Nostalgia: I have a sweet spot for the work of master fantasy illustrator Frank Frazetta, ever since during high school as a budding art major I was turned on to his pen & ink work, which, along with his graphite pieces, are simply stunning examples of craftsmanship and technique (as evidenced by one particular piece posted below). Unfortunately 99% of the public never sees that stuff, instead only remembering classic album covers and cover art for pulp paperbacks (*update: check out the recent record-setting auction of one of his iconic paintings here) mostly big men with big muscles and big swords fighting big monsters while defending women with big, uh, hair. I always take the time to showcase samples of his lesser-known works, including meticulously rendered concept work and process pieces, to all of my drawing classes. Just look at the energy of each individual stroke as they coalesce into such a powerful, dynamic composition.
This scenario recalls the epic shot taken while on a semesterly field-trip up to the UAF Museum of the North with a Frazetta homage (documented a couple years ago on this post), I still have the prop pencil in a corner of my office as a sort of obscure reference to the giant penny in the Batcave. Also this keeps getting pushed back in the production pipeline as far as getting printed (always something "better" to swap out in the schedule), and will in all likelihood never the page of the newspaper, and so why not: here's an exclusive for the regular readers.
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