IT'S ALWAYS a joy when I discover a new paperback cover artist.
I was digging thru a box of donations at my friend Cliff's used bookstore when I came across two unfamiliar Max Brand westerns from Warner Books. Bull Hunter and Wild Freedom were published, respectively, in 1982 and 1983. Bull Hunter lacked a signature but Wild Freedom had one in the lower right corner and it was signed "Franks." When I got home I did some research and came up with who I think is the illustrator of these covers: Gene Franks.
Roy Gene Franks, known professionally as Gene Franks, was born in Charleston, Arkansas in 1927. He was a Merchant Marine for a couple of years before joining the Air Force, where he achieved rank of Technical Sergeant while serving two stints, three years of which were in England. Later, with his G.I. bill in hand, he enrolled at the Jefferson Mackhammer School of Art in Santa Monica, California. One of his classmates was Peanuts creator Charles Schultz. From there he went on to a varied and successful art career as a draftsman, illustrator, art teacher, art instructor, fine arts gallery painter, and, it would now seem, an occasional book cover art producer.
Between 1984 and 1991 Franks also produced nine instructional pencil and watercolor art books. They were published by Walter Foster Publishing Inc., of Irvine, California. I rarely read art instructional books, and am largely self-taught when it comes to drawing and sketching, but I remember very clearly these items being purchased by the library where I worked, and favorably thumbing through them.
Gene Franks returned to Arkansas from California in the 1990s to document, via painting, his Arkansas rural heritage roots. He produced over 200 paintings during that time, two of which are displayed below. In 2017, Franks, a devout Christian, began collaborating with his wife Jane on a religious series combining art and story, based on their mutual love of the Scriptures. Unfortunately it remains uncompleted after Franks passed away at home in January of 2021 at the age of 93.
BULL HUNTER: Bull Hunter was a big kid, but he felt small in the eyes of his kin. Only one thing would make Bull stand tall: bagging Peter Reeve, the notorious gunfighter who had bested Bull's uncle in a bloody fight. Bull sets out in a raging blizzard to track down his quarry, but Reeve is already in a jail cell, charged with murder. Bull swears that his bullet will nail Reeve before he feels the noose. But fate steps in the way to forge a strange alliance between enemies--and to show big Bull Hunter what it really takes to be a man!'
WILD FREEDOM: 'He was a legend in Turnbull Valley. They called him Indian, for no white man could match his strength and daring, or raid a town, then disappear without a trace. Posses stalked his swift, silent path, yet no man had ever seen his face. Then John Themis came to town--a man with money, patience, and a gang of the toughest gunslingers in the West. He vowed to track down this elusive outlaw who had left gifts of wildflowers and priceless furs for his beautiful daughter Gloria. But Tom Parks was no ordinary outlaw. He had survived the wilderness since childhood, his only friends a wild stallion and a mountain grizzly. Tom Parks was a man who feared nothing but the vicious ways of his own people--a man who would fight to the death to protect his freedom.'
Pencil Drawing (Walter Foster Publishing, 1984).
Drybrush Watercolor (Walter Foster Publishing, 1988).
Landscapes in Pencil (Walter Foster Publishing 1990).
Transportation in Pencil (Walter Foster Publishing, 1990).
The Art of Pencil Drawing (Walter Foster Publishing, 1991).
Animals in Pencil (Walter Foster Publishing, 1991).
Still Life in Pencil (Walter Foster Publishing, 1998 ).
Buildings in Pencil (Walter Foster Publishing, 1998)
People of the World in Pencil (Walter Foster Publishing, 1998).
Gene Franks drew with graphite the way I wish I could, at the very highest level. After obtaining a copy of his The Art of Pencil Drawing (it's still available at amazon), and studying it thoroughly, I find myself just as impressed with his ability to teach and inspire as I am with his ability to draw. I should've picked up one of his books a long time ago. Perhaps then I wouldn't be so far behind in my own pursuit of drawing excellence. But it's never too late to continue ones own education, and frankly speaking, Franks' books are the perfect place to begin doing just that.
