Happy Birthday Dad 

As another year passes bye,  my father just celebrated his 81st Birthday. His spirits are high and he continues to draw remarkably well with his left hand.  He has been busy working on a new Death Dealer painting and the preliminary artwork is in  “Rough Works” book that came out last summer.  Now that all but one of the previous Death Dealer paintings have been used for the recent comic books, fans are asking for new art pertaining to Death Dealer. My father was confiding in me on the positioning the witches head lying on the castle steps where she was slain. I guess he must have some value in my opinion to ask me.  Although he has asked me numerous times in the past about positioning or colors, for the first time he took my advise in the direction I thought made the most sense. But today he actually did what I had thought to be the correct angle for her body to be in.

Frank Jrs, bedroom needs to be enlarged to make room for more art.

Thirty days prior to his 81st Birthday, I gave him two of the latest high speed digital cameras.  He was so intrigued by the write-ups pertaining to the Casio digital cameras along with the outstanding reviews,  I just could not chance waiting the additional 30 days to purchase them with the possibility they would be sold out.   Casio offered two similar cameras, both with options that my father has not seen to date in any of his other cameras. This duo has 6-9 mega-pixels along with an incredible 40-60 frames per second still shot capabilities. I down loaded a few of the small clips from their web site to show my father.  Not only was he fascinated with the video, but I was equally impressed with its amazing features. So with my compulsive nature, I picked up the phone  and ordered both cameras next day air. I did not want to buy both, but each had features the other did not. I concluded which ever he decides keeping for his Birthday,  I would get the other.  A few days later they were delivered to my store.  As fast as I signed for the delivery,  I headed home. After the initial shock opening the camera box and seeing his gift for the first time other than in print, he was excited as could be.  He lights up like a Christmas tree and says, “don’t tell me, your crazy,  you found this camera.“ There is nothing more satisfying than the look on his face when he gets a new toy.  As most of you already know, his collection consists of hundreds of cameras and lenses dating back to the turn of the century.  Leicas from 1930 to most recent 1990 limited edition gold plated model.  As much as I hated to leave him in this state of shock,  I was in a hurry to get back to work. I gave him a kiss on the cheek,  wished him happy birthday and proceeded out the studio door.  A day later I returned and the smile was still on his face. Still in awe and overwhelmed with the cameras, he showed me some of the incredible stop action photos he took  with them.  Though the new cameras take a rocket scientist to program to your personal preferences, he still enjoys learning their very complex features without opening or referring to the owners manual.  Though  he gets confused with the vast options you have to choose from, it gives him something to look forward too every day.  Occasionally he calls me at the shop for some guidance setting the dials to the correct aperture, but other than that, he will spend hours upon hours learning more about every aspect of each camera. Personally, I can barely read the small print on the camera dials and in owners manual.

I’m still in the process of reproducing the Werewolf portfolio from the Creepy story from the mid 60’s for Warren publishing.  Along with the commemorative Death Dealer poster and lithograph celebrating 35 years since its conception. Today,  35 years later, it is still the most recognized painting my father has done.  It has been used for book covers, record albums, motorcycle ads and most recently symbolizing power for the military in a vast area of the United States defense. It is on Apache helicopters, tanks and numerous platoons in Iraq .

I have started drawing again, well lets say starting to draw seriously for the first time in my life. Even though I don’t have ample time to devote to it the way my dad would like me to, I have done more sketches in the past few months than I have in the past 20 years. I bought a dozen art books on anatomy of the hand, human figure and trees. I was quite amazed how intricate the human hand and feet are when you seriously sit down and learn the structure of the joints and knuckles. Prior to reading the books, I’ve always left out a joint or two when I was doodling.  After I spend a few hours studying and rendering the hand and fingers, it started coming to me easily. I don’t think I’ve got it locked in my memory yet,  but I have the understanding of the knuckles and joints pretty well.  When I show my father my drawings, he is quick to point out any thing that is not accurate and why. Sometimes he is a bit too critical of my drawing, but I have to take it with a grain of salt. This is one of the reasons it was difficult to pursue an art career with a father of this stature. Being compared to him and hearing that I’m not as good as he is. If I decide to go forward with art,  I’m just going to understand there are thousands of other artist hearing the same thing.  I have put a few of my doodles up for sale in the gallery store of  this web site. Most were just sketchy outlines of a human head or hand. I have also listed a few of my finished paintings of animals from Africa. I will do 10-12 and then offer a signed portfolio of my work by June. I do have a few that I will offer now signed and numbered for $25. Below are a variety of pictures I’ve just completed. I want to thank my friend Brian for getting my art out among other Frazetta fans. I have done some commissioned art ranging from small pencil drawings to full scale oil paintings. Almost any subject matter is open suggestion. I have been doing a various subject matters but have avoided my fathers style of barbarians and women. For two reasons, UNO, to develop my own style and preferences and secondly,  it is a bit out of my league.  Below is a preview of a lion and elephant I did over the past few days. I started it one evening with a quick sketch in pencil and began adding some color, but not intending to go through with a finished piece. I  roughed in the head and highlighted the eyes just to see if I could make it resemble a lion in any way.  But for some unexplainable reason, things began to flow without a thought or conscious effort on my behalf.  I intended to do a quick wash of the lion but before I knew it, it began to take shape and resemble the lion I had in mind. The colors were just rolling off my brush with little or no thought process. The colors were correct, the shading was coming without any effort. Its like my mind became part of the drawing and I didn’t have to think or question any part of the process. Its like my father says when people ask how he does it? He replies, “I don’t know, I just do it!!” That’s the only way I can explain how I did it for that hour and a half. My father always said to me, “That’s the time when you go for as long as possible.” If you can go all night then go all night. It is that special moment when your mind zones out and every thing goes smoothly. Even though it came out far better than I could have imagined, I did it. I don’t know how, I cannot explain it but I am pleased with the out come. At times it was difficult to hold myself back and not try to improve what was already done, just be satisfied with what I did.  You always think you can improve the existing picture but most often you will ruin what was already great! Trying and make it better than it was, but from my experience and fathers constant stressing over do not go over board. It has happened before and I did not want it to happen again. My father has made this mistake also, that’s how and why he stresses this crucial factor to me time and time again.  The eyes were good but I wanted to make them better. More intense. I knew I could ruin it but very carefully and reluctantly I added the nessacery highlights.  As I pulled the brush away from the canvas, the lions eye was now perfect. What a relief!!!  Remember this very important tip from both my father and I.  Anyone interested in a Frank JR drawing or painting,  feel free to email me at  frazettatwins@yahoo.com or call me at work-570-424-5833 or at home 570-476-4050.   Below are a few  pictures I’ve done over the years along with some of my personal favorite, “The Ants”,  for moms birthdays and holiday gifts.  Waterfalls and a variety of fantasy pictures I changed from my fathers original concepts. I revised a few of his pen and inks that could have been beautiful oil paintings. By adding or deleting a thing or two I did a full color painting. The original Swamp Demon  has another finished paintings under it like with many of the paintings hanging on the museum walls.  Mom had asked my father to repaint it back to its original design but to no avail. So for a mothers day gift I found the original painting on a Frazetta card set from years back and copied it for my mother. It had a futuristic elephant standing in the forest other than the demon and blonde woman instead of the woman wrapped with the serpent.

Back to the other issue, my artwork.  The odd thing with my work is  the ant paintings have more value to me because they came from my heart, sort of my own creation. Like selling one of your own children. It would be difficult to part with anything done with ants without seemingly overcharging you. Though there could be numerous hours spent on paintings other than the ants, it would be easier to let it go to a customer and for far less expense due to the content. Like two equally drawn pictures by my father, just that one is the Death Dealer and the other is a bear in the woods. The Death Dealer is virtually priceless and the other can be bought for a reasonable price. That’s what I’m trying to say. 

Personally,  I enjoy drawing with a fine point pen in my rare spare time. That means evenings from midnight to 3 am. From my few short hours of doodling , I’ve learned you can get away with more errors painting than with any other medium. Painting can hide many mistakes with colors and shading and look like it was done intentionally for what ever reason. You cannot fake a wrong line with pen or pencil. You either know how to draw or you don‘t.!!!  You cannot get away with any errors in anatomy or design with pen unless the individual does not understand the human figure or needs glasses. This was something I learned very quickly in the first few months of drawing. Now I understand why so many artist use projectors to copy or trace figures. My father has that inborn gift, not just the imagination, but what ever it is that sees the image and draws it onto the paper without needing to copy it. I can see the image and understand to some extent the process of rendering the figure onto paper, but not very accurately without a reference.  I know exactly what a lion looks like when I close my eyes and even when I open my eyes and proceed to draw it onto the paper it is lost in the process telling my hand how to move the pencil to form the image accurately. Does photographic memory has something to do with it?  I don’t know.! Well, the more you draw the same image the better you become at it.  But it is not visualized any clearer in my mind after 50 attempts than it was the first time I attempted to draw  it.  The impression of a lion is still very clear in my mind/memory as it ever was, but what makes you draw it more accurately after numerous attempts that were not done well the first 20 or 30 times. You still see it in the same manner as you did days or weeks before, but now it is rendered more precisely.

The museum will be reopening for the new year the first weekend in May.  I have tried to encourage Mrs. Frazetta to enlarge the museum for a variety of reasons other than just displaying new artwork. I’d love to add two rooms, one on each side of the existing museum. To the left side of the museum, a small theater showing the biography,  “Painting with Fire”.  As you exit the small theater, the new room has photos of my fathers childhood along with family pictures never published before in any book or magazine.  The new addition will be like a compressed version of his bio hanging on the wall. Most of my fathers loyal fans know just about everything pertaining to his art career,  but have little knowledge of the personal side other than what I have written over the years in the news archive.  Many of the photos will be taken from his  collection that literally no one other than family has seen.  So basically you will be venturing back in time to see what he did as a young man other than drawing and playing ball. I will also include some literature, sort of a story board to the photos so you can live those special moments as he once did.

On the opposite side of the museum as you exit the gallery store, another extension with a life size Death Dealer bronze statue in a rock waterfall.  I would like to incorporate one of the existing stone lizards from the field inside the new room doing battle with the Death Dealer. The walls showcase an extensive selection of pen and ink, pencil and watercolor drawings. Throughout the room a digital lap recording audio system playing the music my father loved listening to while painting. The Rite of Spring is one of his favorites. I would love to have the opportunity to do this for them in the near future but it would take extensive persuading Mrs. Frazetta to do so.  But I do know the fans would be grateful and would definitely return to see it the first chance they had. So if any of my readers visit the museum this year please ask Mrs. Frazetta or bring a letter stating you would like to see more of Mr. Frazettas art.

Also, as I had stressed before about internet fraud,  I was taken for an embarrassing ride when a fan came to me and asked if I could sell his Frazetta art because potential buyers would feel secure knowing it was authenticated by the Frazettas personally. So I listed it on eBay and soon found out that it was a counterfeit drawing. Numerous fans emailed me stating this does not look like your fathers artwork. It was just a simple loosely drawn rough that he probably finished in an hour or less. He had an original bill of sale signed by Mrs. Frazetta accompanying the art so I had no reason to question its authenticity. After numerous emails from fans I brought it to my father that evening to confirm it was his. In a split second, he responded, that’s as phony as a $2 bill. To my disbelief I immediately pulled it off of the eBay listing and contacted the owner of the art. I was embarrassed and my credibility was tarnished .  I won’t get into the details of the after math but this goes to show be extremely careful before you purchase anything without an OK from the artist.

I thank you for spending some time with us and look forward meeting you this summer.

Sincerely yours,
Frank Frazetta JR

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