The first series of Doom Cycle posters are off to the printers! There will be three designs available, and each high resolution print will measure 18” x 24”. The price will be $10 + shipping per poster, and I’ll be tossing in a free sticker while they last. The DC store will be updated when they’re available.
Welcome to the second edition of Frazetta Friday, an episodic series here onDoom Cycle where you’ll find yourselfcleaving the heads off your enemies, bending the will of huge beasts with dark incantations, climbing mountains of rotting flesh and splintered bone, and leaving behind heavy footprints filled with the blood of those who opposed you. Death! How sweet the scent! May your goals be fulfilled, your voluptuous queen left satisfied, and… Ahem.
Let’s start this episode off with Frazetta’s 1967 oil painting “The Sea Witch”, which some of you younger types will recognize as the cover for Wolfmother’s debut album. The band, who finally have a new album out next month, have also used his paintings on their singles and other assorted merchandise. Check ‘em out.
During the last installment I mentioned how influential Frazetta’s work was/is, but did you know that the skimpy iron-bikini Princess Leia wore in Return of the Jedi was inspired by Frank? Yes, it sure was (according to costume designer Aggie Guerard Rodgers). Makes sense now that you think about. Pretty cool!
See ya next time. I’m off to battle… a cold.
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?
My latest piece is this one right here.
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.
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Doom Cycle is the place to keep up with all the rad artists in and around the chopper scene. It's run by this dude in MI named Tim Granda. [Read More...]