March 2011 Blog Posts (42)

March 31, 2011

   In meetings all morning, working on our mercantile online store. Lots of new product and cool stuff to buy going up soon. Then shifted gears and went over the Billy the Kid package for June. Going to be stellar stuff. I'm thinking about flying to Denver for the auction of the Kid photo in June.

   Meanwhile, our office copies of the May issue came in. Very strong issue. One of the best Mickey Free episodes. May be the last one for a…

March 30, 2011

   Went home for lunch and whipped out a study of twilight dust.

Going to plop a hell-bent-for-leather stagecoach careening towards us, and call it "Running Late". This is a painting I promised to Roger French and I aim to repay him for the great…

March 30, 2011

   Pulled a portrait of Billy the Kid out of my failure pille this morning and gave it a go. Kind of overworked it, especially around the mouth, but it has some potential. I was aiming at a cross between the All-American Boy and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.

 …

March 29, 2011

   Working on a new True West Moment on the origins of the term "ten gallon hat." Most people think it came from the idea that the crowns of big hats were so huge they could hold ten gallons of water (see famous Stetson ad of a cowboy holding his fat full of water so his horse can drink).

   Actually, the term appears to come from the Spanish, "tan galan," which means "so gallant." Also, galone is a term for fancy braids on a sombrero…

Hello friends,

I'm looking for Harry, who I've emailed twice now recently and haven't gotten a response. We (David Wild, Lulu and myself) met him a couple of years ago in Ft. Worth, Texas and filmed him for part of our documentary on the Cowboy Hat, entitled, "Howdy Pardner". We last heard from him in 2009. We are planning a trip to England to finish up our filming and desperately wanted to connect with him and some of his Old West Re-Enactment groups. Our last email address we had…

March 28, 2011

   Back in the office, working hard on the next issue, before I fly to Santa Fe this coming Friday evening for the Bang Gang art opening at Due West Gallery, just off the plaza.

   This morning I discovered a couple images in my black and white files. One of them, is a sweet little pen and ink of Honkytonk Sue:

 …

March 26, 2011

   Had a big-outdoor cowboy breakfast this morning with Jackie Autry, Nege Bogert and Juni Fisher, along with 40 other shooters and Palm Springs locals at Elaine Hill's and her husband John's magnificent casa in Palm Springs. Sat next to and really enjoyed talking with the Western singer Juni Fisher and we made plans to do a feature with her in True West magazine on The Last Ride of Bonnie McCarroll. If you know your rodeo history, you know what we are…

March 25, 2011

   Went to the Westfest's Frank Bogert Rodeo here in Palm Springs tonight. Ran into Johnny Crawford (the son on "Rifleman"). He raved about the success of the new "True Grit," and how it should encourage more stories about females in the Old West.

   Having breakfast with Gene Autry's widow tomorrow.

March 24, 2011

Ate lunch today at Sherman's Deli in downtown Palm Springs. Had the turkey pastrami sando and vegetable soup. Sat outside. Beautiful day, high sixties. Gave a speech in the Mohave Room at the Renaissance Hotel at one. Ken and I are on the way to a cocktail party for Michael Martin Murphy. Staying at a private residence in Smoke Tree Ranch (Walt Disney used to live in here).

March 24, 2011

Archives is pleased to announce the recipient of the February Archives.com Grant award: The James Preservation Trust. Founded in 2002, this non-profit organization is dedicated to sharing and preserving the family history of the notorious American outlaw Jesse James.

The organization, led by President Eric James, conducts extensive James…

One of my grandfathers was James Harvey McPeeters. He settled in Brown County, Texas before the Civil War. He and his sons ranched. For many of his final years he was blind but lived alone. Even so, he still went out on the range with his sons, riding a horse and working. One July day in 1878, James and two of his sons were caught out with the herd when a storm hit. James encouraged his sons to head for their homes. He knew his horse would get him home. Some horse that could get a blind man…

March 23, 2011

   Going to treat the staff to lunch today at Cafe Bink in Carefree. We've had two record issues and we are going to celebrate by eating great food and telling big lies.

   I promised to tell the story of the old cowboy who confronted me at Orme Ranch last week and Pat Dunn reminded me I haven't told it yet. Here tis:

   A week ago I drove up to Orme Ranch to sketch the different buildings on campus for an aerial map…

March 22, 2010

   To give you an idea just how deep my failure pile is, I dug deep this morning and found this failed painting, "Billy the Jake" from 1991. The painting was inspired by Gus Gildea's line about seeing young Henry in Bonita, Arizona (1876): "He came to town dressed like a country jake with shoes instead of boots. He wore his six-shooter stuck in his trousers."

 …

  Hi Bob;

   I Watch 'Encore Weterns' channel a lot, and I enjoy your "True West Moments".

My question is: You see a lot of white men playing Indians in the movies, like

Charles Bronson. When they speak in an Indian language, is that for real, or are

they just making something up, or speaking jiberish?

                                Thank You Bob, and keep up the good work.

Dennis DeNolf…

March 21, 2011

   Ran into Greg Worley at Festival of the West last weekend and he told me about a new indie Western on Wyatt Earp that just wrapped (Greg plays a cowboy in the film). It will star Val Kilmer as an aged Wyatt Earp telling the story of the shooting of Dora Hand in Dodge City, which in turn led to one of the most intrepid posses ever to saddle up in the history of the west. Val will allegedly bookend the movie, but in the actual ride down, Wyatt will be…

 Hi Everyone;

   How do I get a question I have to Bob Boze Bell, to be answered on 'A True West Moment'

on the Encore Western channel.

                                        Thank You

Dennis DeNolf

ddenolf@msn.com

March 18, 2011

  Went out to the first day of Festival of the West yesterday and met some great people. Always fun to see the fanatic and the faithful. Ran into Jeff Hildebrandt of the Westerns Channel. Here's an inside peek at the Starz-Encore empire. I believe they have some 17 cable channels and the Westerns Channel pulls 31 million views, which is about three million more than their other, more heavily promoted channels. I run into people almost every day who tell…

Our cup runneth over.

According to Variety, Val Kilmer will star as Wyatt Earp in a western taking place prior to the Tombstone days.

How about it Bob?  What's the scoop?

March 17, 2011

   Got up this morning and grabbed a painting out of my failure pile. Quickly added nine riders and three Yavapai warriors (checking them out from behind the boulders in foreground). Went to yoga and during a warrior pose, started bleeding out of my nose. This turned out to be a reaction to the dental procedure I had yesterday.

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