240 replies to this topic

[Carcosa]

Deuce, that was nice tribute you posted. The Frazetta's were and are a class act....

[timeless]

I second that, Carcosa.

(It's not unusual for class acts to attract other class acts.)

Mr. Frazetta is such a talented artist. Of course, we all know of him because of his fantasy paintings, but just look at how he portrays the natural light meeting his subject's form. Check out the varying degrees of purple and black in her dress and the furniture. And that auburn hair and the joy in her hesitant smile. This is not 'work' commissioned for cash...this is the expression of a sensitive man in love with a beautiful woman. This is passion.

And he has purchased immortality (of a sort) with his talent and effort. Ellie will be beautiful forever, as will the Mona Lisa and the unnamed servant girl who posed with a pearl earring for Vermeer. Frank's masterpiece (in my very humble opinion, of course.)

Edited by timeless, 27 July 2009 - 06:00 AM.

[deuce]

A nice blog about Fritz...


http://www.2blowhard...k_frazetta.html

[PainBrush]

WOW , this is pretty cool . To 'me' anyways .
Frazetta , mine & many other folks favorite artist of all time ,
Fritz is the MAN ! no no , by the MAN - I mean Fritz really IS the man -'Conan'.
See for yourselves.......





Okay , I did a simple 'resample' of Frazettas old self-portrait , done just a couple years before he did the iconic cover of Conan the Adventurer/the painting known simply as "The Barbarian" . I resampled it , tweaking the contrast/light/hue just a bit to match the barbarian photo , I didn't touch Frazettas face at all -just added a Conan "square-cut mane" . Then I just flipped the picture horizontally from the original self-portrait to match-up the shadows on the faces & VOILA ! You have the model Fritz used to paint Conan . I thought this worthy of it's own little topic so as not to sidetrack other topics .

( & hey Buxom Sorceress - I didn't forget your request from the avatar topic to see what Fritz looks like in a COnan helmet , I just haven't found a good pic. of a helmet that quite fits right yet , but I'm on it !) COOL STUFF ! Frazetta rules .

[deuce]

Cool stuff, PB. Not surprising, IMO. A lot of artists use their own visage in their works (it's always there, one mirror-look away). To me, Fritz's Conan always looked as much like him as it did Palance or Bronson (or anyone else). Check out his John Carter and Tarzan paintings/drawings. You see the same thing. Ellie once said that Frank looked like "a movie star". Good thing for sci-fi/fantasy aficionados. If Fritz looked like Alfred P. Neumann, the history of fantasy art might have played out a bit different.

[timeless]

That's purty damn cool, PB!

[Seamvs]

I don`t know... I thinks it`s a bit of a stretch. If you put Palance in there it would be closer.

[PainBrush]

Okay , here's another look for doubting Thomas's .
Added a scar , tweaked the highlight/shadows on the face this time with a couple swipes & made his mug 2% percent wider . NOW tell me what ya think !

And , here's an old trick I learned from Leonardo , look at it backwards as in the mirror & it becomes a totally new unfamiliar to your eye picture .

Edited by PainBrush, 21 November 2009 - 06:27 AM.

[deuce]

I don`t know... I thinks it`s a bit of a stretch. If you put Palance in there it would be closer.

Are you talking about that ONE painting, or ALL of Fritz's Conan paintings? I'll agree that Frank didn't just "swipe" his own face for his various renderings of Conan, but I can't agree that there is zero FF in his various visages of Conan, either.

[PainBrush]

I have to admit , That Barbarian picture above always looked a little more like Bronson to me . & I recall reading way back Frazetta did say he thought of Charles Bronson as Conan if he was 6 foot 5 . & the 'repaint' faces on the cover from Conan the Buccaneer & 1 or 2 others did look like Palance to me too . I never had a thought of , or felt it looked like the younger Frazetta until I started looking twice at the 2 pictures a couple weeks back in the avatars topic , & now tonight with the pictures I've been fiddling around with . I'd say Fritz had Bronsons mean mug in mind , but had his own mean mug in the mirror , just like you said above Deuce - most artists do use themselves not just for self-portraits , but getting the lighting/contrast etc. just right in any faces they attempt . Because you will NEVER find a cheaper OR more 'patient' subject to sit still for you , & so it's not always some wish-fulfillment of the artist to 'be' the COnan or whatever heroic figure or etc. that they're painting . Like my ugly Conan avatar to the left , I looked at my own face to get some shadows & highlights better than what I started out with & to make it closer to an actual face than just a drawn/painted face - but I am MUCH better looking than that ugmo mug hahah . ( I'm afraid to put my face next to my Conan face )

[Seamvs]

Okay , here's another look for doubting Thomas's .
Added a scar , tweaked the highlight/shadows on the face this time with a couple swipes & made his mug 2% percent wider . NOW tell me what ya think !

And , here's an old trick I learned from Leonardo , look at it backwards as in the mirror & it becomes a totally new unfamiliar to your eye picture .

Okay, I see it now. I definitely see Frazetta there. I guess when you see it one way (Palance) your mind keeps gravitating that way.

Edited by Seamvs, 21 November 2009 - 07:33 AM.

[deuce]

I have to admit , That Barbarian picture above always looked a little more like Bronson to me . & I recall reading way back Frazetta did say he thought of Charles Bronson as Conan if he was 6 foot 5 . & the 'repaint' faces on the cover from Conan the Buccaneer & 1 or 2 others did look like Palance to me too . I never had a thought of , or felt it looked like the younger Frazetta until I started looking twice at the 2 pictures a couple weeks back in the avatars topic , & now tonight with the pictures I've been fiddling around with .

Hey PB! Like I said, I think that it's a very legitimate way to view the FF paintings of Conan. If you look at the drawings/paintings that Frank did from the '40s-on, you see his "movie star" mug in 'em again and again. I think that this is really obvious in the "Canaveral Tarzans" and the "SFBC Barsoom" books.

I'd say Fritz had Bronsons mean mug in mind , but had his own mean mug in the mirror , just like you said above Deuce - most artists do use themselves not just for self-portraits , but getting the lighting/contrast etc. just right in any faces they attempt . Because you will NEVER find a cheaper OR more 'patient' subject to sit still for you , & so it's not always some wish-fulfillment of the artist to 'be' the COnan or whatever heroic figure or etc. that they're painting .

Frazetta also mentioned Palance. It's best to remember that artists (like authors or musicians) don't always admit to every influence. We know that REH read truckloads of Merritt and ERB, but you wouldn't know it reading his letters.


To me, the face in the "Adventurer/Barbarian" painting looks just as much like a slimmed-down "Paulie" from Rocky as it does Bronson. Frank knew a LOT of Italian tough guys growing up.

According to Frank, he never even read the Conan yarns by REH. Read it here:

http://www.thecimmerian.com/?p=7401

[brakkk60526]

Many of the male figures resemble Frank in his paintings.Not just the face but the body.This is not a new revelation.And then theres the age old controversy did Frank use photos or not.

[PainBrush]

Okay, I see it now. I definitely see Frazetta there. I guess when you see it one way (Palance) your mind keeps gravitating that way.

Yeah , I never said it was an 'exact' self-portrait . But being somewhat of an artist myself , and portraits ALWAYS being the damn hardest thing to draw or paint decently so you really notice facial details . I could see all the right landscapes & shapes in Fritz's face even though his Conans face was a bit wider . But your post did get me thinking , I probably will try a side-by-side comparison of Conans face with Bronson and Palance . But it's already been done with Palance in the Conan the Buccaneer re-paint by Frazetta .

Many of the male figures resemble Frank in his paintings.Not just the face but the body.This is not a new revelation.And then theres the age old controversy did Frank use photos or not.

Oh yeah , I know that stuff , even if I didn't long ago recognize his own face in the Conan painting . I'm a Frazetta fan from way back , even before I read REH/Conan as a kid - it was Frazettas paintings I snuck looks at in my fathers "Fantastic art of F.F." book that made me pick up that first Marvel giant sized treasury edition in like 1976 ? From there ALL things Conan & REH . There's no mistaking he had the talent to draw & paint just from his minds-eye , but besides recognizing him in various drawings/paintings - I know positively I have seen at least a few pictures ( everyone knows what a camera & photo fan he is ) - there were at least a few pics of young Frazetta posing in action frames that he at least looked at for reference . With lamps placed in weird angles to cast heavy chiaroscuro contrasts & weird perspectives from the floor up etc.. It's been a while since I poured through my Frazetta books to remember exactly where - & I almost want to say it might have been in the oooold 1970's issues of American Artist that featured Frazetta ?

Anybody else ever wonder if Frank has ever gotten on a computer & googled himself ? hahah If so , I'd almost guarantee he'd find no other place online with more , or more dedicated fans of his art .

Edited by PainBrush, 21 November 2009 - 09:47 PM.

[brakkk60526]

If and when Frank used photos,he did it the right way.He interpeted them.Rerendered added on.Jeff jones is another example on how to use photos.Boris is a bad example on how to use photos.I fear its to easy to cheat now due to the computer.

[deuce]

I noticed this post by Crossplain Pilgrim on another thread:

I was thinking Martin Scorsese would be the perfect director to make a biography of Frazetta. It's his kind of movie. A kid from the mean streets of New York. Tough neighborhood guys hang out and cuss a lot. One guy leaves the old gang in a search of personal fulfillment. A feisty, sexy wife provides inspiration. Comic books as a metaphor for American culture. The rags to riches, fish out of water story of Frazetta's rise. Satirical shots at the excesses of the artistic community. Obsessed genius conquers all. Triumph over physical adversity. Frazetta's life reads like a Scorsese script. Someone get Marty on the phone.

Personally, I think that's an inspired idea. Question is, who could play Frank? That's almost like askin', "Who could play Conan?" IMO.

Somebody get Marty on the phone. Pronto.

[PainBrush]

You mean that wasn't supposed to be Fritz that young DeNiro was playing in "Mean Streets" ?!?

Edited by PainBrush, 09 December 2009 - 08:42 PM.

[Strom]

Strange news form Pennsylvania:

Police: Artist's son swipes 20M in paintings

Glad Frank is okay. I hope his son gets some help.

[deuce]

Strange news form Pennsylvania:

Police: Artist's son swipes 20M in paintings

Glad Frank is okay. I hope his son gets some help.

That's just horrible news. Not even six months after Ellie passed away, and now this. If you watch Painting With Fire, you can kind of see that Frank Jr. had some "Dad issues". At least, that's what I always got from it. The other son seemed pretty easygoing. I wonder if Frank Jr. was the one who pushed to sell "The Conqueror"?

EDIT: I've since learned that Frank Jr was the only one of the kids who didn't want to sell off the painting. Apparently, the other three siblings hired two new art agents just as soon as Ellie Frazetta was in the ground, which agents they instructed to start selling off Frank Sr's paintings. Two Frazetta classics are now in the hands of private collectors with no chance for fans to see them.

[Lord of the Animals]

Strange news form Pennsylvania:

Police: Artist's son swipes 20M in paintings

Glad Frank is okay. I hope his son gets some help.