January 2004 | See Past News

Welcome back and happy New Year,

The winter is upon us as the northeast braces for another cold front. Dad continues to relax in the studio and enjoy his collection of digital video cameras. His has added five new digital cameras to his massive collection of photographic equipment. The newest a 5-mega pixel compact Sony camera given to him from close friend Doc Dave. Occasionally when I visit, I will have to reset the basic program on the camera because he just loves to fiddle with the wide array of features each camera has to offer. The most difficult problem to resolve is when he turns the language to French or Japanese and I spend an hour trying to figure out which screen we are on to get it back to English. Nevertheless, I enjoy his company and he is eternally grateful for rectifying the problem. Dad continues to draw periodically when the urge comes around and the finished piece is still gem.

Every year both dad and I give my mother a painting for the Christmas holiday. I did another ant picture this year and my father thinks it is my best painting of the dozen I have completed. I have been trying to put a children's story together based on the ants and frog drawings I have since the early 90's but I just cannot find the time to put my head down and do it. I think my two sets of twins play a role in my procrastination.

Seventy-five of the Death Dealer statues have arrived. The remainder of the 125 will soon follow in March. We will also extend the free signed Death Dealer print to the first 125 customers who preordered the statue. Once this edition is sold-out, the remainder will not be numbered or initialed. I will be shipping the orders out shortly thereafter.

We are now offering just ten hand painted Death Dealer statues by the master. Each one hand painted by Frank Frazetta himself to the finest detail. Each one was painted in its own color variation making it look as close to the original art as possible. The first was painted for the manufacture to match colors in the production run of this Death Dealer series. Each statue will be signed and have a brass plate attached to the corresponding number. It will also include a signed color print. These are now available in the gallery store.

The rings and tee shirts are about to be released. We are looking forward to your input pertaining to the designs. We will be offering three different finishes on the rings and a small variety of two tone shirts and hats. There will also be a color version Death Dealer tee and sweatshirt available. To see our line of apparel please visit frazettaapparel.com.

We just received our new order of soft cover Icons. It has been completely revised and updated with more art. Consisting of 200 pages of full color paintings, watercolors and many rare drawings not shown in the first edition. Now available in the gallery store.

The museum is closed and will reopen sometime in April, depending on the weather. Ellie will display a number of new paintings as she does every year including a wall of original drawings that will be offered for sale. If you have not been to the museum, you owe it to yourself to see these fantastic oil paintings first hand. The colors and texture of the original art is lost in text and to see it first hand will literally knock your socks off. Frank often visits the museum on Saturday and Sunday throughout the year. It is always exciting to see the fans reactions when Frank appears without notice and greets each on a one to one basis. He is humble and gracious and if you have a camera around your neck, you are sure to have a lengthy conversation with him.

He continues to look forward to the new baseball season in just a few weeks. Now that he has digital cable, he may purchase the baseball bonanza for the additional ball games. Football, basketball and hockey have no place on his television, but occasionally boxing or golf will be on the screen when I walk in the studio. He still enjoys the old Laurel and Hardy videos during the day and ends the night with an episode of Seinfeld. Through all his adversities, he continues to smile and enjoy each day as it is meant to be. Frank's life style has not changed through fame, as each breath of life is precious to him. Stress was never a word used in his vocabulary. Enjoy the day ahead of you; make the most of your blessings. Money and material things are not important to him. A few cups of sugar coated coffee in the morning, a game of stickball in the afternoon with his sons and a stroll around the lake with his daughters in the afternoon is what made his day the brightest. He is proud of his achievements with his art career but never cared what others thought or said about him. He is a caring and sensitive man in comparison to what he creates on the canvas. Many fans believe his demonic creatures, muscular barbarians, and voluptuous women are symbolic of his character, but nothing could be more from the truth. Although he was a fabulous athlete and lived a tough life growing up in Brooklyn, till this day he enjoys playing video games that are designed for children; the simple games like Mario and Missile Command.

I just got back from Boca Grande Florida with my family and for the first time in 10 years the weather was absolutely perfect. Dad has a home on the island just a short stroll from the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. I had such a difficult decision to make every morning when we got out of bed. Should we go to the beach or sit by the pool overlooking the ocean? I personally enjoy the pool because the water is heated while my children preferred the beach looking for shells and sand surfing with their boogie boards. Either way, it beats looking out the window in Pennsylvania at the ice sickles and frozen lake across the field.

Thanks for visiting with us,

Sincerely,

Frank Frazetta JR