Frazetta Facts 5 5

[wombat]

I'll crack this bad boy open tomorrow. 

 

 

[WolverineX]

On 7/16/2020 at 11:46 PM, wombat said:

I'm heading to the museum on Saturday. Anyone want me to pick them up a painting?    

Yes, get me the original Conan the Barbarian one that he painted.   I'll paypal you.  

[wombat]

3 minutes ago, Wolverinex said:

Yes, get me the original Conan the Barbarian one that he painted.   I'll paypal you.  

That one is not at the museum. Can't remember if one of the other Frazetta children got that one or where it is. 

[WolverineX]

2 minutes ago, wombat said:

That one is not at the museum. Can't remember if one of the other Frazetta children got that one or where it is. 

Bummer... love the way he imagined Conan... such a genius.

[wombat]

3 minutes ago, Wolverinex said:

Bummer... love the way he imagined Conan... such a genius.

At one point in time I wasn't crazy about that painting. But over time I have come to appreciate it so much. 

[WolverineX]

1 minute ago, wombat said:

At one point in time I wasn't crazy about that painting. But over time I have come to appreciate it so much. 

I loved his grim appearance and how Frank gave him battle scars... fantastic.

[Stevemmg]

I’m anxiously awaiting the new book!  In the meantime, I happened into a couple of those great Sotheby’s hardcover auction catalogs. One from December 1991 and the other from June 1994. While there is much to marvel at in these, I thought I would post some of the Frazetta items here for anyone else who might enjoy them. 

 

[wombat]

If only I had a time machine.   

[oakman29]

[wombat]

 

[wombat]

"Upon the insistence of one of my teachers, my parents enrolled me in the Brooklyn Academy of Fine Arts when I was eight years old. The Academy was little more than a one floor/three room affair with a total of thirty students ranging in age from (you guessed it) eight to eighty. I still remember the Professor’s look of skepticism as I signed in. You could easily imagine him thinking, “Oh no! Not another ‘child prodigy’!!” Nevertheless, he sat me down with a pencil and paper and asked me to copy a very small picture postcard which featured a very realistic painting of a group of ducks. When he returned later on to see how far I had progressed, he took one look at my drawing and snatched it up exclaiming “Mama mia!”, and ran off waving the drawing in the air while calling everyone to come over and look at it. The Professor’s name was Michele Falanga; he was a truly Fine Artist and a winner of many awards in his native Italy. As time passed he became so impressed with my ability that he vowed to send me to some famous art schools in Italy when he thought I was ready at his own expense. Unfortunately, before that time came, Michele Falanga died and the idea of attending art schools in Italy died with him. The school remained open for about a year after that: so many of the students had become such close friends that we couldn’t bear to close up shop. We all chipped in and paid the rent and continued to hold classes with the more advanced students doing the teaching. One of these students was Albert Pucci, a very fine artist and a life-long friend."

Autobiographical notes from Frank Frazetta featured in Testament (Fenner)

[burntboy]

2 hours ago, wombat said:

"Upon the insistence of one of my teachers, my parents enrolled me in the Brooklyn Academy of Fine Arts when I was eight years old. The Academy was little more than a one floor/three room affair with a total of thirty students ranging in age from (you guessed it) eight to eighty. I still remember the Professor’s look of skepticism as I signed in. You could easily imagine him thinking, “Oh no! Not another ‘child prodigy’!!” Nevertheless, he sat me down with a pencil and paper and asked me to copy a very small picture postcard which featured a very realistic painting of a group of ducks. When he returned later on to see how far I had progressed, he took one look at my drawing and snatched it up exclaiming “Mama mia!”, and ran off waving the drawing in the air while calling everyone to come over and look at it. The Professor’s name was Michele Falanga; he was a truly Fine Artist and a winner of many awards in his native Italy. As time passed he became so impressed with my ability that he vowed to send me to some famous art schools in Italy when he thought I was ready at his own expense. Unfortunately, before that time came, Michele Falanga died and the idea of attending art schools in Italy died with him. The school remained open for about a year after that: so many of the students had become such close friends that we couldn’t bear to close up shop. We all chipped in and paid the rent and continued to hold classes with the more advanced students doing the teaching. One of these students was Albert Pucci, a very fine artist and a life-long friend."

Autobiographical notes from Frank Frazetta featured in Testament (Fenner)

I read this excerpt from Testament and knew I’d read it before.  About 11 years earlier (1990) Heavy Metal did an interview with Frank at the Museum.  While by no means identical, the story is the same.  Yet it seems He actually gave the interview here back in 1972 for a Burrroughs fanzine.

I’m including a photo of My magazine rack from my office/comic room with some of My Frazetta covers.  The aforementioned Heavy Metal is in the lower right corner.  I believe I have every one of his Warren covers and much of his other magazine covers.   Always looking for new stuff...

Let’s see if this works.

[wombat]

Love it.   

[WilliamFrazetta]

@oakman29 and @wombat:
Sorry I "talk too much" and "blabber" on, but some people actually like to know some of the more personal aspects to my grandparents' lives, the artwork, and the museum. I'll be sure to be more "polished" in the future  (kidding, of course).

I do the work that I do at the museum, the website, forums, Facebook, YouTube, etc on my free time; I'm a registered nurse, and the museum is run more or less as a hobby. What I do won't always be liked by everyone and that's okay, but there's no need to be unkind about it by saying I blabber on or lack polish, and I'm sure if either of you got a tour by me there's no way you'd have said any of that to my face. I make posts, run tours, archive, answer questions, and now make videos just for the fans-- again, I don't get paid to do it and my free-time is pretty limited. If you'd prefer to watch less "blabbering" feel free to make your own YouTube videos and harp on the same historical aspects of my grandfather's career that I've read and listened to 10,000 times in every Frazetta book or related video content. Otherwise I'll continue being "unpolished" in order to speak from memory rather than a --script because I was fortunate enough to know Frazetta on a personal level, and that's the kind of stuff that the fans who visit the museum want to hear; I've spent 16 years curating and I've learned over that time that people know the history side of things already, so the valuable bits I can give are in the "blabbering" I do. If that's not your thing then hey, you do you, but plenty of people are into it. There are plenty of books you can read and look up if you'd like to know the historical side of things, but the videos I make will remain more conversational and loose because the way people normally present my grandfather's work and career is the same. exact. way. as the last guy. It's not new knowledge nor is it some secretive stuff kept locked up in a vault, so the average person can find it all pretty easily. If that's the stuff you want to hear from a family member who can give you much more dimension than anyone else, I feel you're doing yourself a disservice. Also, it was one of my first times making any sort of video (honestly not a huge fan of being in front of a camera), so cut me a little slack, huh?

Edited August 3, 2020 by WilliamFrazetta

[oakman29]

12 hours ago, WilliamFrazetta said:

@oakman29 and @wombat:
Sorry I "talk too much" and "blabber" on, but some people actually like to know some of the more personal aspects to my grandparents' lives, the artwork, and the museum. I'll be sure to be more "polished" in the future  (kidding, of course).

I do the work that I do at the museum, the website, forums, Facebook, YouTube, etc on my free time; I'm a registered nurse, and the museum is run more or less as a hobby. What I do won't always be liked by everyone and that's okay, but there's no need to be unkind about it by saying I blabber on or lack polish, and I'm sure if either of you got a tour by me there's no way you'd have said any of that to my face. I make posts, run tours, archive, answer questions, and now make videos just for the fans-- again, I don't get paid to do it and my free-time is pretty limited. If you'd prefer to watch less "blabbering" feel free to make your own YouTube videos and harp on the same historical aspects of my grandfather's career that I've read and listened to 10,000 times in every Frazetta book or related video content. Otherwise I'll continue being "unpolished" in order to speak from memory rather than a ----script because I was fortunate enough to know Frazetta on a personal level, and that's the kind of stuff that the fans who visit the museum want to hear; I've spent 16 years curating and I've learned over that time that people know the history side of things already, so the valuable bits I can give are in the "blabbering" I do. If that's not your thing then hey, you do you, but plenty of people are into it. There are plenty of books you can read and look up if you'd like to know the historical side of things, but the videos I make will remain more conversational and loose because the way people normally present my grandfather's work and career is the same. exact. way. as the last guy. It's not new knowledge nor is it some secretive stuff kept locked up in a vault, so the average person can find it all pretty easily. If that's the stuff you want to hear from a family member who can give you much more dimension than anyone else, I feel you're doing yourself a disservice. Also, it was one of my first times making any sort of video (honestly not a huge fan of being in front of a camera), so cut me a little slack, huh?

Wow! All I said was your video was a bit long. I have nothing against your interpretation of your grandfather's life,  go ahead and do what you do. I have great respect for your family. I was just pointing out that the video was long.

Shine on you crazy diamond.

Edited August 3, 2020 by oakman29
Oh and yes I would say it to your face, because I'm as honest as the day is long and speak my mind.

[The Lions Den]

On 7/7/2020 at 8:20 PM, oakman29 said:

Happy 4,000 🥳

Thanks Oakman...

[wombat]

@WilliamFrazetta

It was never meant as a personal insult. Just like someone might critique a movie, a video, etc. that's all this was. Apologies if you were offended by it. I hope you can tell by reading this thread how much we love your grandfather's work and how we try and promote him and the museum. 

 

[The Lions Den]

12 hours ago, WilliamFrazetta said:

@oakman29 and @wombat:
Sorry I "talk too much" and "blabber" on, but some people actually like to know some of the more personal aspects to my grandparents' lives, the artwork, and the museum. I'll be sure to be more "polished" in the future  (kidding, of course).

I do the work that I do at the museum, the website, forums, Facebook, YouTube, etc on my free time; I'm a registered nurse, and the museum is run more or less as a hobby. What I do won't always be liked by everyone and that's okay, but there's no need to be unkind about it by saying I blabber on or lack polish, and I'm sure if either of you got a tour by me there's no way you'd have said any of that to my face. I make posts, run tours, archive, answer questions, and now make videos just for the fans-- again, I don't get paid to do it and my free-time is pretty limited. If you'd prefer to watch less "blabbering" feel free to make your own YouTube videos and harp on the same historical aspects of my grandfather's career that I've read and listened to 10,000 times in every Frazetta book or related video content. Otherwise I'll continue being "unpolished" in order to speak from memory rather than a ---script because I was fortunate enough to know Frazetta on a personal level, and that's the kind of stuff that the fans who visit the museum want to hear; I've spent 16 years curating and I've learned over that time that people know the history side of things already, so the valuable bits I can give are in the "blabbering" I do. If that's not your thing then hey, you do you, but plenty of people are into it. There are plenty of books you can read and look up if you'd like to know the historical side of things, but the videos I make will remain more conversational and loose because the way people normally present my grandfather's work and career is the same. exact. way. as the last guy. It's not new knowledge nor is it some secretive stuff kept locked up in a vault, so the average person can find it all pretty easily. If that's the stuff you want to hear from a family member who can give you much more dimension than anyone else, I feel you're doing yourself a disservice. Also, it was one of my first times making any sort of video (honestly not a huge fan of being in front of a camera), so cut me a little slack, huh?

It's great to see that someone from the next generation is willing to devote their time and energy toward keeping your grandparent's legacy alive; I'm sure everyone appreciates it...   

 

[GeneticNinja]

On 8/1/2020 at 3:32 PM, burntboy said:

I read this excerpt from Testament and knew I’d read it before.  About 11 years earlier (1990) Heavy Metal did an interview with Frank at the Museum.  While by no means identical, the story is the same.  Yet it seems He actually gave the interview here back in 1972 for a Burrroughs fanzine.

I’m including a photo of My magazine rack from my office/comic room with some of My Frazetta covers.  The aforementioned Heavy Metal is in the lower right corner.  I believe I have every one of his Warren covers and much of his other magazine covers.   Always looking for new stuff...

Let’s see if this works.

Is this a custom magazine display?

[WilliamFrazetta]

No problem, guys. Only reason I said anything was because I can tell you'd consider my words rather than toss them off. Keep up the posts!