This Thursday, Milkhouse (201 N Bumby Ave Orlando, FL 32803) in Orlando’s Milk District will be hosting a pop up art show presented by Frazetta Girls and Jade City Foods to showcase Frank Frazetta’s art work on his celestial birthday (February 9th).

The event is sold out, but we had the honor to chat via e-mail with Sara Frazetta, Frank Frazetta’s granddaughter, about the event.

It’s a rare opportunity to view Frank Frazetta’s art in a more casual setting – a fun evening of Frazetta art discussion and exclusive merchandise. For those attending, there will be multiple original Frank Frazetta works on display for the first time publicly. Jade City will be launching the new Frazetta Hot Sauces and Coffees at the art show.

The iconic Frank Frazetta – known as “Godfather of fantasy art” – was an American fantasy and science fiction artist, noted for comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers, and other media and is one of the most renowned illustrators of the 20th century. George Lucas, creator of Star Wars, Yusuke Nakana, lead artist of Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda, Guillermo Del Toro and many others have cited Frazetta as an influence.

Frank Frazetta’s daughter Holly Frazetta and granddaughter Sara Frazetta have began the “Frazetta Girls” brand – the official Frank Frazetta brand that honors the legacy of Frank Frazetta.

Tasty Chomps Q and A with Sara Frazetta of Frazetta Girls 

Ricky Ly of Tasty Chomps: Tell us about the upcoming event in Orlando – what can guests expect? What will be on the menu and for sale at the event?

Sara Frazetta: Cliff Weiner and his team at Jade City Foods are coordinating the entire event at Milkhouse in Orlando, Florida on my grandfather, Frank Frazetta’s celestial birthday (February 9th). Frazetta would have been 95 years old this year. We are so grateful to celebrate him in this fashion. There will be a number of original Frazetta artworks on display such as “Winter of the Coup” and other various works from a private collection. We will have our Jade City Food X Frazetta Girls collaboration as well as exclusive Frazetta merchandise on sale. There will be a full bar available for our guests.

For those unfamiliar with the artwork of Frank Frazetta, what would you tell them to describe his work and impact?

Rob Salkowitz from Forbes answered this question perfectly in his recent article published this past week, “Art Titan Frank Frazetta’s Legacy Keeps Growing With New Projects and A Massive Retrospective.”

“Unlike most of his artistic contemporaries in the latter 20th century, Frank Frazetta didn’t try to impress the cultural establishment with his profound insights or stylistic radicalism. His subjects were beautiful women, heroic men and fearsome monsters, usually captured in dramatic scenes of action and adventure. His style was classical Italian Renaissance, sometimes compared to Michelangelo or Rafael, with an edge of Brooklyn attitude. The power of his imagination and his incomparable draftsmanship are credited with supercharging entire genres of literature and music, as the presence of one of his cover illustrations just about guaranteed commercial success for everything from fantasy paperbacks to heavy metal rock albums.”

What are you most excited for coming out this year (that you can talk about)?

So much of what we’ve been doing will be revealed this year. We have a bunch of collaborations with brands and people we really respect. The Taschen book, “The Fantastic Worlds of Frank Frazetta” edited by Dian Hanson was published and is finally shipping here in the US. That book took many years to put together so that’s something I’m so grateful for and excited for.

What are your opinions of Orlando? Did your grandfather have any ties here growing up?

Sometime in the mid or late 90s, my grandpa was invited to the Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida studio. I remember walking alongside him through the studio and watching all of the animators rise to their feet to clap and shake his hand.

I remember feeling so proud of him. I believe they were working on the film Mulan. I remember one of the animators comparing the horse he was animating to a Frazetta horse. So there’s that tie. Aside from that moment in time with my grandpa, Orlando was like a second home to me as a kid.

Anytime we could afford a vacation, we went to Orlando. I loved the theme parks. I remember being in the back seat of my parents car anxiously awaiting the sighting of the Mickey Mouse ears from the highway. The highway was an experience.

What are your top 3 favorite pieces of artwork by Frank Frazetta?

• Golden Girl

• Dream Flight

• Reassembled Man

…but this top three is bound to change day to day.

I love the new Mezco Conan and Death Dealer – what is coming down the line in regards to action figures inspired by the art of Frank Frazetta?

We have more coming from Incendium this year. Sorceress, Sea Witch and the Sorcerer, for starters. There very well be more Mezco X Frazetta Girls. We will have official announcements soon!

How is the new comic book series for Death Dealer doing ? Future plans?

The first issue sold over 50,000 copies. Frazetta’s fans are solid and Opus Comics did a fantastic job bringing Frazetta back to comics.

My grandfather never had a story for Death Dealer. He simply created a symbol of Death on horseback. That leaves us with a lot of creative room. The first arc is wrapping up around issue #15. We will then have another take on Death Dealer with a new creative team. Our goal is to grow a Frazetta universe, the FrazettaVerse.

We have new titles such “Dawn Attack,” inspired by Frazetta’s sci-fi painting of the same title. It’s a sci-fi about Princess Dawn who is traveling through space in hopes to find her father and save her civilization written by Jody Houser. The artwork by Diego Yapur is stunning.

We are also releasing Frazetta’s Tales of Science-Fantasy #1, a quarterly anthology series with each issue inspired by one of Frazetta’s paintings. Issue #1 is based on the 1972 painting Alien Crucifixion, originally done for National Lampoon.

The issue — chronicling the final days of a planetary dictator — will be penned by New York Times bestselling author Denton J. Tipton and illustrated by Spanish artist Miguel Ángel Ruiz.

Do you think there would ever be a collab with Disney?

Oh wouldn’t that be cool. Never say never.

Advice for young and upcoming artists?

Pursue what moves YOU.

For more information, visit frazettagirls.com.

Photos courtesy of Frazetta Girls