Monday, May 10, 2010

R.I.P. Frank Frazetta, Fantasy and Science Fiction Artist Dies



The infamous Frazetta was best known for his paintings in comic books, westerns, science fiction and fantasy styles. He also did a multitude of album cover art and animation. I remember being blown away by his images as a young girl, especially his women. While being the usual sexy posers, they were also very muscular, strong and Amazonian. It was nice to see women with some normal chunk to them in sensual display. His figures were always executed with complete expertise and had a very defined yet supple, fleshy feel. In 2008, the cover illustration to the Burroughs paperback "Escape on Venus" sold at auction for $251,000. Frazetta retained the original Conan paintings, and long refused to part with them. In 2009, Frazetta's "Conan the Conqueror" painting was the first to be offered for sale, and was purchased by a private collector for $1 million. He apparently had a few strokes over the years and this was his last. He greatly influenced today's generation of artists and will be long remembered.