Sun, 06 Jun 2010
Frazetta
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Frank Frazetta made a big impression on me when I was young and
trying to find my way as an artist. For one thing, his paintings
were in oils, and had all the beauty, lushness and technique of a
renaissance master. Oils are real painting. His colour,
anatomy and superb use of light and shadow made Frazetta stand
out head and shoulders above other artists.
My introduction to his work came through the 1970's paperback editions of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian books. "Pulp" to be sure, but the Frazetta covers were anything but. There was no glossy superficiality here, or slick airbrush toned bodies. Unlike many of the artists that came after him, his art had a roughness to it that perfectly matched the subject matter. A lot of memories came flooding back when I saw he died a few weeks ago. "All fled, all done, so lift me on the pyre;
The feast is over and the lamps expire."
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