{"id":1472,"date":"2025-02-13T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/?p=1472"},"modified":"2025-04-03T23:07:01","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T23:07:01","slug":"drawn-to-love-craig-frazier-captures-a-lifetime-in-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/13\/drawn-to-love-craig-frazier-captures-a-lifetime-in-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Drawn to Love: Craig Frazier Captures a Lifetime in Art"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love has a way of revealing itself in the quietest moments\u2014sometimes in the way someone leans into a conversation, tilts their head in curiosity, or pauses to take in something that moves them deeply. For illustrator Craig Frazier<\/a>, these fleeting gestures became an artistic record of a love story decades in the making.<\/p>\n

Frazier, a renowned designer and illustrator, has spent years sketching his wife, Suz, as she engages in a silent dialogue with art. What began as casual iPhone snapshots of her absorbed in exhibitions evolved into a series of intimate sketches, documenting their shared passion for art and the way it shapes their relationship.<\/p>\n

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Their story dates back to 1978 when the two met as young designers in Palo Alto. Since then, their life together has been intertwined with creative discovery; mapping their travels around museums, discussing works over dinner, and immersing themselves in the worlds of artists like Agnes Martin, Mark Bradford, and Henri Matisse. But it was during a trip to London in 2015 that Frazier first realized the profound nature of Suz\u2019s connection to the art she observed. As she stood mesmerized by an Agnes Martin painting at the Tate Modern, leaning ever so slightly toward a single graphite line, Frazier captured the moment in a sketchbook that would soon become a chronicle of love through art.<\/p>\n

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From the vast halls of the SFMOMA to small gallery corners in San Francisco, Suz\u2019s presence in these spaces became a muse for Frazier\u2019s drawings. In them, she is silhouetted beneath a Matisse, entranced by the texture of a Damien Hirst, or quietly taking in a David Hytone piece they would later bring home. Her body language\u2014the tilt of her head, the subtle lean, the breathless pause\u2014became the storytelling element of his sketches.<\/p>\n

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As any artist will attest, we draw what we love.<\/p>\n

Craig Frazier<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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These vignettes, more than just studies in composition and perspective, embody something deeper: the act of truly seeing another person, of cherishing their passions, of preserving shared moments that might otherwise slip away. \u201cSome of the less intentional efforts in our lives are often the most precious,\u201d Frazier reflects. \u201cAs any artist will attest, we draw what we love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having fallen in love with this sketchbook story (pun absolutely intended), I reached out to Frazier to indulge me in some questions about the project.<\/p>\n

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This project started in 2000\u201468 sketches later, it\u2019s become a kind of visual love story. Did you ever imagine it would turn into such a long-running ritual? What keeps you coming back to sketch Suzanne in these moments, rather than just enjoying the art together?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

I never intended for this to become a ritual\u2014I just kept seeing these moments when we went out. It never distracts from enjoying the art, in fact, it adds an element of challenge to the outing. I don\u2019t draw on the spot, I just take a photo. Suz never knows when I\u2019m shooting and we never pose.<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s something really poetic about capturing someone you love in the act of looking\u2014especially in places meant for contemplation. Do you think Suz sees these sketches as portraits of herself, or more as reflections of your shared experience?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Good question, maybe both. I imagine that it\u2019s a reminder of art that we both enjoyed. As a collection, it\u2019s fun to look at the museums and galleries we have visited over the years\u2014a bit of a travel journal.<\/p>\n

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Your sketches capture not just Suz, but also the quiet act of being present. Museums are filled with visitors snapping quick photos rather than lingering with a piece. What do you hope your work communicates about the value of slowing down and truly seeing?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just that. Crowds permitting, we each get a chance to be intimate with a piece of art. It\u2019s a privilege to take in art one-on-one\u2014an experience to be respected and appreciated for all its nuances. As an artist herself, Suz may take things in differently and I notice the cues she gives when something is great. Drawing her body language is half the fun of the sketches.<\/p>\n

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What are the toughest pieces of art to sketch?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

I definitely choose carefully. Some pieces I want to sketch because they are so iconic, like Ellsworth Kelly or Diebenkorn. Others are great because of the scale and relationship to Suz\u2014like the Nic Fiddian-Green horse head in London. I had to sketch the Kehinde Wiley Barack Obama painting which may have been the toughest undertaking. A 7-foot oil painting can be a challenge at 3 inches tall with Prismacolors!<\/p>\n

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\u201cIn our current screen obsessed daily lives, where virtual reality distracts us from our lived reality. The experience of gathering with a community to experience actual objects made by human hands seems like a peculiar and threatened cultural ritual,\u201d says Griff Williams, an artist and founder of San Francisco\u2019s Gallery 16. \u201cCraig Frazier has put art at the center of his life, as a maker and viewer. With his wife, artist Suzanne Frazier, they make pilgrimage to art museums, galleries and artist\u2019s studios to connect more closely to the fruits of artistic labor. His sketches of Suzanne in front of famous and newly discovered artworks alike, remind us of the importance of presence.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Thinking deeply about our surroundings, communing with our ancestors and reminding us, as Camus stated \u201cevery creation is a gift offered to the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Griff Williams, artist and founder of Gallery 16<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Craig Frazier\u2019s sketchbook is a reminder that love is not always about grand gestures. Sometimes, it\u2019s found in the quiet observation of a partner lost in thought, in the shared wonder of an artwork, in the simple act of paying attention. This Valentine\u2019s Day, perhaps the greatest gift isn\u2019t a bouquet or a card; rather, it\u2019s taking the time to see, truly see, the people you love.<\/p>\n

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The post Drawn to Love: Craig Frazier Captures a Lifetime in Art<\/a> appeared first on PRINT Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Love has a way of revealing itself in the quietest moments\u2014sometimes in the way someone leans into a conversation, tilts their head in curiosity, or pauses to take in something that moves them deeply. For illustrator Craig Frazier, these fleeting gestures became an artistic record of a love story decades in the making. Frazier, a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1472"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1472"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1505,"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1472\/revisions\/1505"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}