Art and music have worked together to heal Francie Klopotic’s wounded soul.
“My dad left on my 10th birthday. He told me he wished I’d never been born,” said Klopotic, who discovered The Monkees on cable television the summer after her father abandoned the family. The comedic antics as well as the fun songs brought a smile to her face and helped her deal with the devastating emotions she faced.
Living in Atlanta in the 1970s, Klopotic couldn’t find any records from The Monkees, who had long since disbanded. And posters and photographs weren’t readily available either. Her mother went to the library and asked the librarian to help her find some record stores that might carry the band’s music.
“She found a store in Pittsburgh and ordered them,” she said.
From the album covers, Klopotic started drawing the faces of the band members and placing her own artwork on her walls.
“I just wanted pictures of cool people. I started drawing them, and I enjoyed it,” she said.
She distinctly remembers drawing Michael Nesmith with his signature knit cap when she was 10. The Monkees held a special place in her memories.
“They saved my life,” she said. “I was suicidal as a child.”
As a teen and young adult, other musicians came into her life. She worked in retail, so the radio played while she was on the job. The music of 80s bands brought their own form of healing.
“In the 80s, there was a show with David Sanborn called Night Music. It came on at 2 a.m. Sunday,” she said.
Inspired she sent in a drawing and was surprised to receive a response with an autographed photo of Sanborn and some merchandise from the show.
Klopotic took a 20-plus year hiatus from her artwork. About three years ago, she decided to pick up her pencils once again, and the faces began emerging. Musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Davy Jones and Michael Nesmith all appeared on her paper. The Nesmith drawing was similar to the long-forgotten image she once drew as a child.
She is currently working with John Stoney Cannon on a book called “Hooked Onna Feelin’” about music icons. Her drawings of Michael Jackson, Elvis, Rick Nelson and Donny Osmond are a few of the faces that will appear on the cover. The book should be out in June.
She recently posted a photo of the drawing of Michael Nesmith from The Monkees, which was shared on The Monkees’ official Instagram page on Feb. 19 lauding the “incredible graphite pencil drawing” and saying she did a “marvelous job.”
That’s not the only time she’s gotten feedback from bands she’s drawn. In 2019, she drew one of her favorite bands, The Smithereens. Jim Babjak, co-founder and lead guitarist, commented on her Facebook post from Nov. 21, 2019 “I’m honored, great work!”
And Frank Maudsley, the original bassist with the band “A Flock of Seagulls,” commented on a Facebook post that her drawing of lead singer Mike Score was “great.”
Klopotic said she loves drawing the musicians because of how much their music has meant in her life.
She said she’d like to have an exhibition of the musicians one day. She’s working on a series of them that she called “Electric Avenue.”
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
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