Frazetta Friday – Ep. 1

December 6, 2013 by Tim Granda

Frank Frazetta was one of the greatest artists to have ever walked this earth. Even if you don’t know his name, chances are you’ve seen his work at some point in your life. His book covers were so popular that publishers would buy up the rights to any paintings he had lying around, and then hire novelists to write a story around them. Kids were known to even rip the covers off the books, stuff them down their shirts, and sneak them out of the store (or maybe that was just me).

There’s no denying the power of his work. It’s immediate. Breathtaking. Both beautiful and frightening. Frazetta has the ability to lift you up from your chair and drop you right in the middle of the action. He leaves you wanting to know more. Your mind is left spinning, trying to fill in all the details, wondering what the hell could have led to this?!

Frazetta’s work caught the public’s imagination like no other artist before or since, and his influence is incalculable. During the seventies, he was a fucking rock star!

Frazetta defined the aesthetic of the heavy metal and hard rock genres. His album covers for groups like Molly Hatchet brought them a level of success they never would have imagined; people bought up their stuff without hearing a note! It reached a point where Frazetta’s art began to define who you were. Every stoned dude wanted a Frazetta-style mural on the side of their van, bikers craved his imagery for their choppers, and every artist with an airbrush was more than happy to oblige.

Starting today, episode 1 of “Frazetta Friday” begins here on Doom Cycle. For each installment, I’ll be sharing some of the incredible work he has accomplished during his career, and giving you all a little insight behind the man. So, let’s get a few of his most famous pieces out of the way, sound good?

Brett Stenson

December 6, 2013 by Tim Granda

The rural landscape in which Milwaukee-based artist Brett Stenson was raised had a major influence on his work. The people he grew up with, and the relics of their past, have all made the journey from the recesses of his mind to the front of his page. Stenson illustrates what he knows. What he’s lived.

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of exploring an old farm, you might find the experience of looking through Stenson’s work to be quite similar: from unearthing a few hand-painted signs tucked away behind an old cultivator, to uncovering a dusty box of magazines stashed inside the leaning pump house. His work captures that same sense of adventure and discovery, and embodies an era when advertising relied upon the talent of under appreciated artists to grab the public’s imagination. But that’s not all: Stenson even manages to capture the weathered planks of the farm structures themselves!

This month, the epic Show Class Magazine has debuted it’s new larger format with a wrap-around cover by Stenson. Stop by and grab a copy, and add some of their new leather patches, buttons, stickers, and t-shirts to your cart as well. They also have, at the time of this writing, a limited run of 69 signed and numbered screen prints of Stenson’s killer cover. Better grab one now before they’re all gone!

Mitch Cotie: Master of the Fucking Universe

December 6, 2013 by Tim Granda

Mitch Cotie is easily one of my favorite artists working today. He’s worked with just about everybody, from providing designs for Heavy Clothing (the best gear money can buy), to working on one of the greatest biker flicks ever made: Hell Ride. Witnessing one of his tripped-out visions never ceases to stop me dead in my tracks. No matter where my head was at just moments ago, when I look at a piece by Cotie, his work shakes me from reality and carries me off into his insane universe. Just like all great art should.

Buy his prints HERE. Buy his stuff at Heavy HERE. Follow one of the best blogs out there: Kemosabe and The Lodge.