Thanksgiving at the Frazettas

Once again thank you for visiting the excusive site of Frank Frazetta. Through the month of October, Frank has enjoyed the beautiful fall weather and fabulous foliage here in the northeast.  His health and spirits have been equally high as the Frazetta family gears up for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Hundreds of fans have been visiting the museum every month and Ellie has graciously extended this years hours through Saturday, December 30th.  The museum will then be closed until sometime in late spring.  We will keep you posted on the re-opening later in the year.  Ellie also extends her invitations to schools and other art institutions with discount rates for groups and buses.  Anyone interested may call us at 570-424-2265 for an appointment.

We are in the process of replicating a series of Frazetta Death Dealer steins.  Below is a photo of Frank with a preliminary drawing of the helmet to the stein.  We are projecting the release of these collectables sometime next summer.

Frank has just returned home from his vacation home in Boca Grande, Florida in time for the Thanksgiving celebration.  This is by far the most celebrated holiday for the Frazetta family with all the grandchildren and cousins gathering together for this festive occasion. 

Grandson William and his festive apple

Ellie prepares a fabulous five course meal beginning with anti-pasta and an assortment of meats, cheese and wine.  Next is the calamari over spaghetti with the best Italian bread from New York.  After we consume our share of food.  We sit throughout different parts of the house trying not to fall asleep.  Within an  hour Ellie is calling out for everyone to sit down at the dining room table for some gourmet butternut squash soup and hors-dourvers.  At that moment the entire family is dreading the thought of consuming the Thanksgiving turkey roasting in the kitchen.  Oh where oh where are we going to find room in our bellies to eat this bird.  We pleaded with Gramma, please give us a few days before we have to eat this bird.  One of the grandchildren replied, "Hey Grandpa, I can't finish my soup, do you want mine?"  We all laughed as grandpa leaned over grasping his stomach from hitting the dining room table.  Then to our surprise a close friend of the family shows up with a roasted stuffed piglet, the kind you see in the magazines with an apple stuffed in its mouth.  Gramma yelled out for the grandchildren to come  see the stuffed piggy.  As the grandchildren ran up the stairs, an abundance of loud screams filled the room as they approached the table.  It was like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock film.  Needles to say, the children didn't know whether to run for their lives or feel sorry for the pig.  It was the highlight of the afternoon for all of us.

Frank has done a few pencil drawings in the past few weeks that I wanted to share with you.  Remember, these are done left handed with amazing results.  I think this is one of the finest cats he has done in years.  He is still master of his domain.

One of the most sought after paintings for viewing is the Reign of Wizardry.  This was done back in the sixties for a paperback book.  It has been revised slightly over the years and at the moment sits on Frank's aisle.  The majority of fans have never seen this oil painting and due to its sexually explicit content.  I have taken a close up photograph of the satanic demon for your viewing pleasure.  If I showed any more of the painting, Mom would throw me out of the house when I visited her again.  

Here is an insert that was taken from the members section from Dr. Dave Winiewicz on the Reign of Wizardry...I have encouraged Ellie for years to allow the public to see this piece.  It is without question, one of the three greatest works Frank has ever done.  The oil is entirely different from the original published cover.  Frank revised the entire surface of the piece.  The color is magnificent and the content is sensational.  Only Frazetta can pain the face of HELL itself.  The piece is explicitly erotic but the eroticism is perfectly proportional and appropriate to the scene being painted.  There is nothing gratuitous in its handling.  I don't find anything offensive about it at all.  IT DESERVES TO BE SEEN by the general public.  It will only serve to further enhance the reputation of Frazetta.  It is like a modern-day Renaissance masterpiece that was mysteriously found and brought to light.  There is now talk that it will be included on one of the fourth coming books.  I would encourage everyone to support this effort.  Well I will do what I can to persuade Mrs. Frazetta to insert this in the biography next year.

If some of the fans were not aware of Frank's favorite past time, it is without a doubt collecting cameras.  He has more cameras than your local fully stocked photo dealer and his constant quest for more never ceases.  While he was in Florida is close friend took him to the many pawn shops of the island in search for the deals of the century.  Frank enjoys the search more than the actual purchase from what I have gathered over my lifetime.  Even though he has a comfortable nest  egg and could buy every camera ever made he would rather spend an afternoon with friends dickering the pawn dealer.  Although Frank is not mechanically inclined he is fascinated with their intricate parts, from the blue tint lens to the distinct sound of the high speed shutters closing.  Most of the 200 cameras in his possession are seldomly used to take photos.  Every so often the doors open on one of his camera cases and a lucky camera is chosen to have time spent with it over the course of the next week.  He will run batteries down in every camera without taking a single shot and it's a rarity when you walk into his studio when there isn't a camera in his hand.  Whether its just focusing them on something in the room or snapping shots of the grand kids this is without a doubt his favorite past time.

Gift for Ellie

Dad and I were watching animal planet one evening which was focused on lions and tigers.  Both of us are equal fascinated with these beautiful creatures and we attribute this to their natural strength and speed.  As the pride attacked a water buffalo in a swamp, each lion took turns leaping on the back of this massive creature and biting at its back until they finally dragged it to the ground.  They are ferocious killers and to visualize these lions while attacking is something Frank will never tire of.  From the art he produces, it has left a mental image within him that captures his imagination in many a painting.  Proceeding this program was a documentary on tigers, and although this is another menacing creature, it doesn't give me the same overpowering sense of a killing machine like that of the lion.  I have always expressed my feeling to my father of one day painting wildlife, but there is little time in my life to pursue this dream raising four children. I have attempted to paint and draw lions in the past with very little successes and although I can visualize the scene, lions are one of the most difficult animals to draw when in action.  I said to Dad, "dam they're beautiful, but they are so hard to draw." He replied " you have to understand the muscles and anatomy and how they work together before you draw them or anything else.  Easy for him to say.  I have seen other artist renderings of lions and tigers and some are wonderful, but they lack the presence of power.  It is easily recognized that they are copied directly from photographs from the way the lions are positioned, but then no other artist captures the essences of the big cats like Frazetta.  Whether it is the tigers decorative coat or because they are more independent than lions, I'm really not positive but I told dad the lion has beauty that is unparallel to the tiger.  He replied "what, are you crazy!  Look at this animal, it is one of the most beautiful creatures on earth, how can you come to that conclusion?"  The only thing I could say to support my position in this matter was to ask " then how come you always draw lions and leopards and not tigers?" He replied, "What are you insane!  Do you expect me to draw all those stripes?"  

Once again, thank you for visiting.

Frank Jr.