The iconic fantasy illustrator Frank Frazetta has passed away. He was 82 years old. Frazetta is best known for his incredible artwork of fierce warriors & bosomy damsels. His 1966 cover of ‘Conan the Adventurer’ created a new look for fantasy novels and established Frank Frazetta as an artist who could sell books. Frazetta’s artwork gained popularity during the rise of early 1970′s metal. Nazareth’s ‘Expect No Mercy’ & Molly Hatchet’s ‘Flirtin’ With Disaster’ both have cover art by Frazetta.

From The Beat: We are sad to confirm via Frazetta’s agent Robert Pistella that the artist passed away this afternoon in a hospital near his home. The cause of death was a stroke. Funeral arrangements will be announced shortly…Frazetta’s legacy will surely be as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, a fantastic image maker whose imagination will live on for generations to come.

Most people think of holiday shopping as something done in December. But does anyone really like dealing with the crowds of holiday zombies just to spend money on someone else?!

So why not do some surprise gift giving at Halloween this year? Here are a few great places to find unique and interesting gifts for the Halloween holiday; or to get something for yourself.

Art

• Chad Savage: A contemporary horror artist who specializes in haunted, Halloween and dark artistic themes. I am a big fan of this man’s artwork and if you take a moment to view some of his art, I’m sure you will be too. Chad is also a very accomplished hired gun! You can check out his portfolio at http://SinisterVisions.com. Sinister Visions Inc. is a design studio that specializes in spooky subject matter and dark design.
  
• Amanda Norman Photography: Perfect for Halloween! Create personalized Halloween invitation cards using horror and gothic photography by Amanda Norman. Also available for you to personalize are business cards and greeting cards. These cards are perfect for people who have friends who love Goth style and horror. Finally, don’t forget to check out Amanda’s Goth and horror posters.
  

Fashion & Decor

• Obscuria: A Darkly Unique Gothic Shop, Obscuria has a vast collection of amazing fashion & decor merchandise to choose from. Obscuria has Alchemy Gothic pendants & rings, machined Cyber goggles, Cybergoth gas masks, Gothic glassware, Gothic home decor, ritualistic devices and tons of other great finds. You can also sign up for free and create a wishlist to let others know what you want.
  
• My Zombie Pinup: If the lumbering undead and/or incredibly hot women are your thing, then you need to check out My Zombie Pinup. They have a great 2010 calendar and swag that is ideal for the pinup & zombie enthusiast. The 12 month calendar is stuffed with more dead sexy girls than you can fit in a shallow grave.
  

Independent Films

• FEWDIO: Creators of some amazing short, horror/thriller films. And they just recently released Nightmare House Volume 1 on DVD. Nightmare House – Volume 1 is a collection of 13 of shorts. It also contains some extras and perhaps a hidden item that will lead you someplace extra dark and nasty.
  
• Shadowland: An old church in a modern North American City is undergoing a renovation. As night falls, a woman crawls from the pit that was dug for new sewer pipes. She is beaten, weak, covered in mud and her throat has been cut. She is unable to speak, remember who she is, or even how she got there. This is Laura. Shadowland is an Award-Winning feature film shot entirely in the St. Louis area.
  

Music

• Projekt Records: America’s premier independent label specializing in passionately intense introspective music across a variety of darkwave genres. Projekt is home to a diverse roster including Steve Roach, Voltaire, Unto Ashes, Android Lust, and label founder Sam Rosenthal’s own Black Tape For A Blue Girl. Since 1983, Projekt has focused on discovering new talent, always adding to the label’s collection of beautifully spellbinding masterpieces.
  

There are lots of places to shop, so I’ll be back soon with more places for Halloween shopping.
Where do you like to shop for dark, unique art, music & merch?

Bloody Disgusting is giving readers a chance to choose the cover art for Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead.
Wrong Turn 3: Left For Dead will be hitting stores this October 20th, and you get to pick the cover art! Vote between July 24, 2009 and July 31, 2009 and check out the result in September.
The image here is only a thumb of one choice, to see the other and vote, check out the Bloody Disgusting website.

July 20th on Facebook, the official Tim Burton page announced the launch of The Official Tim Burton Gallery at TimBurton.com. When you first visit the site, you are greeted by Stain Boy, who is your too cute guide throughout the gallery. The site has a some nice music and allows you to walk around in both a public and private gallery. This site is very nicely done, and I dig the use of Stain Boy. If you are a fan of Tim Burton, or just dark, surreal art in general, check out The Official Tim Burton Gallery.

Burton is also releasing (finally!) an art book. “The Art of Tim Burton” will be in hardcover and Limited Edition and have over 400 pages & 1000 illustrations. So, I’m eagerly waiting to get my hands on it; I really should say them as I’ll probably get a few

Don’t forget, Tim Burton Art Exhibit at MoMA (the Museum of Modern Art) is happening from November 22, 2009 to April 26, 2010.

New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) just told FEARnet of plans for a Tim Burton exhibition & film retrospective later this year. The exhibition will “bring together over 700 examples of rarely or never-before-seen drawings, paintings, storyboards, moving-image works, puppets, maquettes, costumes, and cinematic ephemera, and includes an extensive film series spanning Burton’s 27-year career.”

From FEARnet:

The exhibit will span Burton’s career, and showcase his work “both as a director and concept artist for live-action and animated films, and as an artist, illustrator, photographer, and writer.”

I have already started to make changes to my calendar in order to attend the opening of the event. If I cannot make the opening, I will shoot for Thanksgiving day weekend.

Exhibit Dates: November 22, 2009 to April 26, 2010
The Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53 Street New York, NY 10019 (212) 708-9400

Admission: Museum tickets are $20 for adults, $16 for seniors (65+ ), $12 for full-time students (must have current I.D) and free for children 16 and under.
Admission Note: Free for MoMA members and free every Friday from 4:00-8:00 p.m. during Target Free Friday Nights. Admission to all film screenings is included with Museum admission.
Film Only Admission: $10 for adults, $8 seniors, and $6 full-time students. The price of a film ticket may be applied toward the price of a Museum admission ticket when a film ticket stub is presented at the Lobby Information Desk within 30 days of the date on the stub (does not apply during Target Free Friday Nights 4:00–8:00 p.m.).

In 2007, Sean Orlando and a talented community of 60+ Bay Area artists created a large scale art piece called the Steampunk Tree House. Now that team is working their asses off to reach outer space! Ok, not actually going into outer space, but a new piece for the retro future of space travel.

The Raygun Gothic Rocket is an immersive rocket base environment consisting of a tall metal rocket connected via walkway to a taller gantry with a well-defined lighted perimeter. Participants can interactively explore the rocket’s three interior chambers accessible through the bottom of the rocket and the top of the rocket via the gantry. Aesthetically the project will be done in a rococo retro-futurist vernacular between yesterday’s tomorrow and the future that never was, a critical kitsch somewhere between The Moons of Mongo & Manga Nouveau.
It will debut at the end of August 2009 in Black Rock City, NV and is being built in West Oakland, CA. by a dedicated community of 70+ Bay Area industrial artists and technologists. The Rocket stands 40′ tall, is 8′ in diameter, and is estimated to weigh 7.5 tons. It is being crafted in part from recycled, reclaimed, and reused materials.

Links:

• Coilhouse is where I first heard of the project
• LaughingSquid also has a write up on RGR (and is a great site for interesting reads)
• Official Website
• On Twitter

To follow up on the article I recently posted, 4 Brain Eating Zombie Projects, here are 7 pieces of zombie art. If you like the zombie art that you see here, please take a moment and visit the website of the artist for more of their work. Flesh eaters rejoice!

Artists/Source Links:

• Escape: A Zombie Chronicles Novel is cover art by Chad Michael Ward for a novel by James Melzer.
• Zombie by resmlin
• Corporate Zombie via sketchwich.com
• Zombie Last Supper is from an artist unknown, found at neatorama
• Evil Dead Tattoo by Cory Cudney of Divine Machine Tattoos
• WW1 Zombie by Chris Bolton
• Human Drumstick comes from the talented and damn cool Byron Rempel. You can also find him on Twitter.com/byronrempel.

*If zombies are your thing, then check out the Featured Zombie Projects.