So last week was Spring Break.  I had to go in to work a couple of days to get some stuff ready for labs, plus there were a number of things that simply didn’t get done, such as writing some reviews (although I did finish the first draft of the WIP), the backyard is still covered with pecans, etc.

I did manage to sneak off to Austin for an overnight trip.  I went down to see an exhibit about violence on the border in the early 20th century, which will be the next post at Dispatches From the Lone Star Front.  That will be followed by posts on La Salle and rural cemeteries.  These will be lengthy posts in some cases, so it may be a week or three before they start showing up.

I got to Austin on Sunday with plans to see the museum on Monday, when a notice about a Frank Frazetta exhibit came across my Twitter feed.  An exhibit that was only a short walk (9 blocks or so) away from the Bullock State History Museum, where the exhibit I had come to see was on display.  It was at the Robert Rodriguez museum, a block off the state capital.

The impression I got from the announcement, reproduced at the end of the post, was that the exhibit was only for a week.  I think the dates were a draw for the SXSW crowd.  I didn’t care.  There were original Frank Frazetta paintings that I could go see near where I was going to be in the morning.

So you know I had to go.

Paintings in the 2015 Exhibit. Photo by David Cromie (I think).

In addition to some concept art from Fire and Ice and some sketches, there were a dozen original paintings.  Admission was $10, which I gladly paid.  There were also some very large and  extremely nice posters, not all of them of pieces in the exhibit.  They were $100, and no, I didn’t even think of buying one.  Not at those prices.

I’m not sure where I would hang anything that size anyway.

The exhibit (or the Frazetta portion of it at least) ran along the left-hand wall.  Here’s a list of the paintings, in the order they were displayed:

At the Earth’s Core
Tamar of Pellucidar
Moon Maid
Dusk Till Dawn
Fire and Ice
Self Portrait
Death Dealer 2
The Norseman
Dark Kingdom
Man-Ape
Neanderthal
Egyptian Queen

Three of the paintings from this year’s exhibit.

I wasn’t allowed to take pictures (no surprise there), but most of the paintings were ones I’d seen before.

It was an incredible experience to be able to stand only a few feet away and see originals of paintings I’d admired in reproduction for years.  Of course, the detail was much better than in any reproduction.  At the right angle, the brush strokes really stood out when the light hit them.

One of the things I really found interesting were the figures in some of the backgrounds.  You know what I’m talking about if you’ve ever looked at some of these pictures closely.  There are things on the edges of the shadows that aren’t quite human.  Some of them seem to show up in multiple paintings, and not all paintings that feature the same character.

The exhibit was promoted as part of SXSW.  I’m not sure if the paintings are there all year or not.  Since going, I’ve found this interview with Robert Rodriguez from last year.

Since this seems to be a permanent (or at least semi-permanent) exhibit, I’ll try to see it again the next time I’m in Austin.