October 2011 Blog Posts (56)

I always see coyboys in the movies come into the saloon, slam down a big shot of whiskey, pay up, and go about their business. Now I'm not a lush, but neither am I a teetotaler. The whiskey could not have been the finest aged swill made; yet, they never chased the drink down with water or anything. That rotgut stuff must have burned all the way down; and it could not have cooled them off or do a very good job of washing dust out of their mouths. I know they had beer, but rarely do your see…

October 21, 2011

   I've been mulling our conversations here concerning the innocence of the early Westerns vs. the crassness of society today. Or, put more succinctly, the reality of any time vs. the sugar coated version we seem to seek and enjoy.

   For example, for the raw reality part, here's an excerpt from Empire of the Summer Moon: "It is impossible to read Rachel Plummer's memoir without making moral judgements about the Commanches.…

October 21, 2011

   I have been asked to come up with an image for one of the Arizona Centennial Commisions celebrating Arizona statehood (1912-2012). I submitted several ideas including "Old Trails" which illustrates probably the biggest change I have witnessed living here (1955-2012):

 …

Worked as The Head of the Wardrobe Department for 3 movies this year and two commercials. I just get so busy and then I have to get my head into the next project. The moives I worked on were:

The First Ride of Wyatt Erp, Shadow Hills & Gang of Roses II.

The Old West is my Specialty. Cal or tell your Movie Makin' Friends.....Have Wardrobe Will Travel!

October 20, 2011

   With the crash and burn of Cowboys & Aliens last summer, panic spread to The Lone Ranger $250 million project, which was abruptly cancelled, then, with a budget slashing, appears to be back on with a January start date. Disney built a town near Silver City, New Mexico for the mash-up Western that supposedly has Indian shaman special effects that will rival the Indian shaman special effects in Wanda…

October 20, 2011

  After a ten day road trip I finally got back to painting this morning. Before I came into work, I whipped out this little study, "Buffalo Bill On The Hump":

I love all things sepia, thus the fuzzy framing. I do these backgrounds by…

October 19, 2011

   Looking back on my trip to Ruidoso and the 22nd Annual Lincoln County Cowboy Symposium I had a profound realization: people who love the Old West really don't much care for the modern world. They hate the crassness of it, the ambiguity and the shallowness. Many are desperate to escape it. I know this is not anything new, but being in Ruidoso and meeting the people really brought it home for me.

   For one thing, the majority of…

Other than my website, blog, & book, you won't find me hawking products much. But I'm making an exception. More people need to hear my friend Louise Mosrie.

"Leave Your Gun" is one of many songs written and performed by Louise. Each time I hear this track, I recall the first time I…

October 19, 2011

   Our intrepid sales rep Sheri Riley has landed somewhere in Nebraska. Based on this photo of her in Nebraska, can you tell where?

Hint:

"Rhymes with Oh, Mama!"

—Old Vaquero…

October 18, 2011

   Last weekend, I must have had ten different people come up to me at the 22nd Annual Lincoln County Cowboy Symposium and mention to me how much they enjoyed reading "Empire of the Summer Moon: The Story of Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History."

   When I got to Albuquerque, I mentioned this to Paul Hutton and he told me the back story. The author, S.C. Gwynne, who lives in Dallas…

October 19, 2011

   Sometimes we get delayed reactions to articles and features that ran months ago. Got this late last week on an article that ran in June:

The Language Lesson Taught By Billy the Kid

I liked your illustrated story of the Kid in “the Language Lesson”  in a recent True West magazine.  I have been fascinated by Billy the Kid since I was  a boy growing up in New Mexico. There are so many books and articles about…

October 16, 2011

   Just got home from a week's worth of Kid Krazy road tripping to New Mexico. Came in from Mogollon, New Mexico this morning. Had breakfast at the Alma Cafe in Alma where Butch and Sundance worked under assumed names (on a ranch near Alma, not in the cafe). Had the huevos rancheros under my given name.

   From Alma, Kathy and I motored up through Luna and Alpine into the heart of the burned out footprint of the Wallow Fire. Must say,…

October 14, 2011

   Holed up in Santa Fe in a cozy, old school hotel just off the plaza. Kathy is with me. Sat on the porch last night, drinking Santa Fe Ale and solving life. Great to see her and catch up on our hectic lives. Told her about my many adventures traveling along the Pecos River for the past several days.

Found a wonderful B&B-hotel down a backstreet in Taos two days ago. it's Mabel Dodge Luhan's old house. Absolutely the most…

This link is in relation to a few previous posts on the same subject.  And it gives a much better breakdown of the various western projects coming to TV. 

btw - on a related note, "Long Ranger" with Johnny Depp as Tonto, was officially greenlit earlier this week, with a $215.00 budget.  They start shooting in January. 

http://www.denverpost.com/television/ci_19057740

Check out my Wall Drug Artwork story in the October 2011 Issue of True West Magazine. It was a fun story to write. Make sure you click on the image to view additional images of Wall Drug's artwork.

http://www.truewestmagazine.com/jcontent/living-the-dream/living-the-dream/collectibles/4325-wall-drug-of-south-dakota

October 12, 2011

   Been off the grid for the last three days, traveling up the Pecos River from Roswell to Fort Sumner where I spent the night with my Uncle Bud and Jean Linn who have three farms along the river. Great visiting with them and getting caught up on Guess history. My Aunt Jean is the last of the Guess girls. Yesterday i followed the river up through Puerto de Luna to Santa Rosa, then jogging over to Anton Chico, up through the villages of Pueblo, Ribera,…