNATURE AUCTION CATALOG, March, 2003, Dallas: Heritage Coin Publications. Text descriptions.

HERITAGE SIGNATURE AUCTION CATALOG, July, 2003, Dallas:

Heritage Coin Publications. Text descriptions.

HERITAGE SIGNATURE AUCTION CATALOG, Nov., 2003, Dallas:

Heritage Coin Publications. Text descriptions.

HERITAGE SIGNATURE AUCTION CATALOG, Feb.,2004, Dallas:

Heritage Coin Publications. Text descriptions.

ICON: A Retrospective of Frank Frazetta, California: Underwood Books, 1998 [Production assistance and photographs].

ILLUSTRATIONS ARCANUM, California: Verotik Publishing, 1994

[Interior essay: "Poetry in Pencil"].

LEGACY: Selected Paintings and Drawings by Frank Frazetta, California: Underwood Books, 1999 [ Production assistance and photographs].

L'IL ABNER, Volume 20, Northampton, Mass: Kitchen Sink Press, 1994 [Introductory essay: "Frazetta in Dogpatch"].

ORIGINAL COMIC ART: IDENTIFICATION AND PRICE GUIDE, Edited by J. Weist, New York: Avon Books, 1992 [Index: Frank Frazetta Collectors' List]

TESTAMENT. California: Underwood Books, 2001 [Photographs, production assistance, and interior essay “Frazetta in San Diego”].

ULTIMATE TRIUMPH, London: Wandering Star Press, 1999 [Production assistance and essay: "Frazetta and R. E. Howard: The Power of Passion"].

MAGAZINES:

COMIC BOOK MARKETPLACE #85, September, 2001 [Essay: “Frazetta Grand Opening 2001” plus photography].

COMIC BOOK MARKETPLACE #86, October, 2001 [Essay: “Frazetta’s Little Jewels”].

COMIC BOOK MARKETPLACE #88, December, 2001 [Essay: “Frazetta’s Fine Lines”].

COMIC BOOK MARKETPLACE #89, January, 2002 [Essay: “Frazetta and Foster: Some Thoughts” plus a review of the Hal Foster book by Brian Kane].

COMIC BOOK MARKETPLACE #93, August, 2002 [Essay: “A State of Grace”].

COMIC BOOK MARKETPLACE #108, December,2003 [Essay: “Frazetta’s Fairy Tale”].

COMIC BOOK MARKETPLACE #114, Sept. 2004 [Essay: “Frazetta’s Magic Pencil…And My Biggest Mistake.”].

DIAMOND DIALOGUE, June, 1998, Autobiographical essay: "Frank-ly Speaking".

FRANK FRAZETTA FANTASY ILLUSTRATED #2, Spring, 1998, Published by Quantum Cat Entertainment, Winter Park, Florida. [Essay: "Kane on the Golden Sea"].

FRANK FRAZETTA FANTASY ILLUSTRATED #3, Summer, 1998. [Essay: “Savage Pellucidar"].

FRANK FRAZETTA FANTASY ILLUSTRATED #4, Winter, 1998. [Multiple essays: "The Death Dealer" and "The Graphic Genius of Frank Frazetta" pp. 40-49].

FRANK FRAZETTA FANTASY ILLUSTRATED #6, May, 1999. [Essay: "The Egyptian Queen"].

FRANK FRAZETTA FANTASY ILLUSTRATED #7, July, 1999. [Essay:"Conan the Warrior"].

FRANK FRAZETTA FANTASY ILLUSTRTED #8, September, 1999. [Essay: "Frazetta's Spiderman"].

GOLDEN AGE QUARTERLY #2 [Essay: "Princess of Mars"]

ILLUSTRATION #2, Feb. 2002 [Essay: “Frazetta’s Little Miracles”, plus photography].

ILLUSTRATION #5, 2002 [Essay: “Frazetta: The Creative Moment” plus photography]. November, 2002.

MUSEUM GRAND OPENING 2001, Booklet published by Frank Frazetta, Jr. [Words in tribute to Frazetta].

SPECTRUM, vol.1, #22, April,2000 [Interview, pp. 11-14, "Ultimate Triumph"].

SPFX (Special Effects Magazine), #8, New Jersey: SPFX Publications, 1999. [ Photograph].

ALTERNATE MEDIA:

Documentary…FRAZETTA: PAINTING WITH FIRE, VHS and DVD, 96 minutes, Cinemachine, 2003. Extensive interviews and production assistance.

THE DEFINITIVE FRAZETTA REFERENCE (Index and Checklist) Edited by James Bond. Assisted by Dave Winiewicz, Carnivore Press: New York, 2003. Interactive CD, 176 pages.

THE DEFINITIVE FRAZETTA REFERENCE (Index) Edited by James Bond. Vanguard Publications: New Jersey, 2009. Two essays contributed.

CAME THE DAWN Portfolio, Published by Frazetta Prints, I wrote the

Introductory text as a favor for Frank Frazetta Jr.

ULTIMATE TRIUMPH book interview by Anya Martin, July, 1999.

Published in several London newspapers and the internet.

FANZINES:

COMIC AND FANTASY ART APA (Hereafter abbreviated to CFA-APA), #3, December, 1985, Edited by Roger Hill. [Essay: "Reveries of a Frazetta Collector, Part 1"].

CFA-APA #4, March, 1986. [Essay: "Reveries of a Frazetta Collector, Part 2"].

CFA-APA #5, June, 1986. [Essay: "Delectations and Ruminations"].

CFA-APA #6, September, 1986 (Entire issue devoted to Frank Frazetta). [Essay: "The Greatest"].

CFA-APA #10, September, 1987. [Essay: "Reveries of a Frazetta Collector, Part 4"].

CFA-APA #11, March, 1988. [Essay: "A Serious Look at a Serious Picture"].

CFA-APA #13, September, 1988. [Essay: "What's New with Frank?"].

CFA-APA #16 , Fall, 1989. [Essay: "A Trip to the Frazettas"].

CFA-APA #18, April, 1990. [Essay: "The Poetry of Line"].

CFA-APA #81, Summer, 2010 FRAZETTA MEMORIAL TREIBUTE ISSUE, Guest essay: “Fun With Frank and Ellie.” A look at the issue of Frazetta’s pornographic stories.

The Frazetta Signature

2012-01-05T11:19:00.001-08:00

The professional signature of Frazetta underwent many changes over the course of 50 years. It was not an easy signature to draw or paint. The oil reproduced above is an example. Frank said this in response to one of my questions: "You know...my name isn't easy to draw. It takes work to get it just right. See that painting [He points to the HUNTER OUT OF TIME oil hanging in his studio] it took me four times to get it right. Four times! I finally got it the way I wanted it."

Now, that's a perfectionist. The signature on that oil is exceptional. If you get a chance ever to see the original, look closely at that signed area. I marvel at it.

After his first two strokes Frank's professional signature was never the same. It was a supreme effort for him to even attempt it. The results were stiff, labored, crooked, and unnatural. He tried it using both hands. Both hands failed. Please don't ask me to evaluate the authenticity of later items signed by Frazetta. They may or may not be. If it looks bad, then it's probably good. I reproduce a picture of Frank's drawing table which has a big thick board on it. Frank would draw ink drawings and watercolors on this board in the pre-stroke days. After the strokes he abandoned pure ink drawings and relied on pencil. Notice on the surface of this board all the many times Frank began to practice his pro signature. Notice how weak each attempt is. This was profoundly frustrating for Frank. Also notice the tray of Mickey Mouse watercolors that Frank used for coloring. And, of course, the overall Frazetta chaos and visual cacophany jumps out of this photo, even a big blob of dried glue on the board. Imagine all the carefully crafted, life-infused beauty that emerged from this artistic jumbalaya. I hope someone preserved the board. The other side is equally interesting, but I didn't photograph it. I simply forgot to do it. I always thought that an artifact like that takes you right inside an artist's head. I look at that board and I see a thousand images of Frank smiling and a thousand laughs.

I noticed during the times I would take Frank to the hospital for blood tests that he would sign the forms with his right hand cursively. The extra papers I reproduced contain examples of Frank signing his name cursively with his right hand AFTER the strokes. He was practicing before signing some ULTIMATE TRIUMPH books for me. Notice how he achieves a much smoother result. I had Frank sign later books exclusively with this cursive signature. It simply looked better. I never attempted to have Frank sign with his pro signature. It was simply too painful to watch him attempt it and I know he was embarrassed by it.

The evolution of Frank's signature and its many phases is worthy of a big essay by itself.

And, of course, I reserve copyright on all my photo images. The Frazetta Estate reserves copyright on all art depicted in any of my postings.

Frazetta: Conan The Buccaneer Studies

2012-01-03T07:27:00.001-08:00

Frank would often take b/w photos of works in progress. These are rescued photos from early Conan concepts. The actual originals are about 9x12 inches and in full color. The concepts were rejected because they did not show the face of Conan.

Welcome to the New Year, everyone!

Cheers!

DocDave

Frazetta's Christmas Snowman Tale

2011-12-11T20:33:00.001-08:00

This is my last post until the new year. I thought it would be fitting to post a few images from Frazetta's very early Snowman booklet. It has a Christmas theme where Snowman rescues a village from an evil giant and restores Christmas to the community. The pages are rather modest in size, no more than 4x6 inches or so. I would date this from 1946 or 1947. It is a very young Frazetta at his charming best. This is a 28 page story. Many other booklets like this were drawn by Frank including a very large full-color 60 page story featuring Snowman. None have been published.

Frank told me that he tried to trade this story to George Roussos in an effort to acquire one of his Foster TARZAN originals. George refused to accept it saying that Frank should keep it and give it to his mother or grandmother at Christmas time. Frank did ultimately get the TARZAN pages from George and he kept them for over 50 years.

Ultimately, Frazetta traded this booklet to Roy Krenkel many years ago. Krenkel had two of Frank's early sketch books. Roy sold this one and it has remained buried and unseen for years.

A very Merry Christmas to everyone! A safe, happy, and healthy New Year to all!

DocDave

Frazetta: Warming Up

2011-12-10T07:29:00.000-08:00

These are consecutive pages from an early 1970's sketchbook. Actually, the first two images come after the others in the line of creation. The blogger site mixed up the sequence. In these pages Frazetta was warming up to do the large King Kong oil where Kong battles the huge snake. These pages lead up to that final watercolor study. Unfortunately the study was clipped from the book and sold before I could capture it in its integrity as a full sketch page.

This gives an idea , once again, of Frank's working methods. In this case he used these slight pencils as simply a warm up to get a "feel" for the kind of line he wanted and the type of pose. Notice all the clipped pages in the first photo of the open sketch book. I wanted to preserve the authentic look of these "butchered" sketchbooks. Ellie sold it all for quick cash and Frank didn't think it was important enough to save images for posterity. I told him time and time again, but he wouldn't listen. He thought I was nuts to be so concerned about studies.

I recall my earliest visits when all his sketchbooks would be lined up on his cabinet shelf. You could follow the flow of Frank's creative juices year by consecutive year in those books. Now, they are ALL gone and pages resting in collectors' closets, and under their beds, and in their trash cans, and god knows where else. Am I bitter? You bet I am. What a loss to art history. Not being able to preserve and document the nonstop creative flow from such an artistic genius is a sin against art history. I was hitting my head against a brick wall. I saved what I could. It wasn't easy getting any of these photos. I had to wait until Frank was in the right mood and make sure that Ellie wasn't around to stop me or start a fight with Frank. I thought it was important enough to make some serious efforts in this regard.

This highlights another issue for Frazetta collectors, namely, authenticity. Sometimes a real Frazetta doesn't appear to be by Frazetta because it is simply one of these very minor warm up pieces. As I said, Ellie sold everything, both the good and the minor. Other times, there are faux-Frazetta pieces out there that give a hint of Frazetta and easily deceive the uninformed eye. There are a LOT of forgeries out there, some very sloppy, some rather skillfully done with the direct intention to deceive for profit. Pages are carefully torn, stains are added, and loose lines abound in all these phonies. Many of these are laughable in their over earnestness to deceive. Others take a trained eye to spot. All I can say is: be VERY careful. At the end of his life even Frank had a hard time figuring out what was his work. Ellie, of course, was hopeless. She simply dismissed many authentic pieces as forgeries. I have story upon story about these encounters with collectors. They all ended-up calling me to try and get the real story. I have seen 99% of Frank's sketchbook work, so I have a real good idea about what is what. I collected samples of all the types of paper Frank worked with. I used to do all the forgery analysis for Frank and Ellie, but I have now given up. I'm not getting paid and there is more and more in the marketplace. It's not a good situation. I cringe when I hear about people paying 2-3K for a forged piece of nonsense.

When HERITAGE bought the 3 big Frazetta sketchbooks from the Alexander Gallery, their intention was to break them up, cut them up, and sell the extra originals for enhanced "cut up value" as they called it. I contacted Jim Halperin and asked him if he could send me scans of all those pages before the knife hit them so I could possibly reassemble them for posterity in their full integrity. Jim owed me a favor. I was writing the Frazetta descriptions in those early auction catalogs and I had introduced Ed Jaster to Alex Acevedo of the NYC Alexander Gallery in San Diego and gave Alex his first HERITAGE catalog. Jim Halperin and Alex hit it off and HERITAGE bought Alex out, including tons of Crumb and the Harvey Warehouse art archives. They had also bought the 1952, 1954, and 1962 Frazetta sketchbooks almost in their entirety. Jim asked one of his assistants to provide me with the images. Lo and behold I received a CD in the mail several days later. Quick work. I was ecstatic. The pages would be preserved. I stuck the disc into my computer and my heart sank.....EVERY image was small and blurry. They photographed the pages and, whoever did it, royally screwed up. I gave up. It just wasn't meant to be. Jim tried to help, but we were thwarted by someone just not paying close enough attention to his job.

The pages got cut up and sold. I managed to buy 4 complete pages to rescue them. I posted three of them in an earlier essay; they were studies for the men's magazine illo of the floating girl.

It's too bad none of Frank's serious fans in the 60's made the effort to preserve these images. I tried. Failed.

Oh well...

Frazetta: Birthday Card

2011-12-08T17:31:00.000-08:00

I just came across this birthday card that Frank drew for Ellie's father. It's never been seen.

Interesting that Frank took it back!

DAVE

PS: I'll probably post one or two more items and then take a long break for the Christmas and New Year's holidays. It's a very hectic time of year for me.

Frazetta: Underpainting Redux

2011-12-08T11:39:00.000-08:00

This photo comes with a story. I photographed this one at the same time I shot those LORD OF THE RINGS studies. I saw these ONE time and never saw them again. I preserved this discussion word for word.

DW: What is the story behind this oil, Frank? I've never seen it before.

FF: I don't like it. It's a failure. I started painting it right after drawing that graveyard picture for the Kubla Khan drawings. That one [Frank points to the kubla khan death scene hanging on the wall of his studio.] I really like that drawing. I worked hard to get it right. Do you remember all the comps I did for that? All the other drawings came pretty easily. My other favorite is that Lord Of The Rings Black Knight drawing. I got the weight and the forward movement at just the right moment. Perfect balance, perfect motion. That really turned out well. No effort. I remember being excited to see how it would turn out. It just flowed onto the paper like I wasn't even holding the brush. I guess I was in a zone of some sort. That happens when I really get excited about an image. Like that Buck Rogers cover I did for Gaines. Same feeling. I did little studies in pencil for most of the other drawings. That death scene design took me longer. I toyed with different ideas. I must have run a hundred ideas through my head.

DW: Yes, you did more than you did for any other plate in those portfolios. Why? What were the problems you wrestled with? You went from something highly dramatic to something almost spiritual and prayerful. Those early studies were kind of obvious and stale, weren’t they? The final solution is PURE Frazetta. The idea and execution are perfect. I never tire looking at it. It stops me in my tracks every time I walk by it. It’s as good as anything, isn’t it?

FF: Exactly. I couldn't get a clear idea of what I wanted. I would do a study, look at it, then realize that it wasn't me. Images kept spinning in my head. I was thinking of world war II movies, cowboy movies, all sorts of death scenes. I wanted something subtle, but still have the emotion and the power, the energy. It’s been done so many times that it was tough to get a new take on it.

Less is more. How many times have I said that? I kept simplifying it in my mind. I finally got it. I did a very elaborate pencil. Did you ever see the pencils? Cochran flipped when he saw them. He thought they were better than the final inks. No, the inks were better. Who cares about a pencil? Too easy. Make a mistake and just erase. No big deal. Why do these kids make such a big deal about pencil drawings. If you can’t do a decent pencil, then get out of the business.

DW: Frank, I always thought that bicep carried all the emotion. The muscles showed tension, stress, and sorrow. The gesture of the body is simply perfect...respect and sorrow and ultimate loss. He lost his best friend. His world has shrunk and constricted. His body position is the same way.

FF: You got it! The life is there; I caught just what I wanted. I did a quick watercolor of the scene. I wanted to see if I could capture it in color. The watercolor was shitty. I hated it. I looked at it and never looked again. I think Ellie hid it somewhere upstairs. She was afraid I’d throw it out. I decided to try an oil. This is it. [Frank picks up the oil.] I wanted to focus on all the muscles. I wanted the muscles to talk. I wanted to feel them, to get some emotion coming off the body. Failure. Nothing. Looks like a goddamn statue. Lifeless. At least to my eye it is.

Didn't work, didn't capture it. I stopped. The more I looked at it, the more I disliked it. I threw it in the back of the cabinet. Why show it? It's not even good enough as a life study. See that black blob on the right? That was going to be a long shock of flowing hair. I was going to make the face more oriental. I didn't know what to do with it. Wasn't worth my time. I wasted enough time on it. Maybe we can burn it in the yard. Put it back in the cabinet, I can't look at it anymore."

I took it outside and shot one quick picture, then I put it back in the cabinet. Thank God the picture turned out. It’s not often when Frank expresses such complete exasperation. I thought the original was pretty impressive. I wanted to buy it, but I didn't think Frank would sign it. Also, I didn't want him to think less of me for having such poor taste as to actually want it. I was caught in the web of aesthetic politics, Frazetta-style. Thwarted again.

The original is interesting because Frank took the composition a bit further than the initial umber underpainting. We are here right in the middle of his creative process. He started to add some color highlights, then he just stopped. All the anatomical abnormalities would be corrected in the finishing process. No photos here, just inspiration from the mind's eye. I did snap a shot of the watercolor, but I haven't found it yet. I have it somewhere. It’s not that impressive. Frank was right about that. All this came out of a manilla envelope with photos I had completely forgotten about. Thank God I found it. So many trips, so many memories. Rediscovering memories like this is a complete joy.

I wonder what happened to these originals? I hope Frank didn't decide to warm his hands in the backyard.

Frazetta: Last NINA panel Discovered

2011-12-07T09:16:00.000-08:00

I found this photo of Frank's dining room wall. Notice the large opening panel with the full shot of the airplane. All the panels from both tryout pages have now been accounted for. Let someone put that first page back together!

DocDave

Frazetta: Underpainting

2011-12-05T17:29:00.000-08:00

I spoke earlier about Frazetta beginning an oil with a darker umber underpainting. Here is an example. I found this photo of two LORD OF THE RINGS concepts that were never finished. They are smaller 11x14 inch oil studies executed on canvasboard. Interesting, eh?

DocDave

Frazetta: A Dog's Best Friend

2011-12-01T07:14:00.000-08:00

Previously unpublished and seen in its entirety for the very first time. I put this story back together many, many years ago. I bought the splash from a Russ Cochran auction, and found page two in a Guernsey's auction several years later. This is the last interior comic book story drawn by Frank. It was supposed to run right after the CINDY IS SAVED story that I posted earlier.

I brought it down to Frank to have him sign the second page. He did. When he finished, he raised a partially wet coffee cup to take a sip and, of course, two big drops of water slid off the bottom of the cup and directly hit the partially wet signature. Such is fate, eh? Frank commented that he was relieved that coffee drops didn't hit it. He said: "Let's leave it. If I try to fix it, it will smudge. You got yourself another Frazetta story, Dave."

Actually, the smudged signature bothered the hell out of me. Frank decided he wanted to get the story back and offered me a trade for the nude bathing girl watercolor from 1962. I jumped at it.

The splash page originally had a big stain right in the middle of the page. It required a $1200 conservation job to remove it. Page two had several paste-overs covering some minor flaws. All in all, the inking and energy in these pages is pure Frazetta magic.

Frazetta: The Closet and Cabinet

2011-11-27T18:29:00.000-08:00

Before the opening of the first Frazetta Museum it was a real treat to visit the Frazetta home in Marshall's Creek, Pennsylvania. The home was a treasure trove of original art. Art was everywhere. Oils on every wall and more oils stacked in cabinets and bedrooms. It was impossible to be anywhere in the house without seeing some incredible Frazetta original staring back at you. Even the two bathrooms were filled with drawings and watercolors. Before the final major expansion to the house Frank only had a small studio off the family room. There was a darkroom, an easel, and a large metal cabinet. The cabinet was stuffed with boxes of photos, sketchbooks, cameras, prints, magazines, and two oversize sketchbooks containing Frank's pornographic stories. They were always available for Frank to show to his closest friends. I never missed a chance to look at them.

During this very early visit I asked Frank where the Famous Funnies covers were. "They are probably upstairs. Ellie has the art hidden away everywhere. Do you want to see them?" Yes, of course, I did. Off we marched upstairs. Frank stopped in the upstairs hallway and opened the hall closet door. "Look in there..on the floor..in the back. Pull it all out." I knelt down and literally dove headfirst into the closet. There was a big stack of art in the back and I pulled it out and dragged it into the hallway. Frank and I kneeled. I was stunned; I could feel a giant thrill shoot through my body. It was a two-foot stack of art before me. On the very top was an assortment of combat comic art pages. I started to look through the wondrous pile. Wonder after wonder appeared. Frank said it was too dark to see the art so we pulled the art pile into the nearby bedroom. There was a strong shaft of light coming through the window and Frank put the art right into the sunshine. I turned over some early Snowman splash pages and my heart stopped. Appearing before my eyes was the unbelievable Canaveral cover to Tarzan And The Castaways. It was glistening in the sun. I was literally floored by the impact of the art. This was followed by the Tarzan At The Earth's Core cover and the Canaveral depicting the tiger in the high grass. Frank was sitting back and lighting a cigarette. He was watching me enjoy the art and listened to all my comments. This was an experience that I would never forget. I asked Frank if I could take a quick picture. Frank ran downstairs to get my camera. I took a shot of the Famous Funnies cover. I have added that shot to my essay. Amazingly, to this day, that cover has NEVER been published in all its blue pencil and tonal glory. What a genuine pity that so much art has never been seen or published. Now, much of it has been scattered to the closets and walls of new collectors. It will be an impossible task to retrieve the imagery. What a waste.

I continued hunting through the art. I came across the Weird Science Fantasy #29 cover. I told Frank that many of these things needed to be framed or, at least, protected. I told him that I considered them better than a lot of the oils. Frank said: "Really? You really think so?" I said: "Frank, there is no doubt about it. No doubt at all. You are the best when it comes to pen and ink." Frank smiled and blew out some cigarette smoke. The smoke fell on the pile of art. I gave Frank a pained and solemn look. He gave me a little smirk. His eyes twinkled in the sunshine.

The next things I looked at were a few torn Came The Dawn half pages. Frank said that one of his "fans" ripped them when pulling down some art from the top of his cabinet. I inquired about the ripped pieces and Frank said they were gone. All the romance comic book stories were in the pile, as well as page upon page from the THUNDA book. The pile also contained all the Middle Earth portfolio plates. I couldn't devote enough time to them. I was overwhelmed. I was visually exhausted. I came across the early TIGA strips. All of them were there. I remember those strips from their first publication in an early Squa Tront fanzine. I always found the art to be charming and a strong foreshadowing of greatness to come. Frank picked up the #3 strip that featured a nice close-up of the female's face. "Not bad, is it?" Frank said. He went on to comment on the girl's face. "If you look at my art and see a nice face, that means I was having fun doing the art. I spent a lot of time on some of those faces. Look at some of those romance stories I did. There's some really good work in those. I worked hard on them, but they were a lot of fun to draw."

There were some early watercolors in the pile. I was extremely impressed with the image of Frank’s girlfriend, Carol, who was a ballet dancer. The piece was published in b/w in the LIVING LEGEND book. It’s never been published in color. I had to take a shot. It was in a very crappy, acidic yellow mat. Again, what a travesty. Frank commented that Carol was the great early love of his life, but he had to break it off because her parents were very biased against Italians. Frank was highly insulted when they kept referring to him as that low class Brooklyn wop. Frank said he came very close, more than once, to beating the crap out of her father. Frank further commented that his fixation on girl’s calves started with Carol. Here is the discussion as I remembered it in my notes:

DW: Frank, tell me a little about her.

FF: She was gorgeous, real class. A ballet dancer with an amazing body of great flexibility. I’ll never forget how smooth her skin was…like glass or porcelain. You know that phrase “smooth as silk”? Well, she was even smoother. I couldn’t keep my hands off her. I really flipped for her. The muscles in her legs drove me just nuts. I thought she was the one. I thought we’d be married.

DW: What happened?

FF: It was her parents. They just hated Italians..Italians for christ’s sake. They thought I was a nobody, another Brooklyn hustler. He insulted me more than once, right to my face. Any other guy I would have killed them. What? I dressed well and had a nice car. I spoke well. What the hell did they want? They wanted their daughter to marry a doctor, I guess. I wanted to beat the crap out of her father more than once. I couldn’t stand his arrogance. He hated everybody, Africans, Italians, Spanish, you name it.

DW: Where did this watercolor come from? Didn’t you add her name to a tree in one of your comic book pages?

FF: It was a gift, but I didn’t let her have it. Why? We broke up and I just kept it. That’s a lot of work. I like it. Yes, I did draw a heart in a tree. Like I said, I flipped for her.

DW: Were you upset?

FF: No, not really. There were plenty of fish in the sea and I just went back out fishing. I never had a problem getting girls.

That’s a little insight into the early Frazetta and his woman problems. Most of the time HE was the one trying to escape from girls coming after him too hard and too seriously.

By the way, the little frog jumping in the foreground comes directly from an early Prince Valiant by Hal Foster. Frank said he did it as a little tribute to the master.

I finally came to the last of the pile. There was so much there, both major and minor pieces. What an experience! That first look at that amazing pile of wonderment is something I’ll never forget. It was my very first look at many of these iconic productions. Many pieces still have not seen publication. What a joy it was. I was already looking forward to my next trip.

A New Frazetta Masthead

2011-11-23T11:08:00.000-08:00

I have been looking at old boxes of photos, slides, and art copies. I'm making a lot of discoveries, including many things I had forgotten about. I came across this wonderful portrait of Frank that I shot in the 1990's. I thought it would make a great masthead image. I love the serious, intense, no-bullshit gaze that he has.

I'll be away for the holiday. A wonderful and safe Thanksgiving to everyone! Look for another post early next week. It will be about the first time I looked through Frazetta's closet in 1982.

All the best and thank you for all the kind comments. They are deeply appreciated. I am trying to preserve some of these Frazetta memories for posterity and show some art that has never been seen. It's just one step in trying to preserve Frank's legacy as a living tradition of excellence. It was an honor to be his friend and I want to honor his memory.

Doc Dave

Frazetta, Coffee, and the Flying Cannoli

2011-11-21T07:08:00.000-08:00

One of the great inside jokes about Frazetta is the many coffee stains that appear on his art. I have reproduced a few examples with this essay. The fact is that Frank Frazetta loves coffee and drinks it constantly. The greatest coffee drinker in history was the great French writer, Balzac, who consumed 50 cups a day. Balzac ultimately died of caffeine poisoning at the young age of 51. Frank had a similar coffee passion. Every visit to the Frazetta home always began with the question: "Want some coffee?" Everything else started after that first pour and first sip.

During a very early trip in the 80’s I pulled up to the Frazetta home driving a very low end, entry-level Mazda. Frank greeted me at the door. “You fit in that thing? What do you get, about 200 miles per gallon?” Frank continued to tease me and my pathetic little car. I responded: “Frank, if I didn’t spend every penny I have on Frazetta originals, then maybe I’d have some cash for a decent car!” Frank laughed. “Come on in, you need some coffee after being squished into that thing.” We walked into the kitchen. We were alone. I sat in the dining room and Frank poured some coffee. He started swearing because he couldn’t find any milk. Finally, after much fumbling around Frank reached into the back of the refrigerator and came out with a carton of heavy whipping cream. I was horrified. "Frank! What are you doing? That stuff will kill you. It’s pure cholesterol. It'll clog your arteries." Frank listened without looking at me. Then I saw him smirk. He then looked at me, patted me on the back, continued to pour the thick cream into my cup, and simply said: "For Christ's sake, live a little!" That's Frazetta.

That could almost be Frank’s motto, but we’d have to change it a bit to “LIVE A LOT!”

All of our best discussions and evenings involved some kind of coffee. Many times Ellie would bring us cup after cup of irish coffee. We would sit there, put an oil or drawing on the easel, and then just start talking about what we see. After a few Irish coffees Frank would often loosen up and start to talk about myriad things, i.e. his early girlfriends, his encounter with a UFO over Brooklyn, his real thoughts about God, his thoughts on people in his life, his unguarded thoughts on Ellie, and so many other things. Two friends just contemplating the world. Golden times, to be sure. One night Frank decided to give me his imitations of EVERY Li’l Abner character. It was hilarious. Another night we walked into woods and, out of nowhere, Frank would start to sing. Not many people know this but Frank had an extraordinary voice. He often would sing at weddings for relatives and friends.

I have seen Frazetta drip coffee, splash coffee, spill coffee and spit coffee. The worst event happened one day after Ellie brought in some cannoli and put them on the table. We were sitting on Frank’s zebra skin sofa and looking through a big box of photographs. The box was between us. Frank reached for the plate of cannoli to offer me one. He had a cup of coffee in his right hand. One of the creamy canoli started to roll off the plate. It fell and took on a life of its own. He tried to catch the airborne cannoli. In the meantime the coffee cup in his right hand also took on a life of its own. It also went up in the air. The moment froze in my mind. It was a surrealistic juggling act headed for disaster. I lunged to get out of the way. The coffee explosion missed me but I did get nailed by the cannoli on my ankle and foot. The coffee cup fell into a box of photos we were looking at. The cannoli plate exploded and shattered on the side of the table and much cannoli sugar and cream covered everything. Nothing was spared this cataclysm. There was cannoli cream on top of one of Frank’s cameras. The photos were destroyed. Every photo had damage. Frank was FURIOUS. Frank jumped up. He burned his leg a bit and started a nonstop string of swearing. He jumped around for a minute. He couldn’t believe what he just did. He frantically tried to clean the camera. Everything else, including me, was secondary. Everything was coffee-cannoli stained. I'll never forget it. It was the funniest moment I have shared with Frank. You had to be there to appreciate the complete absurdity of the event. It took just two seconds, but everything just exploded into a cataclysmic Frazetta Frenzy. I ran to the bathroom and tried to clean my shoes. Frank took the box of photos outside and dropped them in his dumpster.

This is why we see many sketch sheets littered with coffee stains of every size and design. I have reproduced a few examples along with an actual picture of Frank pouring coffee in his darkroom. It's best to be far away from Frank when he has coffee in his hand! I sure do miss that man.

And, of course, as always, all art is © by the Frazetta Estate. The pictures are ©2011 by Dave Winiewicz Please do not write to tell me about the correct singular and plural of cannoli. I looked it up. I am using it correctly.

PS: Yes, on the way home that night, I stopped at the dumpster and retrieved the box of photos. I was able to rescue a number of gems.

The Argument Against Frazetta

2011-11-17T08:17:00.000-08:00

Once I decided to start my web site again I began to get emails from many people who found all these negative essays and combative pronouncements about Frank’s art. Everyone is an expert on the internet (or at least they have convinced themselves that they are) and all these self-appointed art experts dismiss Frazetta as a serious artist. The arguments I’ve heard a thousand times. The opinions are, to be frank, rather puerile and sophomoric. Periodically, this type of weak mindedness needs to be addressed. In addition to all these emails complaining about the anti-Frazetta contingents, I also receive lovely, thoughtful comments that capture the spirit and essence of Frazetta. I received this email from Tony Avacato, a New York based artist, who is a very big admirer of both Frank Frazetta and Robert E. Howard. This is what he said:

“Dave, there is something of the Cinema to his art and something of Memory, too. At the risk of waxing weird, I've always felt that Fritz was re-creating as much as creating his art. There are those certain themes that run rampant through his best work, regardless of those concessions that commerce demanded. Evocative in their unsettling power, the best of what he did -- and by their immortal influence, still do -- suggest an older soul at work. Fritz, though always young-at-heart, was an old soul, and sought through a wealth of dangerous visions, a way to re-connect to those past lives, both real and imagined. That's why his Conan paintings stand supreme among those works of fantasy. They tower above the rest because, like Robert E. Howard, Frazetta knew the intrinsic truth of things. He understood intuitively what all the great philosophers have tried to figure out throughout history. He saw the pageantry of pain and pride and passion that is Life better than most because he had lived it, over and over and over again. A remarkable artist and a remarkable man. I do not think we will see his like again. Be Well, Tony A.”

This is very heartfelt and insightful analysis. It motivated me to think about Frazetta and the type of criticism he receives. If my memory is correct, Robert Crumb copied two of Frazetta's drawings in his sketchbooks. He is quoted as saying that he just didn't get it. He didn't see the point to the subjects. This never surprised me. After all, Crumb and Frazetta occupy opposite places in the universe of art.

Let's play the devil's advocate for a moment. The arguments commonly made against Frazetta fall into the following categories:

Frazetta art is quite trite, trivial and banal.

Frazetta relies exclusively on cliches and overused stereotypes.

Frazetta provides no insight into human behavior.

Frazetta gives no real thought to the human condition and its problems.

I strongly disagree with all these assertions. Let us consider the first two points. In essence the argument is that Frazetta uses age old images of warriors, battle scenes, scenarios of contrived fantasy, and brainless women that are simply sexual stereotypes.

He uses formulaic male power fantasies and softcore titillation to fill his canvases.

The fact is that most human communication of any sort utilizes various types of stereotypes. They are a permanent part of the human condition. This goes back to the dawn of humanity where warriors and hunters are found in cave paintings and petroglyphs. It continues into the writings of Homer, the Bible, Shakespeare, etc. The subject matter includes all the great traditions on this planet, i.e. Judeo-Christian, Asian, Polynesian, African, and more. The visual history of the world contains numerous offshoots of Golems, Grendels, and Beowulfs. Do we all participate in some ancient collective unconscious that feeds us our symbols and metaphors as C. J. Jung would have us believe? Are we saturated with Platonic forms that are pre-born within us? Are we the subject of some type of divine illumination as St. Augustine taught? The great moorish mediaeval thinker Averroes thought the human mind received forms emanating from the cosmos. There are many theories. The mystery of creativity will ALWAYS be a mystery. The known fact is that Frazetta is deeply connected to these ancient ideas and ancient traditions. It is in his blood. Not only that but he has the deepest respect for the ideas of heroism. He grew up visually saturated by these iconic images courtesy of Foster, St. John, Pyle, and many others.

Heroism lives strongly and naturally in his soul. They are ancient memories that he gives new life too. They emerge naturally, not forced, from the cultural formation that makes Frank who he is. He is re-presenting truths to a new age.

Frazetta's art inspires, informs, and transforms us. He shows us the deepest splendors of the human condition: man at his heroic best. Frazetta is not to be faulted for this; he is to be praised. He is that rare being...a truth sayer and a beauty maker. He is a modern day shaman who connects us with the importance of the past. He highlights the continuity of excellence that runs through the human condition.

What about the question of human behavior? Look at the death scene drawing of Kubla Khan. We spoke about it previously. What does it tell us? I think it is profound. The horror of war, the death of a friend; it's all showcased here in a very powerful way. Not many artists could reach this intense level of emotional expression. It is a gift. On the other side of the coin we see Frazetta drawing light hearted cartoons, some funny, some explicitly ribald. Another facet of the human condition is presented. And, importantly, these are always accompanied by a lively sense of beauty. The creation of new beauty is the ultimate justification for any artist. Frazetta has lit up the world with new beauties of every sort. We live in a world that has been visually sculpted by the mind of Frazetta. What more could we possibly ask for in an artist.

We could go on and on, but I think the point has been made. Frazetta is not a childish artist who people grow out of. He is a magisterial creator who people enter and appreciate more and more deeply over time. I have been looking and thinking about Frazetta's art since 1955, a long time. I still am thrilled by it. It is always fun to look at. It is always fresh. There are always new discoveries to be made.

Frazetta's Last Watercolor

2011-11-15T06:46:00.000-08:00

This is actually Frank's last right handed watercolor before getting hit by the strokes. Afterwards he would continue to do some left handed watercolors. And, in fact, many of those were quite exceptional.

I was fortunate to see this last watercolor in three different stages over the course of three visits. The only thing he didn't finish was the little butterfly on the left side. Frank decided that it looked just fine the way it was. He didn't want to take a chance on accidentally screwing it up. After his initial strokes he was prone to a little hand jitteriness. This would lead to little hand spasms that caused him to ruin some coloring attempts. He thought it was best to leave this one alone. The original is now owned by Disney artist Topper Helmers. It is displayed proudly on his CAF Gallery site along with his other Frazetta jewels.

Doc Dave

Frazetta: Light and Dark

2011-11-14T08:23:00.000-08:00

I have received a lot of personal questions about the oil in the previous post. I thought something needed to be clarified. After Frank's first major strokes starting in 1995 he started to draw left handed and dabble with oil painting. This is well known. What is not well known is the fact that Frazetta's entire approach to painting changed at this point unbeknownst to him. Frank used to begin an oil with a darker sublayer to define form and light indications. He would then progressively add lightening tones and highlights until he achieved the effects he wanted. Look at the Carlsberg Beer ad and you'll see what a Frazetta underpainting looked like. In that case he just stopped.

After his second stroke he began to see color differently and he didn't realize it. I verified this one afternoon. I was videotaping him working on the Reign of Wizardry oil. He was adding a girl and using bright white paint. I asked him what color he was using. He thought it was a shade of green. I told him it was almost pure white. He was shocked and in disbelief. His mind was telling him that he was using a darker color. So after this he struggled with going from light to dark, instead of his usual approach of beginning with dark to light. He had to force himself to add darker tones to his whitish underpaintings. This is what we see in the previously depicted oil. He started with white, then started to add darker highlights. In his mind, this was a darker colored girl more in balance with the other tones of the picture. Frank did the same thing with his repaints of the National Lampoon cover and the constant revisions on the Reign of Wizardry cover. I don't know what the final versions of these oils currently look like. The last time I saw them was in 2003 and Frank had a lot of time to fool around with them.

A Quick Frazetta Story

2011-11-12T06:12:00.000-08:00

This incident happened about 10 years ago.)

I'd like to relate a quick Frazetta story. A few weeks ago Frank began working on a revision to the STRANGE CREATURES FROM SPACE AND TIME cover. The original oil has a hunter in the foreground menaced by a wide variety of creatures in the background. It's a nice oil. Frank took out the hunter many years ago because he always thought a sexy girl would be more effective in the composition. Well, he finally painted-in a girl. Ellie and the kids were thoroughly impressed (and believe me they are Frank's harshest critics). It was done, finished. The next day Ellie walked into the studio and the oil was back on the easel...WITH THE GIRL REMOVED!! Ellie was furious. "Frank, what's wrong with you? It was great. Why didn't you just leave it alone?" The children all were aghast that this incredible oil was changed. Remember that Frank is working left-handed because of his strokes. It is VERY difficult for him to achieve great results these days. When a success comes along, they all want him to leave it alone. I was talking to Frank on the phone about this whole incident and his response was quite illuminating: "Dave, I did do a good job on the girl. The painting really looked good. Something bothered me and I couldn't put my finger on it. But then it occured to me: I HAD PAINTED THAT GIRL BEFORE! I didn't want to just imitate myself. I had to come up with something new. That's why I wiped her away." For me, that says it all.

Dr. Dave Winiewicz (c)2008

More Frazetta NINA Panels

2011-11-10T06:01:00.000-08:00

Here are 4 more panels that precede the tier I wrote about in the previous postings. There are two other panels that have vanished. I don't have a reproduction of any kind in my archives. Someone either swiped them or bought them from Frank. Alas, the visual record will always be incomplete. Two of these panels were first published in the 1977 Frazetta MEMORY BOOK. The others were published by Arnie Fenner. It's important to preserve a good visual record of such originals. I notice that there are a LOT of forgeries floating around these days. I see people paying good money for carefully contrived inauthentic sketches. CAVEAT EMPTOR always when buying Frazetta items. Don't ask me to authenticate items, please. It's not my job. I'm not getting paid and there is little I can do about the problem.

Frazetta Grows A Rock

2011-11-08T07:08:00.000-08:00

I wanted to wait until I found the Frazetta quote that explains panel three. After much searching I found it. Now the entire tier can be seen.

The third panel in this tier is simply a masterpiece of rock rendering. The sheer creativity and visual inventiveness present in this rendering scheme is amazing to behold. I've never see anything like it. The entire page, of course, is an example of world class draftsmanship, but I always thought there was something special about this one panel. Plus, I was perplexed that Frank put so much effort into it, but never finished it.

I asked Frank about this panel and why he never finished it. Frank replied: "I did that whole project on spec. I was looking for work. The comic strip artists got paid a lot better than the comic book people. I wanted to get my foot in some door. I did that TIGA strip for the same reason. I thought this NINA strip would catch someone's attention. A sexy girl lost in some strange land by herself...why not? Sounds great. I loved drawing the girl. She was one of my girlfriends. It turned out very sultry. I had her falling into some water. Nice design, good action, I was pleased with it. I really couldn't have inked it any better. Everything just flowed. It was really the best inking I was capable of at that time. That final panel where she comes into the strange world had me thinking. I remember all those stories and fairytales where the arches and doorways and windows are all important. Remember that scene in the SEARCHERS with John Wayne? The door opens at the beginning and closes to end the movie. It's unforgettable, isn't it? I wanted that panel to have that impact, something special. I decided to frame her in a rock arch that was different. I didn't know what look I wanted. I remember, vividly now, that I walked outside my studio to have a cigarette. I wanted to find a rock, just a rock, any rock, and look at it. I couldn't find anything but some smooth stones in the street. I took a walk and finally found a small rock in the gutter. It was only two, three inches and covered with dirt. I spit on it three or four times and wiped it on my pants. I just stood there and looked at it. I turned it all over and let the sun shine on it. I kept looking at the color, the tones, the striations, the little veins. I threw it away. I stood there and kept thinking about it. My mind starting adding things to it, adding veins, adding lines. It was growing in my imagination. Strange as it sounds but I was growing this rock in my mind. Weird, eh? That's the way my mind works. All the time. It grabs something and starts adding things to it. I've done that with flowers and vegetation and muscles under the skin. I see something and my brain just completes it, changes it, moves it around. Everything is so clear and detailed.

Once i had this idea of the rock I just sat down and drew it. I had fun with all the swirls and lines. It was like a tree, except it was rock. I had my great entranceway. Now, what to do about the girl. I pencilled her in quickly, then stopped. I didn't know what to do with her. I didn't want her to draw attention away from the rock. I gave up.I also had the problem with the story dialogue. Those damn words were everywhere. I had text in the first two panels but I blacked it all out. Too damn distracting. I just couldn't figure out what to do. I never did. That's why I stopped. The strip was never picked up so there was no reason to finish it. It's been in the closet for years."

Frazetta's NINA Tryout Page

2011-11-05T09:35:00.000-07:00

Frazetta drew a couple of sunday pages in 1950 or 1951 as spec work in an effort to secure a job as a strip artist. It was to be titled NINA. A complete sunday example is published in the new Vanguard JOHNNY COMET volume. It was first published in the LIVING LEGEND paperback volume in 1981. Other individual panels have appeared in various places.

This two panel sequence has never been seen. It is spectacular. Frank poured his soul into these pages and the quality is simply stunning. The subject matter was perfectly suited to Frank's abilities and interests. Frank's art had reached a new level of excellence. There was no one else around at this time that could produce work of this quality. Frank was pulling away from the pack and all his friends were aware of it. The strip art business was a very tough one to break into. It was a year later that Frank landed the JOHNNY COMET strip. We can only dream about what Frazetta would have accomplished if the NINA strip had been accepted.

DocDave Winiewicz

All art, of course, is (c) Frazetta Estate 2011

Frazetta's ULTIMATE TRIUMPH book

2011-11-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

The following is an interview from 1999 concerning the publication of the volume, THE ULTIMATE TRIUMPH. The book was a labor of love and three editions were produced: a hardbound, a slipcased hardbound, and a lavish calfskin slipcased edition of just 100 copies. None of the editions were signed, although the Frazetta Museum did sell a few copies that Frank signed. I should point out that many copies are circulating with forged signatures. I had Frank sign several copies of the calfskin edition. He signed two copies for me, one for the publisher, Marcelo Anciano, and a copy for Gary Gianni. I took a photo of Frank signing the books to authenticate the signatures. He signed them cursively with his right hand. This was the period after his two major strokes and his normal professional signature was not good.

The Ultimate Triumph

Interviewer: Anya Martin

July 1999

AM: From what I understand, you really were the bridge to making this project happen. How did you meet Marcelo? What happened?

DW: We knew one another as from collector to collector. He's been a long-time fan of Frank Frazetta, and I've been a long-time fan of Frank Frazetta. He just called me up one day, and we started talking about Frazetta. He collects exotic Frazetta fanzines, photos, different types of things, as I do. He's also interested in original art and all different aspects of Frazetta. I've known him for several years, and we've had many, many discussions about Frazetta. I didn't realize until later on that he was a book publisher and a book designer.

He basically asked me to take a copy of the Solomon Kane book, bring it down to the Frazettas, show it to Frank Frazetta and his wife Ellie, and just have them take a look at the quality of the book. Then perhaps at some point in the future he was going to approach them with doing another book, somehow incorporating the art of Frank Frazetta.

So I brought it down to Frank, showed it to him, and pointed out the quality. Frank was very impressed with the production values. It was printed in the style of an old-time book with a lot of pen and ink illustrations on each page, a lot of tipped-in color plates. Frank enjoyed the art. He enjoyed the way the book was packaged. He enjoyed the entire thing.

So then subsequently I approached Frank and his wife Ellie, who functions effectively as his business agent, and I said, would you consider doing something with this particular company employing Frank's art. And they said yes. That's basically how the thing got off the ground. There was a little bit of reticence on the part of Mrs. Frazetta and Frank to begin with because they really didn't have very good dealings with Conan Properties. Then we pointed out to them that there's a big difference between the estate of Robert E. Howard and Conan Properties. It was really Conan Properties that was out there giving people a tough time and looking for a great deal of money. Whereas the estate of Robert E. Howard were people who basically didn't have anything, and they were trying to resurrect the reputation and get back some of the writings of Robert E. Howard. That in and of itself is a long story.

AM: When I was interviewing Gary [Gianni] about Solomon Kane, one of the things he said to me was that he had bought the Conan novels for the Frank Frazetta covers.

DW: And most people did. People didn't really care about Robert E. Howard, but those covers were so amazing you just had to have them.

AM: And hopefully the covers did get people to read the books.

DW: Oh, yeah.

AM: How many times have you not bought a book because it had a lousy cover or bought a book because it had a great cover?

DW: Yeah, and the influence is even greater than that because Frank Frazetta really did establish the paperback industry as a force in this country. Before Frazetta came along, paperback sales were never as gargantuan as they started to be after he arrived on the scene. From there, the paperback industry just exploded into all sorts of different directions. But Frazetta was the original catalyst for the paperback industry becoming a force in the publishing world. That can be documented; that's not just my particular bias operating. The guy had a tremendous amount of impact. But that's Frazetta.

AM: The book is going to be a compilation of sketches. How did this particular group of sketches get assembled?

DW: What Marcelo wanted to do was bring together a bunch of art that related directly to the barbaric world, the world of Robert E. Howard. He wanted that particular genre. He didn't want Tarzan drawings. He didn't want anything else.

He knew since I was probably one of the oldest collectors in the land, I knew where all the bodies were buried. I could contact other collectors, get xeroxes and transparencies, and gather together a lot of the disparate sketches that were buried all over the country and all around the world. I brought them together and got them ready for publication. I operated as the middleman for assembling all this stuff and contacting collectors around the world. I don't own all the sketches. I do own a number of them but I don't own them all.

So it was an arduous task to find everybody and then to motivate everybody to make reproductions. But this is the first time that amount of material has been assembled for a book.

AM: Part of why I was asking was because I had heard Ellie had encouraged Frank to hold onto most of his work? So I wasn't sure how much came from their collection.

DW: I've probably done more deals with the Frazettas than any other human being on the planet Earth. I've gotten a lot of originals from them. It's like a war to get an original from them. They don't let them go easily. So you either have to have the right amount of money at the right time or do the right trade at the right time. It's not easy.

AM: Was Ellie pleased that you were able to bring works that were out in the marketplace at least in a way back into the fold?

DW: I think she will be once she sees the book, because she left it in the hands of Marcelo. Basically what she did was just grant him the right to assemble the material and put it together. Because of Frank's medical condition, because of the fact that they are relocating the museum from Loca Grand (Ck) Florida back to East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, and Ellie's in the process of building a brand new museum devoted to Frank's work, all of these things have been taking up her time. So she couldn't devote a lot of time to assembling this.

AM: Why are they moving the museum back to East Stroudsburg? Is it because it's easier to manage--

DW: No, because Frank had the strokes, and he thought it would be better to be back near his doctors who live in East Stroudsburg. And he's lived there for many, many years since the early '70s.

AM: What major city is that near?

DW: It's north of Philadelphia. It's about an hour and a half away from New York City. It's near the Pocono mountains which is a resort community.

Originally the first Frazetta museum opened up in 1984 in East Stroudsburg. The Frazettas owned a big building in the downtown area. On the third floor, they opened up a museum devoted to the basic works of Frazetta. Then they closed it and decided to move it down to Florida.

Then because of the medical situation, they decided to come back, and Ellie is putting together a brand new museum on their land, on their estate, kitty-corner to their own home. It's built like a small fortress, a castle. It's a very fantastic-looking piece of architecture. It's got a wonderful setting in the midst of all this land and trees and forest. It's the perfect setting for Frazetta's work.

AM: When is it going to open?

DW: It's going to be open sometime in the tail end of this year or early next year depending on how fast the contractors are working.

AM: I don't know if I've ever seen any of his work in person.

DW: No, it's tough to see it because he didn't release a lot of material over the years, and the people who have oil paintings usually have them up in their homes and don't lend them out very much. But going to the museum is really a very emotional experience. I know a woman who has a master's in fine arts and is a specialist in art history. She walked through the door and started crying because she was overcome by emotion because the paintings had such impact.

AM: Returning to the project at hand, with all the research involved to assemble the pieces, it sounds like a very challenging task.

DW: Well, I've been a fan of all this stuff since I was five years old. I'm 49 years old right now. Throughout all that time period, I have been in contact with every generation of collector. For many years, I kept a master list of where every single Frazetta piece was. Up until recently, when more material was released on the marketplace, I really did know where every single piece was. Now there's just too much bouncing around too quickly and prices escalating to keep track of it. But like I said, I know where the bodies are buried. I know most of the major collectors. It was just a matter of putting in the time, contacting the people and finding the stuff. And then knowing approximately who had what and what type of genre that Marcelo was interested in for this book.

And then, of course, I consulted with Marcelo asking him do you think this or that piece would be suitable.

AM: Can you tell me which watercolor roughs have been chosen for the limited edition? Are they studies for his cover art?

DW: Well, yeah. Most of the watercolor studies are little preliminary watercolor compositions that Frazetta would do before he would start a final oil painting. Basically, he would sit down, get out a sketchbook, get out a pencil, and then create a form in front of him. If he deemed it appropriate, he would then add some color to the form just to determine where the light would hit on the form itself. Now depending on how much energy he put into it, that would determine the quality of the studies.

Sometimes, he would do nothing with it. He'd leave it in a penciled state, just make a couple of little touches of color, and then go right to the easel and start painting. But sometimes, he would get fascinated with what he was doing. He'd add a lot of color, a lot of subtleties, and the roughs ended up like miniature preliminary paintings that had all their own little qualities that set them apart from the paintings themselves. What Marcelo was looking for was real quality studies that people normally do not keep and that would really shock people because of the amount of energy that Frazetta put into them.

AM: Are there pieces that people might recognize?

DW: There will be studies for some of the Conan paintings. As of the time of this talk, we haven't decided what the ultimate line-up is going to be. But they are all going to be pieces related to the barbarian genre. Not only did Frazetta paint Conan paintings, but once the Conans became so popular, then all the publishers were flocking to Frazetta to do sword and sorcery, that particular type of barbarian material. So you got a lot of different paintings for a lot of different authors. They were all a little bit different, but they all had the same barbaric theme.

They're wonderful. No matter which pieces Marcelo selects for the watercolor portion of the book, they're going to be exceptional because we've got a number of exceptional pieces to choose from.

I think one of the pieces that's going to be in the book, for example, is just a little pen sketch of a barbarian. There's a little castle in the background. When Frank does a sketch and thinks the quality warrants it, he'll go back and add a little watercolor to it. This wasn't done as a preliminary to a painting. It was just done for his own personal amusement. It's a lovely little piece of a barbarian holding a sword with a castle which captures the essence of the whole genre of barbarian sword and sorcery.

But Frazetta does this to amuse himself. Frank has told me many, many times in the past. He's said, "Dave, I'm my number one fan. I get more of a charge and more amusement and more fun out of this stuff than anybody." That's what he does. The joy really does flow from the work immediately. That's why he's so famous.

AM: It has to if you're an artist.

DW: Oh, yeah. Frank has always told me, the cardinal sin with art is to be boring. If you're going to bore people, don't bother being an artist. If you don't have anything to say. If you can't amuse people or intellectually confront people or give them joy, then there's no sense doing the art. It serves no purpose.

AM: Considering the opus of Frazetta's work that was published in the five-volume series, The Fantastic Art of Frank Frazetta (ck), what does this book add?

DW: The original five Ballantine volumes, which were published from 1975 to 1989, focused on his oil paintings. They wanted to present the essential core work of Frazetta to the public. They added only a few little sketches and pen and ink drawings.

This particular volume is going to show a different side of Frazetta. It's going to show his sketchwork. This is an entirely different book of Frazetta. When Frazetta sketches, there's an incredible joy which you can trace all the way back to his childhood. Frazetta has always had a love of drawing. He's always said, painting is hard work, it's arduous, it's labor, but drawing is fun. These sketches reflect the fun that comes out of Frazetta's soul. That's why there's so much light and so much bounce and so much verve. His sketches are absolutely wonderful. From the tiniest little sketch to the most major compositions, there's always something interesting, very living that comes out of them.

And as Frank has always said, real art is living art. It's got to have life. It's got to live by itself, or it's just dead on the page.

AM: What's the time range? Marcelo said that these works range from the 1950s to close to the present.

DW: It will cover the entire range of his work. Frank started doing comic book work in 1944. Really the sketchbooks he started around 1952, 1953. This work is going to come anywhere from the early '50s all the way up until the current days. So it's going to cover the whole gamut.

AM: So what would be the early works from the '50s before the Conan covers? Were these sketches he did just for fun, things we've never seen before?

DW: Absolutely. He just did them for the joy of drawing itself. A lot of these works would be drawings of Indians and primitive people. Frank has always had a deep fondness of anything that's primitive, anything that's raw and brutal, anything that's in your face, anything that's very direct. He doesn't like to draw court scenes with elaborate flouncy costumes or things like that. He likes to draw women without their clothes on, men without their clothes on. He likes the brutal, raw, flesh aspect of reality.

When the barbarians came along, it was right up his alley. Once again, it was something that very raw, very direct, very brutal. So it was like hand and glove. It was a subject matter that was perfectly suited for the type of thing he had been doing because just prior to that he was doing Tarzan. But Tarzan is very elegant, very noble and doesn't have the same degree of brutality. Whereas with Conan, Frazetta could really let out all the stops. In painting Conan, he was not only painting Conan himself, he was painting a picture of the 20th century and a painting of the dark side of humanity itself. He was showing us that particular dark, incredibly dreaded aspect of man. That's what emerges from his art.

But barbarians, primitives, cavemen, he was doing that right from the '50s, right from the '40s. As a matter of fact, when he was a child, he did a series of comic books which he put together himself. Some of them are titled, "The Panther-Woman" or "The Caveman of Such-and-Such." A little girl would be lost in the wilderness and be attacked by dinosaurs or something. The themes would always be very barbaric, very primitive. And that was from the time he was eight or nine years old. The themes of Frazetta's artwork always remained consistent with him throughout his life.

AM: So really for anybody who thought his drawing barbarians started in the 1960s, this book is going to show that, no, no, it really runs the gamut of his career?

DW: Yeah, it's just a natural extension of what he had been doing all along.

AM: I would assume that you selected sketches somewhat because they did relate to Howard's work. But is there some work included from his Burroughs years? Is there anything to do with Death Dealer mixed in just because it seemed to evoke the right mood?

DW: We tried to avoid things that a fan of Frazetta would immediately recognize and associate with other characters. The Death Dealer is Frazetta's own character. That's a world unto itself. Tarzan is a world unto itself. Marcelo wanted works that directly related to the worlds of Robert E. Howard. That included Indian stories, Arabian stories, things that have exotic themes, not just straight barbarians. But he wanted to stay away from anything that would have a resonance that would lead to something else. Because after all, it's a book on Robert E. Howard.

But there's a lot of really great stuff. We had to pass on a lot of great material only because it was just too derivative.

AM: What about anything from his animated movie, Fire and Ice?

DW: I think he is going to include that because that particular movie got very limited distribution. It didn't do as well as he thought it was going to do just because there were all sorts of problems that occurred. But Frazetta did do a series of drawings for Fire and Ice that were very barbaric in nature and are perfectly appropriate for this book. So I think Marcelo wants to use some of that.

AM: Are there any stories behind any particular sketches, any anecdote that would really reflect the way Frazetta works?

DW: That's an interesting question. I could only answer that if I saw the individual sketch. There are thousands of stories about Frazetta, about why he would do something as opposed to something else. It's tough for me to grab on one thing. There are just so many different stories, so many different reasons why he would sit down and sketch something.

In the book, for example, in one of the essays I wrote, I talk about Frazetta's technique and there is reproduced a sketch of a fight scene. I point out that this particular fight scene is so significant that it represents really the essence of Frazetta's approach when he sketches. Because when Frazetta sketches, it's unlike anybody else. His pen jumps around on the page like an electric live wire. It's everywhere. He's got lines going in every conceivable direction. It's just a jumble of incredible chaos. And then later on, if he wants to turn it into something more finished, he then goes over it and picks one particular spot and focuses on that in order to bring forth a specialized drawing. In this sketch, you see the liveliness and electricity of Frazetta's lines. It enlivens the entire thing. So the whole drawing is exploding in front of you in a non-stop arena of movement and motion that really captures the essence of Frazetta.

So I found that sketch to be just the essence of Frazetta itself. You should really look for that in the book. It's an exceptional piece. Like I said, it's just a fight scene, but it's done with such flair and such grace and such effortlessness that very few artists in the world, if any, could reproduce it.

AM: So you've written at least one essay for the book?

DW: I wrote one essay on Frazetta and Robert E. Howard, and I added another little appendice essay on Frazetta's technique and how he goes about doing sketches.

This book by Marcelo and Wandering Star is going to be an interesting blend of the authentic writings of Robert E. Howard, which Frazetta always enjoyed, as opposed to the adulterations in Howard's writings when L. Sprague deCamp and other writers expanded the texts. Frazetta always enjoyed the original words of Howard. He thought the original words were powerful. He enjoyed the brutality and rawness of his language, and he thought later authors just ruined the work of Howard.

AM: Do you know when Frazetta actually discovered Howard?

DW: He was aware of him from the time he was a young boy. I'm not sure at what point he started reading Howard. When Frazetta was growing up, he was very familiar with all of the major writers and major artists, like Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard, J. Allen St. John and Hal Foster. These people were his primary influences. He loved the Popeye comic strip. He loved the comic strip, Henry, because it was so simple. All these things had a profound influence on his youth. You can see all these influences, even the early Disney cartoons like Fantasia and Snow White. Even the coloring on the early toys and toy boxes had an impact on Frazetta.

AM: How did you meet Frazetta?

DW: I got involved with Frazetta when I left graduate school and started to enjoy myself and do casual reading. I was always so profoundly interested by Frazetta. I sat down and I said, well, I'm going to write an essay and try to figure out why I'm so interested in Frazetta's work. Aesthetically, what happens when I look at a Frazetta painting? Why is it significant? I did a little six or seven page essay, and I sent it to Frazetta. Frazetta called me up, and he said, "Dave, that's the best thing that's ever been written on me. Come on down. Let's talk."

Since then, I've probably been Frazetta's best friend for the last 15 years. So it was quite the entrJ e. That happened in early 1980s. I had known him prior to that, but we had never had a close friendship. Once that happened from about 1982 to 1999, we've been inseparable. I talk to him once a week. I go and visit him every couple of months. He lives about 350 miles away, and I just jump in the car and go down there. We have a ball.

AM: Is Frank Frazetta still painting?

DW: Yes, he is. He's doing it left-handed. He's basically going in and trying to correct some of the mistakes he made on paintings. The reason why he does is because many times when he was doing a commission, an art director at a publishing house would say, look, we want you to put in x, y, and z. And Frank would probably not want to put in x, y, and z. So when he gets the painting back, he thinks, well, I'm going to make it the way it should be. Now I'm going to make it a Frazetta painting.

That's why the current state of a painting looks completely different from the published version. He either didn't do enough or an art director was forcing him to do something he didn't want to do and he was basically picking up a check for it. But being the artist that he is, he wanted to go back and make it as true to his vision as possible.

AM: He was unique as being one of the first cover illustrators to want his work back, wasn't he?

DW: Absolutely. He set a trend for that as well. He also was one of the first people to grant first publication rights for his artwork. In other words, he sold the first publication right and that's it. You have no other right to publish his work instead of giving away the work in perpetuity.

AM: Which has undoubtedly benefited fantastic illustrators.

DW: Oh, everybody followed in his footsteps. Everybody copied his techniques. There's no question about it. He wanted the work back when he was doing the Tarzan paintings in the early '60s. He was only getting paid a small amount of money, and they were keeping the paintings. So he figured why should I knock myself out. Then when the Conan assignment came through, they offered him an immense amount of money compared to what he had been making previously plus he was allowed to keep the original paintings. So, of course, he poured his heart and soul into them. Once again you see an incredible increase in quality from the paintings he was doing in 1962 versus the ones that started in 1964. He was much better appreciated, much better paid, plus he kept his product.

AM: Now he used to paint and sketch with his right hand?

DW: Yes. The strokes weakened his right hand, and he lost his feeling in his arm. He's done miraculously in terms of recovering from the strokes he's had. He gets around very well. He's able to take care of himself. He talks reasonably well. But still he has that numbness in his hand. Because of that, he gets micro-tremors, and he just can't handle the brush and do the kind of fine work that he normally would do. So that's why he switched to the left hand. Not only is he painting with his left hand, but he's also doing watercolors and pencils with his left hand.

For example, a couple of years ago in San Diego, he gave one of his agents a drawing of a left-handed nude, and it sold for $2,000. This really is very rare in art history. There are only a few documented cases of an artist switching hands and doing even halfway passable and decent work.

AM: That's such an inspirational story.

DW: Yes, he's a remarkable man, just an incredibly remarkable man. What he's gone through physically in terms of his medical problems would have killed anyone else. He's got such incredible life energy about him.

AM: After you've been through that kind of debilitating medical condition, you really have to have that drive to live and go on.

DW: Oh, absolutely. The life force within him is just one of those divine gifts that some people have.

AM: Because many people would be brought down by much less.

DW: Oh, yes. No, Frank never wanted to be a victim, absolutely. He wants to persevere. He doesn't like the fact that his life is limited in a way that it wasn't limited previously. Of course, he has his black days and dark moods, but he's still Frazetta and he overcomes that.

AM: Is he still drawing barbarians?

DW: He draws everything. The last time I was there I saw four pencil drawings of sabertooth tigers which he had done. They were magnificent, each one. Unless you were specifically told these were left-handed drawings, you couldn't have told the difference between right-handed or left-handed. They were Frazetta. You could not tell the difference. Remarkable.

Interview: Long Live Frazetta!

2011-11-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

Thom Haller Buchanen was kind enough to give me permission to repost this interview. His page designs are really inspired. The ongoing passion of Frazetta's fans and friends is quite something to behold. We're all engaged in the same enterprise, namely, to keep the Frazetta name alive.

Thanks Thom!

DocDave Winiewicz

A Couple Of Minutes With Frazetta

2011-10-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

This little piece of footage was shot in June, 2000. We are in Frank's studio along with the documentary crew. The first voice you hear is me followed by questions from Lance Laspina, the director of the documentary. The crew spent the entire week with Frank and the cameras were rolling throughout the whole time. Bear in mind that Frank had just recovered from several debilitating strokes and was currently suffering from a very bad sinus condition that caused his eye to swell. It was an absolute miracle to see him doing this well. His sense of humor was intact. He was always gracious and kind. Looking at this reminds me again of how much fun and pleasure he brought into everyone's life. I miss him deeply. We had so much fun for so many years.

Frazetta, Reality, and Presence

2011-10-26T18:23:00.001-07:00

Let us consider a larger issue that lightly touches on aesthetics, a dab of philosophy, and a bit of critical thinking. Bear with me for a few paragraphs.

A friend was in the Louvre recently and showed me a little video he shot with his phone in the room displaying the MONA LISA. No one was looking at the oil. There were at least a hundred people in the room. Everyone was looking at his or her phones. Most were sending text messages. The MONA LISA was a secondary consideration at best. These people did not want to SEE the MONA LISA. They just wanted to SAY that they were there, in proximity to her. Hence, all the furious texting going on. I ask the question: Does the MONA LISA still exist as a world masterpiece charged with the energy of history’s opinion that it is a life-changing cultural monument for the ages? Do masterpieces still exist? Can they exist in this new cultural/technological, anti-intellectual climate? The great writer G.K Chesterton said, “Art is the signature of man.” If we lose the primal experience of art, then are we not losing our souls as men? Are we not being diminished?

This is a serious issue. I think that reality itself has become degraded.

The ability to see, to concentrate, to deliberate are becoming lost skills. The cultural formation provided by schools has become cheapened. Traditional education has been lost and obliterated, replaced by easy training and easier grades. Traditional concepts and values that can be traced back to Socrates have been replaced by a rampant ethical relativism and cheaply applied multiculturalism. A graduating class at Oxford University was recently told: “Your four years of education should teach you one thing, namely, the ability to distinguish between reality and bullshit.” The distinction between appearance and reality is a problem as old as humanity itself. All the great philosophers, writers, and poets deal with it constantly. It is critical now. Reality is being lost, replaced by a false reality with false values and hidden truths. Great men with vision and integrity have been replaced by a new breed of sophist with no respect for truth or tradition, self-aggrandizing and self-promoting pundits without character or substance. These are the leaders who are fabricating our new reality and manipulating our perceptions and values. The very meaning of what constitutes “culture” is changing before my horrified eyes. In the 1960’s, eminent scholar of culture and technology, Marshall McLuhan, predicted that the various forms of media would become increasingly dominant and transform all aspects of our lives. He has been proven true.

As video games become bigger, louder, more “real”, the nuances of nature herself become devalued and degraded. Our perception is changed; it is watered down; its compelling force is lost. Does anyone walk without an ipod or phone in their ear? Does anyone drive without being on the phone? Is anyone solidly “IN THE WORLD” any more? The meaning of time itself has been compromised. Time is a continuous parade of present moments. The past is a mountainous anchor; the future is something to hope for. The “present” is all we have; it is where we live. It is the rich juice of life that flows from the present moments we occupy. Art should force one to be “in the moment”, to exclude all else, to drink deeply of the richness presented. This is being lost with multi-tasking and the constant assault of data and communication. Aggrandizing data has fully replaced the intimate pleasure of richly experienced knowledge and wisdom. The present has been cut apart and distilled. Its rich energy replaced by cultural facsimiles. We are blasted by the incessant drumbeat of technological cacophony that directly destroys the integrity and full richness of the present moment. The present becomes distilled, fragmented, and denatured. The result? The art of living is being lost. We seem to be turning our backs on one of the greatest gifts we’ve been given. If I recall, the poet T.S Elliott asked: “Where is the life we have lost in living?” We are, indeed, living half-lives half-lived.

I was recently hiking in Monument Valley in Utah. A more magical place simply does not exist in the United States. The Navajo nation built a hotel right in the valley. It is a spectacular spot with amazing light, color, and vistas that constantly change. While standing there on the edge looking at this vast immense beauty I looked around me. All the other tourists were sitting down looking away from the valley and, once again, making phone calls or texting. To me it was almost a sacrilege. I felt profoundly sorry for all the people that could not muster really serious appreciation for this magical gift in front of them. Again, nature has been devalued and marginalized in human perception. I have stood in front of a Rembrandt self-portrait in the National Museum and been transfixed by its power. The psychological intensity present in that paint is nothing short of miraculous. During my graduate student days in Toronto I was graced to see Vermeer’s GIRL WITH PEARL EARRING as part of an exhibition at the ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO. I carry that haunting image with me every single day. It buried itself deeply into my soul. It is, at once, a deep pleasure and an enduring mystery. Often I use it as my wallpaper and deliberate upon its intensity and effect. Another example is the great CRUCIFIXION scene by El Greco in the CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART. It is a masterpiece that overwhelms the viewer. There is so much there, so much passion, symbolism, and resonances to the deep past. It is profoundly human, profoundly moving whether you are Christian or not. It is that mysterious quality that all great art has from the caves of Lascaux and Altamira to a great Frazetta Conan. Yes, of course, I place Frazetta in that great line of world-class creators.

The Frazetta sketch sheet I reproduce at the top of this essay is a masterpiece. It is alive! It is three dimensional, a living world to enter. Frank labels it as his favorite rough. It is the study he did for the MASTER OF ADVENTURE paperback cover. He was very pleased with the study. He even mentions it during Russ Cochran’s interview in volume 3 of the ERB LIBRARY OF ILLUSTRATION volume. The original explodes with energy and is steeped in atmosphere. The colors are subtle and carefully blended. It is a multi-media candy store of pencil, watercolor, gouache, and oils. Frank took great pains to get the figure of Tarzan bellowing at the moon just right. The composition is seamless perfection. When looking at it in the original, one can really feel the jungle and viscerally respond to Tarzan’s wild presence. The music Frank chose to mention at the top of the page was something he was listening to at the time of its creation. The music is very moody and mysterious, a perfect blend with the setting. The final painting is different. Frank added a bunch of animals. He clogged-up the visual space. It was not a success and he knew it. He quickly repainted the whole scene, keeping only the foreground limbs and adding a standing girl. It was very unusual for Frank to go from a perfect idea and have it lead to something so poorly expressed in the final stage. I never asked Frank about that. I assumed it was a sore point with him.

Can collectors and art lovers of the last few generations really appreciate a work such as this? The mindset now is clearly different. I have seen the changes and they are striking. Ebay has turned one-time serious collectors into flipper/dealers. Speculation and investment rule the discussions. The art takes a back seat to tertiary considerations. Intrinsic artistic quality is replaced by the soft comforts of pursuing nostalgia. If someone today holds onto a work of art for one year, it is almost miraculous. When the hunt is over the art loses its cache. Is the art less satisfying now? It’s no longer needed for aesthetic gratification. The pursuit and acquisition of art has replaced the supreme satisfaction of owning it and LOOKING AT IT! A quick profit and on to the next piece. A good scan will suffice, or a good xerox. The appeal of authenticity, the touch of the hand, the living applications of color, are being lost or, at the least, greatly compromised. The nature of art itself has become transformed. The Japanese had a phrase: That is a work of art one can die for. The meaning is that seeing that work of art is so completely satisfying that death would not seem wrong after seeing it. Today, that type of aesthetic intensity has been replaced by a quick museum walk-through and a few side-glances, or, perhaps, a completely mitigated experience replete with museum talking sticks spouting generic patter to the dutiful, wooden-eyed listeners. That type of environment does sicken me greatly. Critical thinking, cognitive attentiveness, and intense concentration become transformed. The great French philosopher, Etienne Gilson, has said that a human being can only appreciate one or, perhaps, two masterpieces in a given day. That level of concentration, contemplation and deliberation is long gone. And, of course, most modern art is not deserving of that time investment anyway. Frazetta is the exception here.

Back to our main point…big or little, sketch or finished oil, a masterpiece can be defined as the amount of pure authentic life is transferred to the viewer. If art can be considered a flow of soul from the depths of the artist’s imagination to the paper or canvas, then a masterpiece is present if that work is pure, not derivative, and sings with the powerful imaginative voice of the artist. It is an artist discovering perfection within himself and giving birth to that perfection in his studio. As another great French philosopher Jacques Maritain explains, an artist has a flash of creative intuition within him that generates the birth of art. Life is born and, at the same time, new beauty is given to the world. The world becomes enlarged by this. Human life has been touched, expanded, deepened, and transformed. Great art is fully transformative. Frazetta has done this on many occasions. He has achieved perfection. I have seen people cry once they entered the old Frazetta Museum. They were so immediately and profoundly touched, that their emotions were spontaneously unleashed. It is an amazing sight to see. I’ve seen it happen several times. Great art has a special “presence”. There is no other word that describes it better. Art engages us; its presence exerts a hold on us; it penetrates us and thoroughly enhances our lives. Thomas Aquinas describes it this way: “Actualitas rei est quoddam lumen ipsius. The actuality/reality of a thing is, in a way, its light.” Beautifully expressed is it not? The actuality, the very reality of something, is a light that reveals the world in its majesty and beauty and truth. Yes, it is mysterious. We are talking about a phenomenon that really does transcend language. Words are but one type of communication. Truth is transmitted by many different modes of communication, i.e. sculpture, poetry, music, etc. We are on the outside looking in, trying to express something that cannot be logically explained. Thank God for the mysteries around us. We must be sensitive to them, cherish them. They push us to a creative apprehension of life. We cannot lose that. If we lose the world, then we also lose our basic humanity, our magical souls. The great German poet Holderlin summarizes it quite succinctly:

“Poetically man dwells.”

One Quiet Night...Frazetta Begins To Dream

2011-10-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

The arc of a life is composed of many deliberate decisions and many moments of sheer serendipity that profoundly influence the ultimate outcomes within an individual’s life. Frank Frazetta has had a very long career in the art field and he has had many important moments within that sixty years. The decision to assist John Giunta and enter the comic book field and the decision to leave comics and join Al Capp as a ghost artist on L’il Abner are but two examples of defining moments in his career that had long term implications. However, as I consider the long expanse of Frank’s career, there is one moment that stands out as absolutely critical. In the fall of 1960, Frank doesn’t remember the exact month; he retired to his studio after the family had gone to bed. The night was quiet and a bit cool. He made himself a cup of coffee and was ready to watch TV. He glanced at the chaos of his drawing table and noticed some colored pencils. Suddenly, he had an urge to draw. He grabbed the pencils and found a small, cheap notebook. He decided to put on some classical music. He left the studio, grabbed the coffee, and sat down on the far left side of his faux zebra skin sofa near to the light. He took a sip of coffee and started to dream. His mind opened and a torrent of images raced through his consciousness. He was alert and inspired. He started to draw. The images just jumped onto the paper. He conjured up different scenes…cowboys, cavemen fighting, a graceful nude, prehistoric scenes, a Masai warrior ritual, and a Tarzan-like image of a warrior delicately balanced in jungle foliage. He did another scene with a large-breasted totally-nude Queen on her throne with lion and servant (This image has never been published). Frank remembers that these images appeared as if by magic. They were relentless in leaping out of his imagination. The art was flawless, beautifully colored, with elegant designs. All executed with color pencils. The blended tints are a foreshadowing of what would appear in his oils.

Frank doesn’t recall if these drawings were done over the course of one or several nights. It doesn’t matter. Frank needed to draw these images. Something called to him and he responded. After all those years of picking up a check, raising a family, and drawing bigfoot comic characters for Al Capp, Frank needed to look inside of himself to see what was there. There was plenty! Frazetta had begun to dream again, the seed was planted; the real Frazetta was being reborn in those quiet evening hours. Bear in mind that Frazetta did very little personal creative work during his tenure with Al Capp. On two or three occasions he did attend a life-drawing class with Al Williamson, Roy Krenkel, and others. This happened in 1957. He drew over a hundred drawings. Interesting work, but it pales in comparison to the creative work he did during 1944-1955. Roy Krenkel knew that Frank was wasting his talent by limiting himself to ghosting chores for Capp. Roy knew that there was greatness in Frank waiting to re-emerge. This little series of colored pencil drawings was the catalyst for Frank’s emergence.

Later, he finished off this flow of creativity by attempting a work that was a bit bigger and more ambitious. This drawing was first published on the cover to FRAZETTA FANZINE #1 in 1969 (although drawn in 1960). It was published in B/W, but the fans were still in awe. What a piece of art! Where did this come from? It is a little piece of perfection and it opened the door for Frazetta to emerge with all his formidable power and irrepressible imagination. The “Lion Queen” exhibits all the major elements that would define Frazetta’s later worldbeater career: delicately drawn vegetation, an incredible lion companion, a mysterious palace/fortress engulfed in strange mists, and a drop dead sensual Frazetta female replete with glowing thighs and knockout body. Every element of Frank’s artistic personality can be found in this image. This piece is as good as anything Frank ever did. One could rhapsodize about this creation for pages. There is so much there, so much to be seen and felt:

"for more than a few moments. It’s one of those magical places wise people like to talk about.
One of the things they say about it, that is true, is that, once you’ve been there, you’re there forever. "
Mary Oliver, b.1935 American Poet

It is a majestic work and its importance to the coming career of Frazetta cannot be overstated. This was the piece that gave him confidence and launched him into his future. From here, it was a short leap to the world of paperbacks and the other oils and watercolors that influenced generations of artists and redefined the standards for artistic excellence.

All because one night Frank had the urge to draw, to dream, to go back and recapture the essence of his childhood pleasure. Thank God for those colored pencils!

Dr. Dave Winiewicz
©2008

A thank you to Rich Dannys for the image of the battling dinosaurs. This was another unseen treasure that only recently emerged from a private collection.

Posted by docdave
at 6:48 AM

4 comments:

Jason Moore said...
Hi Dave, I see not many have commented on your blog, so I would like to take a moment to do so. I wanted to let you know that I am really enjoying your commentary and insight into Frazetta's work. I have been a fan ever since I was a teen and he has really influenced my work. My dream is to one day be able to visit the Frazetta Museum and one day to possibly meet Frank somehow lol. Again, thanks alot for your insights and I am looking forward to reading much more!
May 23, 2008 8:27 AM

BATTLEGROUND VICTORY said...
Excellent piece. Frazetta's work has astonished me since a boy, and had an enormous influence on my own artistic explorations. Thanks for returning to your writing concerning this prodigious creator.  SEAN
May 23, 2008 12:33 PM

Tracy said...
Dave,  Ever since seeing some of these in the early Ballantine books I have always loved the soft and subtler shadings and feelings of these images. I had no idea of the story you just told, but it makes me love them even more.  Even as much as I love his oils, these like the pencils seem to always gravitate to my favourite spots. It would have been cool to see him do something along these lines in the oils. There is so much more to these than the oils could ever bring in my opinion.  Thanks Dave!  Tracy
May 24, 2008 7:42 AM

Scott Rosema said...
Hi Dave,  Thanks very much for your insightful essays on Frazetta's work. It's truly a "co-inspiration" along with Frank's work itself.   I can feel the creativity growing inside me as well.   I'd like Frank, Ellie, their family and yourself to know how very, very much I appreciate the presence in my life all of you, through Frank's work and inspiration, represent.  Please enjoy my work as well. When you have a moment, look over my web site pages at: http://www.catskillcomics.com/Scott%20Rosema.htm  and http://www.directoryofillustration.com/ArtistPortfolioThumbs.aspx?AID=2130 Tell Frank of me and help me to let him know how much his work has truly been a foundation for me to pursue my own visions of beauty.  I hope he understands what it means to have his work "live" in others. I know it does in me; and that is something that defies all meanings of worth or value. It is something that goes beyond influence or flattery.   I believe it borders on something very close to immortality; or, dare I say, divinity? What, after all, is the bigger pursuit in life than the expression of truth and beauty?  Franks work has always had those qualities; in absolute abundance.  Any truly great artist does.   Thanks very much for any help you can give me in getting these words to Frank.  I'm excited to hear your next essay.  Thanks again! I do my own dreaming on those kind of quiet nights.  Take care! Scott Rosema
May 26, 2008 9:12 PM

Frazetta's Death Dealer Unmasked

2011-10-20T08:35:00.000-07:00

Tor paperbacks contacted Frazetta in the 1980’s with the idea of producing a series of Death Dealer novels. They wanted some new oils to place on the covers. Frank liked the idea and immediately set to work to find a writer and he started doing a series of Death Dealer watercolor studies in a fresh new sketchbook. He numbered the studies consecutively as he finished them. Jim Silke was hired to write the books and Jim incorporated a lot of imagery from all the other works in the Frazetta body of art. After a number of these books were published Frank thought that it might be necessary to reveal the Death Dealer without his helmet. Frank said: “If this thing takes off, then the fans will want to see him. You can’t have him with his helmet on all the time. At some point the mystery has to end. I wanted to have the Death Dealer as a no-nonsense no-bullshit kind of guy. A hero with very strong features, sunken eyes, prominent cheekbones, just very strong features…hard, intense, intimidating. This is a guy who will kick your ass at a moment’s notice, like a jungle cat seeing his prey and IMMEDIATELY pouncing. No holding back…pure animal intensity. I only did the one drawing. It turned out pretty nice. I was happy with it.”

Alas, the books faded. I’m not sure if there were other money considerations at play in the demise of the series. It did motivate Frank to paint some incredible works. We should all be thankful for that. All the watercolor studies were given life as oils except for two. Those two studies have never been published. Frank never got around to painting them. One of the Death Dealer studies was painted as a left-handed oil during his last years. It has never been published or seen.

Another Hidden Frazetta Female

2011-10-18T06:39:00.000-07:00

The illustrations executed for the Doubleday Series in the early to mid-1970’s are very uneven in quality. Frank said that he was just trying to draw some interesting designs. He had no great ambitions for this series. The best of the lot are the ones containing full female images. No surprise, is it? Frank has a hard time drawing a female poorly. The image I am reproducing with this essay was buried in a collection for 35 years. The collector bought it from Russ Cochran in the 1970’s and kept it all these years as a constant source of joy and satisfaction. How many originals these days will bring that type of long term aesthetic joy? Very few, indeed.

The girl in this drawing is all pen except for the daubs on the hair. Frank used a little brush on the slab figure. He wanted the form on the slab to be a bit softer to the eye. The female form is simply exquisite. She stops, looks, experiences shock, then gently lifts her left arm and hand in a gesture of sympathetic emotion. Her right hand goes to her mouth in seeing the horror. A delicate response and a movement caught at just the right moment. Beautiful. Like all Frazetta women, she is soft, and invitingly erotic. The published version added a skirt to cover her buttock area. How typically puritanical of the art editor: crappy publishing quality along with heavy-handed censorship. And yet, if the truth is told, we still loved the books and the art. It gave birth to a vigorous cottage industry of bootleg publications. The fans just wanted more and more Frazetta of any sort.

We still do!

The POWER of Frazetta

2011-10-16T16:26:00.000-07:00

I want to thank everybody who has been supporting this website. Amazingly, one of the essays from last week received 57,000 viewings. This is an unbelievable number and it indicates the power Frazetta and how much people enjoy reading about Frazetta. The number of people enjoying this site appears to be growing exponentially. I have attached a crop from the data overview portion of this blog. I don't want anyone to think that I'm exaggerating.

I've been approached to do advertising on this site, but I refused everyone. I don't want this page to look like a NASCAR ad. I want to keep it simple and keep it on point.

Cheers!

DocDave

Frazetta And Krenkel

2011-10-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

There is a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding about the relationship between Frazetta and Roy Krenkel. What is completely clear is that Frank thought the world of Roy. They were very dear friends. Roy reciprocated their unconditional friendship. The dynamic of the "fleagles" looked like this: Frank was very close with Roy, Nick Meglin, and Angelo Torres. He was less close with Al Williamson. There are many reasons for this. Most people think that Frank and Al were always extremely close. Not true. They were hang-around buddies, but Frank felt closest to Roy. Al was very best friends with Roy. The basic unease between Frank and Al can be traced to the very early 50’s. It’s a long story and not something I want to pursue right now. I heard both sides of the story from Frank and Al. They agreed on the facts and the results.

Many people think that Frank was influenced by Roy’s artwork. Not true at all. I asked Frank about this on several occasions.

Frank said clearly: "Roy was my friend, real good friends. I’d do anything for him. We had great times. He was always showing me books that he picked up. He loved all the artists. He copied all of them. He would copy and copy, sketch and sketch. I yelled at him. Do your own work! Forget those guys! Show them all what YOU have. He lacked confidence. He was insecure. I don’t know why. We gave up trying to figure him out. We tried to set him up on dates. Many times. Nice girls, no dogs. He never once accepted. Not once. Ellie used to sit on his lap and flirt with him. He turned redder than a beet. I think he died a virgin. Everyone was getting laid but Roy. He just didn’t care. He loved drawing those fat women of his. It drove us crazy. We started to draw them too. I don’t know where THAT came from.

My approach to art was different. His style had no affect on me. Nothing. I did my own art. I enjoyed making it up. I tried to help him. I couldn’t teach him. I tried. We had a sketchbook where I would draw a page, and then Roy would draw a page. We would compare them and talk about the differences. Remember that sketch sheet I gave you where Roy and I drew some cats. We even talked about how the whiskers should be added to the face. We both loved cats, big cats.

He liked to collect things, to find new artists. Every week he showed me someone new. He proclaimed him the greatest this or that. Al would get wrapped up in all that too. They drove me nuts. I looked at it and saw nothing. I could do better and did. We did help one another with jobs. We all needed dough and we all helped out one another. It was fun. All night sessions of drawing and joking. Good laughs, good times.”

The above drawing is from the great 1954 sketchbook. Frank is doing a spoof on Roy’s “fatties”. The lively and idiosyncratic animation of Roy’s figure is pure Frazetta. Tremendous energy and ribald subject-matter fill the page. Frank was having some fun here. And Frank manages to misspell Roy’s name TWICE!!!

Frazetta's Fine Lines

2011-10-14T06:52:00.000-07:00

Everyone considers Frank Frazetta to be one of the world’s great painters. This fact is clear and unquestioned. However, more attention needs to be paid to his pen-and-brush linework because, in my opinion (and I am not alone in this thought), Frazetta is the finest draftsman who has ever lived. Frazetta has far surpassed the greatest of those who preceded him, e.g. Daniel Vierge, Mariano Fortuny, Joseph Clement Coll, Alex Raymond, and Hal Foster. That is a group of distinguished illustrators with huge, well-deserved reputations. Frazetta, however, is in a class all by himself. Frazetta utilizes a varied approach to drawing depending on his ultimate end, be it sketchwork or finished illustration. There is no set pattern that he uses. Consider his sketchwork. Most of Frazetta’s sketches are done simply for the joy of drawing. Sometimes, he will lightly draw lines in pencil and then ink over this. Often he will simply allow the pen to play and see where it leads him. Frazetta’s line is really one of the wonders of the world and has never been matched. Consider the exceptional sketch of a fight scene with its loose lines and vibrant energy. Frazetta's line appears to sing and dance and play all over the page. This free-flowing doodle is really the visual armature for a more finished drawing. These lines are used as a dynamic reference map from which he will choose defining lines and patterns of movement. Now consider the sketch of the barbarian and female supplicant. This sketch is very finished, yet full of vitality and subtlety. Frazetta’s linework is loose and seemingly spontaneous, yet he captures the subject in all its power and nuances. The soft lines and lighting of the girl (not to exclude the provocatively upturned breast and visually tantalizing nipple) are dynamically opposed to the rough, gritty hardness of the barbarian with his overwhelming rocklike girth and imperiously gesturing arm. The phallus-like scabbard is a typically inspired Frazetta “touch” that engages our imaginations and fuels speculation about the precise nature of this tableaux. What’s going on here? Is the girl his mistress? A captive? An errant child who has been caught? Frazetta entertains us here with a virtuoso presentation of narrative drama, visual power, and subtle suggestiveness. I doubt if there is another artist who can blend these elements so seamlessly. Frazetta does this time and time again. In doing so, he brings us beyond the surface obviousness to an understanding of the deeper intention of the artist. These little efforts by Frazetta are little jewels of personal insight, technical mastery, and private delight.
Frazetta reaches his highest creative pinnacle with the Canaveral Press drawings from 1962-1965. Frank was commissioned to illustrate several books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Two books were published: TARZAN AT THE EARTH’S CORE (1962) and TARZAN AND THE CASTAWAYS (1965). Other books were planned but never published, although an edition of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS: MASTER OF ADVENTURE by Richard Lupoff was published in 1965 with several Frazetta drawings. Frazetta executed a total of 27 full drawings and 5 small spot illustrations for this Canaveral Press series. Each drawing is a polished piece of highly sophisticated perfection. Frazetta was showing the world what he could do at a time when he wanted to establish a name for himself. Each drawing is a little miracle of power and refinement. The technique Frazetta employed in all these drawings is akin to the sumi-e inkwash paintings of the Japanese. These are drawings with a carefully controlled tonal range that varies from solid black to the lightest of water-thinned ink tones. Frank does this to control the level of contrast in the designs and to control carefully what the eye sees first and last. The result are pieces with sustained intellectual interest. Each drawing easily warrants its’ own essay. Let me comment on just one, namely, the great fight scene between David Innes and Jubal the Ugly One. What is obvious at first glance is the incredible energy and dynamism exploding from the composition. The ferocious power of the hero’s punch has lifted the huge bulk of Jubal right off his feet. Jubal’s horrific head is turned, his arms flail in an attempt to gain balance, and rocks fly from his dislodged footing. Provocatively posed in the foreground is the about-to-be-rescued heroine. Her wild hair indicates that her attention has just been violently turned from Jubal to David Innes. Everything is in motion; nothing is static. The eye and mind are immediately captured by this visual whirlwind. The intricately circulating rhythm of arms and hair and clothing is simply a delight. Frazetta’s line contains no hesitations; it is swift and forceful. Every dip of the brush flows with passion and creative exuberance.
Someone might say that this is just a conventional, stereotypical scene of hero, monster, and girl that has been seen thousands of times before. This scene is a visual cliché that has been repeatedly drawn and painted. This is obviously true, however, stereotypes are necessary components in constructing any type of myth. Without stereotypes and visual tropes communication becomes impossible. The key is in how these elements are handled. Consider all the subtle nuance that is hidden in this drawing. Firstly, the hero is presented rather small in stature. A multitude of softly drawn lines define his belly and suggest a bit of muscle. Frazetta’s ability to suggest textures through ink is unrivalled. The rest of David Innes is virtually all gesture. The uncoiling of Innis results in the recoiling of Jubal; a perfect, seemless interplay of forms in motion. Jubal’s bulk looms over the scene and dominates the visual space; his heavily-muscled back and legs are a feast for the eye and provide a unique surface rhythm for the mind to play with. The precisely-weighted lines are carefully placed to achieve maximum impact. However, this extremely formidable foe has just been vanquished by a man. This is a man that we can identify with: lean, not overly large, yet filled with heroic rage and intensity. Human emotion has been perfectly translated into gesture. Frazetta has infused this scene with an important element of believability and reality. This heightens the engagement of the mind with the subject-matter. His lines are vivacious and mercurial, yet carefully focused. Frazetta prefers expressiveness over lifeless perfection and, thus carefully prunes his compositions of anything superfluous.
After the initial visual shock of this masterful confrontation, the eye is drawn to the sprawling, seductive form of Dian the Beautiful in the foreground. Once again, Frazetta entertains us with the sensuous magic of his drawing, but adds little touches that define his greatness as a creative master. We’ve already commented on the swinging movement of the hair that defines her place in the story. Her entire figure emerges from the foreground shadow as if a rare dream is materializing in front of our amazed eyes. She also provides a soft counterpoint to the heavy rockwork to her right. Note how Frank deepens the shadows of the rocks from top to bottom. These rocks anchor the design and prevent it from turning into a visual chaos. The heroine’s leg not only provides a direct compositional line that leads the eye back into the composition, but it enchants the connoisseur along the way. The right side of the leg is defined by the background; there is no explicitly drawn line. This is virtuosity at its peak and, once again, adds to the reality of the scene. The deliciously-rounded buttocks are, of course, a Frazetta trademark. Once again, Frank indicates the stress and emotion present in the girl by having her buttocks slightly clenched. Notice the slightly-portruding muscle on the right side where upper thigh and buttock join. The soft rendering in those areas is perfection itself. That disarming lightness of touch provides a counterpoint to the heaviness of the overall subject-matter. Another little Frazetta “touch” is the soft lighting seen in the underside of the left buttock. This is an almost lecherous element that invites the eye in to a most private area. Passion, violence, and sex are close relations; Frazetta recognizes that quite clearly. Once again, we see Frazetta taking a scene of great power and, by infusing it with his own unique creative imagination and taste, transforms it into a world-class piece of ART. The great Canaveral Plates have never been matched, and never will be. They are a legacy for the world and an ongoing inspiration and challenge to generations of artists.
The later drawings of Frazetta, referring to the Doubleday series of books in the 1970’s and the Middle Earth portfolio pieces, represent a different style and approach. At this stage, Frazetta is drawing as a painter, not as a draftsman. Intricate schemes of rendering are replaced by large placements of wash tone. This requires a separate essay to do it justice. This period is wonderful in its’ own way, but it does not come near the special magic of the Canaveral years.
Owning a nice sketch or drawing by Frazetta is just as satisfying as owning a major painting. Why? From the simplest sketch to the most major oil everything appears to be alive. Frazetta's soul LIVES in his art and the magic of art is that we can share in his wondrous gift. His art enhances our lives and, as with all great art, enduring art, it makes the world a richer, more satisfying, place.

DocDave Winiewicz (c)2011

Frazetta's La Of Opar

2011-10-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

Just before the big Frazetta Halloween show in 1994 being held at the ALEXANDER GALLERY on Madison Avenue in NYC, Alex Acevedo (the owner) was buying a lot of Frazetta originals. Frank was in a selling mood because he was trying to pay off his newly purchased home in Boca Grande, Florida. This was going to be the new home of the Frazetta Museum.

Alex was quite interested in buying the Tarzan meets LA of Opar watercolor. Frank would not sell it because of the pornographic nature of the piece. Tarzan was shown with a huge erection. This made the piece. One of the slave girls was looking down at the erection with obvious lust in her eyes. The Queen was lifting herself off the throne and thrusting her pubic area toward Tarzan. Great Frazetta ribald humor! A masterpiece. Frank put a lot of work into the details.

Alex wanted it. Frank said that he would have to remove the penis. Alex agreed. I was thoroughly despondent sitting there watching this scenario play out before my eyes. "My God, Frank, you can't take out that penis. It will ruin the piece." I said it calmly and quietly while Alex was looking at other potential acquisitions. Frank simply said: "I can draw another one." I've heard this before and it never happened. Alex was willing to pay 45K for the piece.

Frank got out his gouache bottles and a little water. In a few minutes he had scraped off the penis and flawlessly filled-in the open area. He matched every tone perfectly. It was an amazing thing to see. It is impossible to see that anything different was there before.

Alex bought it, framed it, and put it up for sale. He brought it to the SanDiego Con. Alex always had an incredible display of first-tier originals. I ended up trading him a color Robert Crumb cover from the 60's for it. I kept it for several years, then traded it back to Frank. I was always bothered by the composition missing that central energizing element. It was the whole reason for the idea in the first place. In typical fashion, and this fact would be an ongoing source of frustration with me, Frank did not take any pictures of the piece in its original state. What a loss! What a travesty! I had hopes that he would place the original back to its former state. He did not. Ellie sold it.

It still remains a magnificent work of art.

Frazetta's CAME THE DAWN

2011-10-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

(The following essay was published in 2003 as the introduction to the CAME THE DAWN portfolio. It was done as a favor for Frank Frazetta Jr. The reproductions in this portfolio were shot from pristine photographic copies that were paid for by myself and Pete Koch. We gave a set to Frank for his archives.)

William Gaines, noted publisher of EC comics and MAD magazine, asked Frank Frazetta to draw the story “Came For Dawn” for one of his PICTO-FICTION magazines in 1954. At this point in comic history, after Congressional meetings in which comic publishers were attacked for excessive violence and lurid stories, many publishers were forced to cancel their lines of comic books. Bill Gaines was forced to close down his legendary line-up of EC comics. He was left with only MAD magazine and a small backlog of unpublished art and stories, which were used in his PICTO-FICTION books. Unfortunately, even these magazines were forced to close and Frazetta never got a chance to finish the story and see it published. This was a great loss for fans of the comic medium and a loss for everyone who loves great artwork. Frazetta comments on this story: “I was trying something new in that story. I was using a lot of strong blacks. The story would have been filled with mood and atmosphere. I think it really would have been my best work if I had finished it.”
Bill Gaines gave Frazetta the opportunity to get paid for the unfinished job and surrender the originals to Gaines, or too forgo getting paid and let Frazetta keep the originals. In typical fashion, Frank chose to keep the art. Money was never as important as his art. His plan was to someday finish the job. Alas, this was not to be. A number of years later, a visiting fan accidentally ripped the corners off several pages while pulling them down from the top of a metal cabinet. Those detached corners were lost and never restored to the art. Years later, Frank and I searched for all the pages to the story and found 20 half pages- the complete story in its unfinished state. After carefully looking at the state of the paper and the ink, Frank concluded that it would be impossible to finish the inking. The paper had gotten a little more porous over the years. The current inks would not blend with the older rendering. Frazetta was afraid that the art could get ruined. The decision was made to keep the pages together as is. Frazetta decided to sell the story in 1994. Unlike normal full-size EC comic pages, these pages were half-sized and designed for a one or two panel presentation. Each full page would then feature 4 separate illustrations. The pages were filled with grid lines to help the letterers insert dialogue in the panels. The buyer of the story decided to separate each page into discrete illustrations and sell them that way. Luckily for history, copies were made of all the art and this portfolio presents the complete art for the very first time. One can see the genius of Frazetta as he begins to give life and substance to this story. Each panel is a small revelation and a great insight into Frank’s visual thinking.
This story has an interesting history. It first appeared in the EC comic ShockSuspense Stories #9 (1953), where it was drawn by the legendary Wally Wood, a workhorse for EC comics and probably their best artist. The story concerns a hunter who returns to his cabin and finds that a beautiful blonde has made herself home. She tells the story of losing her way in the woods and mistakes his cabin for her own. Both of them instantly fall in love. While she sleeps, the hunter hears a radio broadcast about an escaped homicidal female in the area, whose description fits that of the blonde in his cabin. He immediately throws her out and locks the door. She is confused and begs to be let in. Later, a scream is heard. He opens the door and finds that the blonde has been stabbed and killed by the escaped blonde inmate. A typical EC ending…the story is basically an excuse for a lot of cheesecake shots. Passion is the dominant element. Wood does a fine job.
Although Frazetta would never admit it, many fans assumed that he wanted to outdo Wally Wood’s interpretation and make the story more sexy, more erotic, more drenched in passion. Here is the perfect subject-matter for Frazetta. For example, this is the way the blonde is initially described in the story’s opening:

“I just stood there staring at her. She was a vision of loveliness…the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen. Her blonde hair, catching the firelight, fell like a golden waterfall about her bare shoulders. She clutched the borrowed bed sheet tightly about her so that it accented the soft flowing curves of
her shapely body.”

This was just the kind of thing Frazetta did best. Who draws women better than Frazetta? No one. This story contains spectacular renditions of a female in all her sexual power and seductiveness. Frazetta decided to employ a lot of close-ups to emphasize the intimacy of the cabin and the passion that was growing between the two. The background details and statues add life to each scene.Frank utilized chiaroscuro, the interplay of light and dark, to give a sense of drama to this highly-charged story. The light and dark artistic motifs reflect the symbols of discovery and loss that take place in the story narrative. This was indeed, a comic book version of film noire at its best. Did Frazetta surpass Wood’s version? I think so. Compare them for yourself. This was a very strong period in Frazetta’s artistic career as a pen/brush draftsman. It was during this 1954-1955 period that Frazetta produced the amazing FAMOUS FUNNIES covers and the exquisite Romance comic stories. His brush was dripping with genius at this time. This portfolio is a joy to the Frazetta connoisseur.

©2003 Dave Winiewicz

Frazetta: Living Legend Watercolor Frontis

2011-10-09T11:25:00.000-07:00

This lovely watercolor has never been seen in color. It's one of those mysterious images that many collectors have always asked about. It was originally published in black/white as the frontis drawing to the LIVING LEGEND softcover book. That book is still the favorite of many because it gathers together so much pen/brush work. Most of the works were printed with all their delicious tonalities. Many collectors, like myself, worship the pen/ink stuff and consider Frank the best of all time. I've been arguing that point for decades. That argument has long been settled.

Well, this little beauty is a little gem of subtle tinting and wonderful gesture. This is the first time it's ever been seen in color. The signature, in pencil, is classic. For many years it sat in the back of the upstairs closet in the Frazetta home, ignored, unseen, and forgotten. Thank goodness for that because the darkness kept the colors fresh and alive and vibrant.

DocDave

Frazetta, Williamson, and Flash Gordon

2011-10-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

I really miss Al Williamson. I used to visit him on my way to visit Frazetta. He lived in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. From there it was a short ride to Frazetta's estate in Marshall's Creek. We did many, many deals over the years. I would trade him originals by the classic illustrators such as Matania, Joseph Clement Coll, Franklin Booth, and Godwin. In return I was able to pick up a number of nice examples by Alex Raymond. Over the years I owned a number of superb Flash Gordon originals:

1-27-1935

3-3-1935 (Rare Tabloid)

3-24-1935

5-5-1935 (Rare Tabloid)

9-8-1935

9-15-1935

2-23-1936

3-8-1936

4-5-1936

1-15-1939

5-24-1942

I got 3 or 4 of these directly from Al. Alas, all are gone. I transformed all of them into Frazetta originals. The FLASH page I really wanted was the great whipping page tabloid format page from 1935. I never got it. Heartbreaking! Al ended up selling the page for $50,000 to a Texas collector. It now resides in a Parisian collection. Al used the money to put an addition on his new home. That addition added a large studio to the back of his house. Al finally had plenty of room to store all his books and display many highlights from his massive collection. I owe Al a real debt because I was able to mature my knowledge of comic and strip art during our many discussions. Al was a collector's collector and his passion was second to none. He loved all types of art and he was one of the great students of the medium. A visit to a truly great collection like Al's helps to expand one's outlook and to focus on the real essentials of art. I was blessed to be able to learn at the feet of grand masters such as Frazetta and Williamson. For example, they taught me how to appreciate Foster's Tarzan strips and to appreciate all the subtle nuances present in that incredible strip. I was fortunate to have most of Al's Tarzans in my possession at one time or another. I had them repaired, cleaned, and deacidified to preserve them for the future generations.

Frazetta and Williamson had a very vitriolic relationship over the years. They fought and made-up numerous times. They had minor and major disagreements over the years. In the last ten years of their relationship Al refused to call Frank simply because he didn't want to take a chance on having to talk to Ellie. Al did not like Ellie at all. That's a long story for another time.

In any case, I want to focus on just one event. It was the early fifties. Al asked Frank to draw a picture of Flash Gordon. Williamson, of course, was a Flash Gordon fanatic. He spent most of his youth drawing Flash a hundred different ways. He wanted to see how Frank handled the pose and the heroic posture. Frank said that he sat down, pencilled a figure in a fantasy setting, then proceeded to ink it. In the midst of this Frank described the proper procedure for applying zipatone to give texture and depth. Al was looking over Frank’s shoulder the entire time. For some reason Frank stopped before finishing, but most of the scene was done. Al loved the figure and asked Frank if he could take it home to study the lines. Frank agreed. Al took it home and started drawing sketches around Frank's Flash Gordon figure. A couple of weeks later Frank asked Al where the drawing was. Al said that he covered it with sketches. Frank said: "It's mine. I want it back." Al had to return the piece. It was a point of principle. Al made a stat of the page before giving it back.

Frank forgot about it until we discovered it one day way in the back of a closet. Frank told me the story behind the piece, then concluded by saying: "And then Al had the balls to use my figure in an EC story." Al used the picture as the central figure on the SPACE BORNE splash page. He changed some elements, but you can easily see the resemblance.

Well, I thought this was quite an interesting piece of Williamson/Frazetta history. I bought the page from Frank. He really didn't care about it all. I think he was happy to be rid of it. For Frank it just represented an annoying memory.

I reluctantly brought the page to Al. I didn't know how he would react. To my relief Al was the consummate gentleman. He confirmed all the details of the story and he signed the page for me. It's a large 14 by 20 inches in size and quite impressive in a frame. Frazetta teaching Al Williamson all about Flash Gordon; it doesn't get any better!

The Frazetta Female

2011-10-07T18:12:00.000-07:00

I like the girls of Vargas. I like the pinups of Elvgren even more. As a matter of fact, there are scores of very talented girlie artists that have drawn and painted females of every race, occupation, and in every setting…and continue to do so. The one common element of all these artists is that they present fresh-looking girls exhibited with little touches of soft-core titillation. They are all so perky and exuberant…it’s impossible not to find them very appealing. It is a growth industry and not likely to stop anytime soon. At any given time EBAY is stuffed with hundreds of female depictions from artists of varying degrees of talent.

Now, let’s add Frazetta into this equation. He is, in a word, different. Why is it that collectors are ALWAYS looking for “babes” by Frazetta? This is the number one pursuit by Frank’s legions of rabid worldwide fans. I get requests every single day from collectors looking for a great Frazetta female. Why is this? It is because of the unique nature of Frazetta’s women. Yes, he has drawn that same type of softcore pinup girl. We can see these girls displayed in the men’s magazines wash illustrations from the early 1960’s. They are beautifully drawn, but for the most part they don’t rise above the norm for this type of subject matter. He was doing a job and doing it well. On his worst day Frank can draw girls better than most other artists. Consider this unique case of the female drawn for this 1962 illustration (from a men’s magazine). The story is unimportant. The man is beautifully rendered, but he is there to complete the story. The crosshatching defining his back is simply sublime. The fantastic machine is there as a bit of an inside joke. It’s looking at her bottom and saying “Va-Va-Voom” (if you can understand machine language!). Delightful.

Frank wanted the woman to be special. He spent 3 full pages in his 1962 sketchbook to explore the composition. This book features large 11x14 inch pages. Frazetta has girls jumping, standing, writhing, rolling, tumbling, and floating across these 3 pages. Is he having fun? He certainly is. Thank heaven that we have these pages intact and we are able too see this great mind at play. Notice that he even includes a caveman on one of the pages. One might think it is out of place here. Not at all. With all those females populating those pages, Frank drew his id onto the page. That caveman is the visual embodiment of Frank’s testosterone. All those women demand a leering male presence! Frank is there. Quite amazing, really.

The final result is a sensational floating female, an apparition in the night with lush, wild hair and a face that defies description. Is this your standard cutesy pie girl-next-door type? Not at all. Her face reveals a woman that is gentle and sensual, strong and erotic. The face has catlike qualities that are unusual and highly desirable. Has Frazetta ever drawn a better female face? I do not think so.

With his women Frank transcends the pinup mentality and all its superficial prettiness and contrived sexiness. His women smolder. There is genuine mystery present and a sense of personal power. He brings a sense of insight and revelation to his depictions that go beyond prettified surface descriptions. That is the realm of Vargas and Elvgren and countless others. Again, they are sensational painters of the female form. But Frazetta brings a new set of very special qualities to his best females. Page upon page could be written about the magic of the Cat Girl, or the Burroughs heroines, or all those other sensual females from the Canaveral drawings or the Doubleday illustrations. The list goes on and on. One thing is sure…collectors will always be searching for the best Frazetta female that their pocketbook can afford. Now, that is ART with all the capitals in place!

A quick update about the 6 panel men's magazine illustration at the head of this essay. It is the only other men's illo known to exist, along with the floating girl pictured above. However, the original is no longer in this format. The current owner decided to break it up into 6 separate illustrations and sell them individually. He owns it; it was his decision. Usually, one can find one or two of these little gems for sale at the San Diego Comic Con. The prices vary from 15K-25K each. Luckily, I have a nice transparency of the original in its full integrity.

Dr. Dave Winiewicz (c)2008

6 comments:

Richard said...: your efforts here are greatly appreciated Dave, I am a HUGE Frazetta fan and I know and respect your expertise on the subject on many, many different levels...

people are watching and reading (probably drooling a bit too but that's another story) so please keep posting.

Richard Friend.; August 22, 2008 12:21 AM
docdave said...: Thanks Richard! Coming from a fine artist like yourself I sincerely appreciate the encouragement.

All the best!

DAVE; August 22, 2008 8:44 AM
RobertP said...: Dave,

Thanks for posting such DELICIOUS artwork...truly Frank's work is a feast for the eyes...the astute commentary is a treat as well, believe me you are appreciated! By the way, agreed, NO ONE can touch Frank's feline, seductive girls...!; August 27, 2008 1:52 PM
Kris said...: Frazetta girls are amazing !

Keep posting...

You can see a pencil frazetta portaiti've made here :

http://kris-dessins.blogspot.com/; October 22, 2008 9:11 AM
Anonymous said...: Frazetta is a great, great artist. Being such, there's nothing wrong with owning up about using photo reference. After all, the old Renaissance masters and those afterwards always drew from life when preparing their figurative paintings. It is easy to distinguish a Raphael drawing that was done before a live model from one drawn from his memory. Frank and Ellie obviously posed for much of his comics and painting work. A camera sees in mono, and a person sees in stereo (assuming both of his eyes are in working order). Take a look at page two, panel one of "Squeeze Play":
www.geppisentertainment.com/images/russ/27lot11pg02.jpg

and this photo of Frank (taken by Al Williamson) at Jones Beach, where all of the rest of the reference photos for that story were taken:
http://frazettaartgallery.com/ff/bio/1950/frank_cool.jpeg

One can clearly see that Frank reversed the photo and used it for reference. There's nothing wrong with that at all, nor does it diminish his awesome talent one iota. Ellie told me in 1985 that he used photo reference "only for the lighting." He can certainly draw and paint without it, but why reinvent the wheel? There is always more to see, to distill, to impart when viewing life firsthand. Frazetta never fell into the trap of being reliant upon photos. Conversely, he never grew stale relying upon stock 'memory' poses. Many other artists have fallen into these problem areas, but not he. Great blog, by the way! Very informative!; April 2, 2009 3:39 PM
Anonymous said...: What I meant about the camera 'seeing' in mono is that photo-referenced art often has a bit of forced perspective (especially if a wide angle lens were used), even on human forms. While this is not necessarily a bad thing---in fact, it can often heighten the dramatic impact of a figure---the use of such is apparent to a trained eye.

On a slightly different note, it was fun spotting his use of Cary Grant photos (with a mustache added) as the cad in "The Wrong Road"

http://tinyurl.com/dabmmj

Frazetta also used much photo reference of himself as the hero and Al Williamson as the villain in "Untamed Love." These are some of the most beautifully drawn comics stories I've ever seen!; April 3, 2009 9:14 AM

Interview: Long Live Frazetta

2011-10-05T18:03:00.001-07:00

Thomas Haller Buchanan interviewed me on various aspects of Frazetta for his new web site. It is worth a look if you're a Frazetta enthusiast...and I know you are! Thomas did some very nice page designs for the essay. I'm sure you will enjoy it. Another labor of love from dedicated Frazetta art fans:

http://pictorialartsjournal.blogspot.com/

Thanks! You'll probably have to cut-and-paste the URL into your browser. Active links aren't supported here.

DAVE

A Classic Frazetta Tarzan

2011-10-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

The Canaveral Press book, TARZAN AND THE CASTAWAYS, contains some of Frazetta’s greatest drawings. The originals from this volume are highly prized by collectors and rarely make it to the open marketplace. Every drawing in this volume is a masterpiece of design and execution. They are priceless gems and represent one of Frazetta’s greatest artistic achievements.

The cover art is, of course, a marvel of texture, action, and seamless design. A book could be written on the qualities of the cover art. However, in this essay I want to focus on one of the interior illustrations. The interior image depicting the simple image of Tarzan is a great example of the dynamism that Frazetta can infuse into a seemingly static pose. Static? Hardly. The figure of Tarzan explodes with life; it is made effective by the subtle perspective that Frazetta employs in the design. The viewer is looking up at Tarzan, who is in a state of dramatic expectation, ready to spring into motion. The eye and mind are captured immediately by this imposing figure. The attendant details are spare and beautifully observed. The surface rock, the room’s interior, the dislodged door, the iron bars in the window, and the suggestions of jungle moss on the protruding ledge all combine to give the figure a visual context and engage the imagination. This is not a cartoon; this is reality. We are living in this world directly. Most artists would kill to be able to establish such a direction connection with the viewer. It is a magical gift and one that takes us right into the mysterious heart of creativity. Notice how the direction of the rendering lines in the ledge is synchronized with Tarzan’s leg. This gives a visual thrust to the composition and enlivens it. This visual thrust energizes the composition and provides the doorway to the palpable life and vigor that one feels. Even the lovely signature is drawn on the bias to blend into the design. Look carefully at that signature. It, also, seems to have a life of its own. The body of Tarzan is beautifully rendered. The symphony of lines defining the body all appear magically harmonized. Nothing is out of place; nothing misleads the eye. Perfection. Even the ragged loincloth has a superb texture that reinforces the overall tactility of the image. The majesty of the face is carved against the sky with a look of utter intensity. Frazetta couches the eyes in shadow, adding to the wondrous mystery of the image. The image is sculptural, 3-dimensional in its impact. The seeming simplicity of this drawing belies the astounding brilliance of its creation. It is no wonder that this drawing was featured prominently in the Frazetta Documentary “Painting With Fire”. It was also the first Canaveral Press drawing seen in the ICON Frazetta art book published by Fenner/Underwood.

Nothing is ever static in Frazetta’s world. He wants the viewer to be “there”, to feel the excitement and danger and mystery in any scene. At the same time, Frazetta wants the inherent beauty, the awe, and the spontaneous joy in these designs to be felt. This is an incredible example of that approach.

Dr. David Winiewicz © 2008

1 comments:

BATTLEGROUND VICTORY said...: "symphony of lines".... well done.

Frazetta And The Creative Process

2011-10-01T18:12:00.000-07:00

Frank’s approach to art is so intuitive and natural that it takes very little for him to get a mental grasp of the essence of a scene. He “sees” the result with an act of intuition and gets it drawn or painted as soon as possible. He doesn’t like to over-intellectualize the process. There are exceptions to this rule, however.

One of those exceptions is the famous “death scene” from the 1977 KUBLA KHAN portfolio. Most of the plates were drawn in 1975, with the cover image being added in 1977. Frank was giving a great deal of thought to the composition of the scene. He wanted to maximize the emotional impact. He did a series of quick sketches to try and get a clear visual grasp of what he was searching for. I have depicted all these studies. It is easy to see the progression of Frank's thought. He starts with ideas that are overtly histrionic and obvious. The mind starts with the obvious visual clichés. He wants something better. Less is more. He wants to reduce any dramatic gesturing and replace it with a scene that smolders with emotion. By spending a little more time “thinking into” the scene Frank has succeeded in creating a world-class illustration that showcases one of the key aspects of the human condition. The human soul shrinks and shrivels in a state of profound grief. The great warrior is brought to his knees with the death of his friend. His mighty arm is distended with emotion. He is surrounded by carnage. Was it worth it? The mind and soul are immediately thrown into the scene with compassion and empathy. This is not a comic book cover with grand overblown gestures and false emotion; this is a serious work that showcases the human condition in all its mystery and profound melancholy. It just does not get much better than this.

Dr. Dave Winiewicz (c) 2008

1 comments:

BATTLEGROUND VICTORY said...: Definitely one of his finest pieces.... thanks for sharing the interesting preliminary visual "thoughts".; August 22, 2008 11:03 AM

Frazetta And The Golden Lion

2011-10-01T18:04:00.000-07:00

Frazetta reaches his highest creative pinnacle with the Canaveral Press drawings from 1962-1965. Frank was commissioned to illustrate several books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Two books were published: TARZAN AT THE EARTH’S CORE (1962) and TARZAN AND THE CASTAWAYS (1965). Other books were planned but never published, although an edition of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS: MASTER OF ADVENTURE by Richard Lupoff was published in 1965 with several Frazetta drawings. Frazetta executed a total of 27 full drawings and 5 small spot illustrations for this Canaveral Press series. Each drawing is a polished piece of highly sophisticated perfection. Frazetta was showing the world what he could do at a time when he wanted to establish a name for himself. Each drawing is a little miracle of power and refinement. The technique Frazetta employed in all these drawings is akin to the sumi-e inkwash paintings of the Japanese. These are drawings with a carefully controlled tonal range that varies from solid black to the lightest of water-thinned ink tones. Frank does this to control the level of contrast in the designs and to control carefully what the eye sees first and last. These drawings are highly prized and eagerly sought by collectors throughout the world.
The Canaveral plate of TARZAN AND THE GOLDEN LION is, in a word, a masterpiece. An aggressively defiant Tarzan confronts a savage lion that is turning to face his advances. The lion is regal, majestic, and bristling with life. His face is sublime. Frazetta never drew a better lion. One can almost feel the lion’s heavy breathing as he decides his course of action. Two absolute forces of nature rooted to the earth and preparing for a moment of electric confrontation. Tarzan is stridently heroic; his muscles are charged and prepared for action. Further atmosphere is established by the hot jungle breeze that swirls Tarzan’s hair and the lion’s mane. The composition is flawless. Frazetta employs a circular design to energize the viewer’s eye and to focus the mind’s attention. The thick grasses are applied in chiarascuro fashion to visually unite the two combatants. There is a yin-yang magnetism in this element that enchants the eye. Frazetta’s virtuosity is further displayed with the shortened and suggested spear. A complete spear would have punctured the design and destroyed the wonderfully-contrived symmetries. Notice how the lion’s tail and Tarzan’s loincloth mirror themselves and serve to tighten and unite the main elements of the design. Circular rhythms are everywhere present. With these “touches” Frazetta is able to take a seemingly static scene and supercharge it with life and vitality. Beauty speaks through the brush of Frazetta. We revel in it. Art of this quality really transcends the category of “illustration”; it is Fine Art of the highest creative achievement. Rarely do examples from this period enter the marketplace. History will prove that these drawings are an American treasure. In the words of Frazetta: “I knew they were priceless when I was drawing them.”

Dr. Dave Winiewicz © 2008

2 comments:

Jon Colton said...: Frazetta could do it all. Whether it was pushing paint, or a pen and brush, whether it's comic books, cartoons, or realistic detailed paintings - he brought it all to life.

Thanks for showing this piece, it's really magnificent. You do tease a little though, you can't say he did 27 drawings for this book without showing all 27. I mean c'mon!; May 13, 2008 7:55 PM
Tracy said...: Dave,

You and Arnie, and the Fritz's should get to gether and put out all 27 in a portfolio!

Just a thought

Tracy; May 15, 2008 6:24 AM

Frazetta And Conan The Destroyer

2011-09-23T23:06:00.000-07:00

One of the constant discussions I would have with Frank concerned the subject of his repainting canvases instead of starting a new oil. Frank would say that if he was dissatisfied with an image, then why not replace it with an image which most clearly reflects his intention. Indeed, it is tough to argue with that. He is the artist and the creator of the image. The fact is that some of repaints worked and some did not. I loved the original versions of Conan The Buccaneer and I was very distressed when Frank changed the basic concept. I have grown to really like the current version and I realize why Frank wanted the changes. First of all, it was too derivative of the scene of Tarzan battling the natives in the Canaveral plate. Also, Frank said that he wanted to give Conan a fighting chance in battle. An axe is more firepower than bare hands, especially when all the other warriors are heavily armed. A little known fact is that the original idea for Conan the Buccaneer was for a wraparound paperback cover. The idea of Conan as a buccaneer steered Frank to consider ideas with a nautical theme. Frank drew several watercolors depicting Conan battling a sea monster in a roaring sea. It was ultimately decided that there would not be a wraparound and Conan’s face would have to be shown. The savage sea ideas had Conan looking into the sea and storm and away from the viewer. We discovered these studies in a notebook hidden in the back of an upstairs closet. Frank had completely forgotten about them.

Frank then started work on the “pile of bodies” idea. That oil went through a number of different versions. Frank was constantly fiddling with the style of Conan’s helmet and his ornamentation. Photos exist of all these stages.

This final sketch sheet depicts the decision Frank made in changing the overall thrust of Conan's character in the design. This made the transition complete from Conan the Buccaneer to CONAN THE DESTROYER! The wash drawings are gorgeous little studies. It shows that Frank had a pretty clear conception of the visual direction he wanted to achieve. He talks about these studies in a section of the Frazetta documentary PAINTING WITH FIRE. The studies were previously published in the Howard volume THE ULTIMATE TRIUMPH as well.

The other image depicts an idea for a bed headboard that Frank was thinking about. The reverse of the sheet contains more very explicit studies for this erotic headboard.

Instead of mounting this large dildo-type apparatus on the bed, Frank decided to carve penis and vagina designs into the bed. Interesting that Frank’s mind would immediately turn to sexual themes after drawing those Conan studies. Obviously, Robert E Howard was able to get Frank’s blood boiling a bit!

4 comments:

tonyartist said...: Dave--More wonderful "gems". I am always intrigued by the evolution of Frank's work: from its initial inspiration to final form. These prelims privide indispensible glimpses into Fritz's creative process, and anything Conan-related, especially so. Thanks, again! Tony A.; June 30, 2010 12:50 PM
kev ferrara said...: Funny, I always thought one of the "lies" Frank complained about in the newsweek article in the 1970s (or was it esquire?) was the idea that he had carved naughty bits into his bedposts.

Guess the protests were all about protecting the image, eh? Silly.; July 1, 2010 4:47 PM
Jim S. said...: I really like the final copy much better the original, though I would rather Frank have painted a new copy, rather than painting over the old. How many paintings were later "enhanced"? I am not sure how I feel about the Death Dealer changes.; July 7, 2010 10:28 AM
Jim S. said...: I really like the final copy much better the original, though I would rather Frank have painted a new copy, rather than painting over the old. How many paintings were later "enhanced"? I am not sure how I feel about the Death Dealer changes.; July 7, 2010 10:28 AM

Frazetta: FAMOUS FUNNIES #211

2011-09-23T00:09:00.000-07:00

Oddly, one of Frazetta’s major FAMOUS FUNNIES covers has never been published in all its tonal glory. Russ Cochran published a colored portfolio of all the covers, but these were straight line shot copies with added color. The LIVING LEGEND volume contains several FAMOUS FUNNIES covers displaying the ink tonalities, but FAMOUS FUNNIES #211 was not included. A decent transparency of this original has never been shot since its original publication in the mid-1950’s.
In a recent deal I was fortunate to come across the original copy/stat/velox of this cover that was owned by Stephen Douglas. Stephen Douglas was the art editor at FAMOUS FUNNIES. Al Williamson was the person who first introduced Frazetta to Stephen Douglas back in the early 50’s. That introduction led to some nice jobs for Frank at a time when the money was much needed.
This copy is interesting because not only does it reveal the ink in a state of brand new freshness, but it still has some of the original underlying pencils before they were subsequently erased. In this copy the pencil adds another dimension to the original. The image, of course, is sensational, and the original cover sold for a record price. Back in 1995, Alex Acevedo of the ALEXANDER GALLERY in NYC offered Frank the ACE paperback oil of TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR in trade for this FAMOUS FUNNIES cover. Frank asked me what I thought about the offer. I told him it was a fair offer but that there was magic in all that crosshatching. I told him I would never do that deal. Frank turned the deal down. It was a good decision.
Dr. Dave Winiewicz ©2008

A Williamson/Frazetta Space Opera

2011-09-22T23:50:00.000-07:00

I recall buying a copy SPA FON #5 in the late 60’s. It was published by a few fans in the Chicago area. They loved comic books, comic art, and they really loved Frank Frazetta. They even had a nice watercolor printed in full color on the cover by Frazetta. Nice classy touch, especially in those days. I have added a shot of the art from that cover. I recall that the original art was purchased by Helmut Mueller at a con art auction for $65.
They included a small Frazetta index in that magical issue. The index was annotated with comments. I recall that they commented on the Williamson/Frazetta story in DANGER IS MY BUSINESS #1: “There is some special magic in this story”. The story was “Capt. Comet and the Vicious Space Pirates”. What a title! After a couple of years of searching I found the book. In those days finding a comic was not easy. One had to scour the classifieds in various fanzines or spend hours looking through boxes at local comic cons. Ebay has eliminated the charm of that type of hunt. When a comic was found in the old days, it was a moment for rejoicing and celebration. It was treasured and revered as a quasi-sacred object. Well, that story was a revelation and a sheer joy to behold. Here were the two greatest science fiction artists (with apologies to Wally Wood) working together on a space opera inspired by Flash Gordon and the great Buster Crabbe serials. This was “the good stuff”; it just did not get any better.
Al Williamson penciled the pages and laid them out. Frank came in and poured his magical ink over every square inch. This WAS something special. I always yearned for the original art to this story. I knew it would be spectacular. In the early 1970’s the complete story emerged from the Toby Art find. It was immediately purchased by Bruce Hamilton. Bruce, in turn, sold the pages to Tony Dispoto (who, along with Russ Cochran, were the two people who really gave structure and credibility to art selling in fandom). Dispoto issued a selling list in 1974 listing 3 pages from this story, priced at $1000 each, a hefty price in those days for interior pages. I wanted the splash. I contacted Tony. It was already sold! I was heartsick. Tony had just sold it to longtime collector Marty Greim. Marty kept it for many years. I was forced to buy another page. Actually, I bought two. I used my graduate school fellowship checks and sent them directly to Dispoto. I spent the next months living on rice and turkey pot pies. It was worth it. What is food compared to great art, eh?
There is a happy ending to the story. Marty Greim sold the splash to collector Dennis Beaulieu. Finally, I was able to acquire this great monument from Dennis. It has had a place of honor on my wall for many years. The page is a tremendous blend of Al and Frank’s talents. The prototypical Williamson “punch” scene counterpointed by the soft interior shot showcasing a standing and clearly heroic Capt. Comet. The Alex Raymond Flash Gordon headgear is the perfect homage. (Frank even drew a shot of Buster Crabbe in the last page of the story.) Frazetta added the signatures and Frank drew Al’s signature as well.
Space opera at its finest, the grand battle between good and evil…that’s what the golden days of childhood are all about.

Dr. Dave Winiewicz ©2008

Frazetta On Frazetta

2011-09-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

Frazetta and I had a discussion back in 1996 about the nature of his art. He was unhappy that people kept calling him a fantasy artist and science fiction artist and, even worse, a cult artist. Frank said: “I do everything…cowboy art, nudes, fantasy…I’m a creative artist. That’s what I consider myself.” I told Frank that he should write down that statement so that there would be a document in his own hand describing how he should be characterized as an artist. He ripped a sheet out of his sketchbook, wrote the statement, and handed it to me. “There! Are you happy now?” I was ecstatic. I knew the importance of that little bit of writing. When the documentary crew saw that statement they immediately asked if they could use it for the opening sequence. Absolutely! That was the perfect place for it. Originally, the actual image of the text was to be used. Unfortunately, a focus group said that changing the font would make it more effective. Keep the words and change the look. I thought the authenticity of Frank’s own handwriting would be more affecting and powerful. I was outvoted.

ONE FURTHER POINT: Several years ago I was talking to Frank and he was a little despondent. A bus full of art students had just left the museum. Frank generously went out to talk to them and answer a few questions. Frank said: “Dave, they wouldn’t believe me. They just wouldn’t believe that I make this stuff up. What can I do? Do I have to sit down and paint a picture right in front of them before they’ll believe me? I told them to ask you; you’ve seen me do it many times. I told them to go to Williamson. He used to come into my studio and look over my shoulder: “Made-up, Frank?” He’d always ask me that. He was constantly amazed that I kept making things up. “
The problem is that what Frank does is SO unique, that it is almost unbelievable. Yes, Frank did borrow images/poses from Foster in his early years. Yes, he did use swipes in about a dozen drawings and oils. Yes, he did glance in the mirror to grab a facial expression. Yes, he did use photo reference in his movie poster work. In those jobs everything had to be perfectly “on model” so the studios would send portrait photos of all the main stars. I knew EVERY instance where Frank borrowed an image or pose. They can be traced to Wyeth, to Pyle, to Burian, to Booth, to Foster, and a couple others. ALL THE ABOVE constitutes about 5% of Frank’s output-----THAT’S IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everything else is straight from the soul, right out of his creative imagination. I have seen him draw, watercolor, and paint many images right from scratch. Nothing there…no models…no photos...nothing, just that gargantuan treasure trove of memory and magic that defines Frazetta as the creative force he is. If you don’t believe, fine, that is your prerogative. But you will be turning your back on the truth and turning your back on that one special quality that is responsible for the vivid sense of life that explodes from every image. Frazetta has a special gift that simply does not exist in most artists. I am not diminishing other artists because they use reference or rely on models. That is their method and it often leads to exceptional work. Look at the industry in the work of Rockwell. Countless photos, countless studies, an immense amount of research into every nuance of a painting produced results that speak for themselves. But that is not Frazetta’s path. His approach is intuitive, quick, a creative intuition into the essence of a scene, and a quick creation on paper or easel. Frazetta should be revered for the great American treasure that he is. Why he is not the most famous artist in the western world is beyond me. But, that is a very serious subject for another essay at another time.

Dr. Dave Winiewicz ©2008