Starry, Starry Night...

Here is something very beautiful, both visually and musically. Don McLean's recording of "Starry, Starry Night" expresses the emotions that many people feel for the great impressionist artist, Vincent van Gogh, who experienced very little artistic acceptance or financial success as an artist during his lifetime. Sadly, after only ten years of passionate and wonderful painting, he took his own life. Ironically he has since become one of the most sought after and highest priced artists of all time. The visual presentation of van Gogh's paintings blend beautifully with the sad but beautiful music of Don McLean. Enjoy...

Passing Giants

A true giant of illustration passed away last week. Frank Frazetta, the undisputed king of Science Fiction and Fantasy art, died from complications of a stroke in Fort Myers, Florida, on Monday, May 10, 2010. Frank was 82 years old.

I can't describe how much I looked forward to every piece of illustration that carried the distinctive signature of Frank Frazetta when I first became interested in illustration as a very young teen. I never lost interest in or my love for the work of this tremendous painter. Warren Publications introduced 'Creepy' and 'Eerie', two brand-new high-end comic magazines in the mid-sixties. Through the amazing art on their covers, I was introduced to the work of Frank Frazetta. In earlier years, I had enjoyed the comic strip, Lil' Abner, which also featured the art of Frank Frazetta, but I was unaware of that at the time. Later, Frazetta produced paintings for the covers of the 'Conan' series of pocket books, written by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprauge de Camp. The painting used on the cover of 'Conan the Adventure' recently sold for one million dollars! How many fine art painters can claim as much?

So long to another unique artist-idol from my youth. Rest in peace, Frank.

For more insight into the work of Frank Frazetta, please visit http://drawn.ca/ or follow the direct link to http://drawn.ca/2010/05/13/frank-frazetta-1928-2010/

Mya a.k.a Woofie

I sometimes do portraits of pets for their owners. Most of the time, the subject is a horse or pony, a dog or occasionally a cat. This pup was a very exuberant model, much more interested in play than she was in posing. It was no easy task to get a photo of her to paint from, let alone expecting her to sit still while I painted from life.

She is a sheep dog, a border collie cross and her name is Mya. I preferred to call her "Woofie", since her boisterous nature just didn't seem to fit with a name as formal as Mya. I tried to capture her love of life and playfulness in this small, simple portrait.

The painting measures 6.75 inches wide by 9.75 inches high. It is painted in acrylic paint on art board. Prints are available.

Best Friends

I can hardly believe I missed posting anything throughout the entire month of April. A trip to Florida with my granddaughters definitely changed the routine, and I had lots of catching up to do when we got back. As always, the month flew by and now it is May.

In honour of Mother's Day, I thought the painting "Best Friends" might be an appropriate pick.

This painting is not truly original, it is a copy of an old print by Virgilio Tojetti, who was born in Rome, Italy, in 1849. He was a resident of San Francisco up until 1883, then moved to New York City, where he died in 1901.

One day, a client brought a print that was more than 100 years old into my studio. It was in extremely poor condition, due to water stains, tears and acid deterioration of the paper. He asked me to restore it, which I did. When he picked up the reconditioned print, he was so pleased that he asked me to paint a new one. I did so, signing my work after the original artist, "Tojetti".

I painted my version on canvas, using alkyd paint. The painting is much smaller than the original, and measures 18 inches by 24 inches. The dog in the picture is a Great Pyrenees Mountain Dog. These are beautiful, faithful dogs who are great companions and protectors of children.