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Bob Boze Bell's Blog – January 2009 Archive (39)

Reader's Survey Feedback

January 30, 2009

Our publisher, Trish Brink, just stuck her head in my door, laughing. She said I needed to see a new True West Reader's Survey which just came in. Sheri brought it to me.

Now keep in mind that we are hyping our readers to answer our survey with the chance to "Win A Limited Edition Giclee By Bob Boze Bell of Hugh O'Brian As Wyatt Earp!"

The respondent is a 70-year-old male from Norco, Louisiana who listens to Country, reads Western… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 30, 2009 at 4:00pm — 8 Comments

2001: A Sketch Odyssey

January 30, 2009

George Orwell gave us 1984 and Stanley Kubrick gave us 2001. Both dates were intended to be ominous and had overtones to worry about. But both years kind of fizzled, although 2001 has its own horrors, that dwarf the movie and make it seem silly.

I almost hate to admit it, but I have an odd obsession with numbers, in spite of the fact I hate math and did everything I could to avoid it (like take Fine Arts in college because there were no math… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 30, 2009 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Upcoming True West Moments

January 30, 2009

Yesterday, a friend on this site asked me when we were going to film some new True West Moments. I called my producer, Jeff Hildebrandt, at the Westerns Channel, and he is aiming for late summer, or early fall, to do the next batch. We are also working on a way to feature at least one or two of the questioners in the bumper. In other words, have you ask the question on camera. There are logistical problems (flying someone in from Scotland, for example), but Jeff and… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 30, 2009 at 9:00am — 15 Comments

Mickey Free Storms Back

January 29, 2009

Looks like we got a strong nibble on our Mickey Free project. A company that Paul Hutton worked with in Hollywood has expressed interest in developing Mick for the screen. Very exciting. More later.

Worked with Robert Ray last Friday on creating a 128-page-template for the graphic novel on Mickey Free and spent yesterday spreading out Remington's narrative so that each entry from Freddy corresponds with the images on that page (this was the biggest knock… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 29, 2009 at 2:30pm — 12 Comments

My Kingman Cowboy Cousins

January 29, 2009

Got an inquiry from a Czech Republic film crew who want to film real cowboys in the real West. My first call was to my cousin Billy Hamilton, who has the Turkey Track Ranch in northern Mohave County. Billy, who's ten years my senior, was riding and roping from the time he could walk. Here's a photo of young Billy, in the 1940s at a local rodeo:

Although my family lived in Kingman and Peach Springs when I… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 29, 2009 at 10:30am — 3 Comments

Martha's Clouds

January 28, 2009

Went home for lunch and whipped out a couple cloud paintings. Wanted to get them down on paper while the memories are still strong. First thing, I perused the sketches I did just north of Nothing, Arizona:

Got some good buttes to build on and whipped out this:

I call it "Just North of Nothing." I love that phrase. I can almost see an entire… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 28, 2009 at 4:31pm — No Comments

Six Is Death On The Male Scale

January 28, 2009

My heart doctor asked me yesterday what the pain level is in my chest. I told him that depends. A friend of mine is a paramedic and he told me about going on a call to a trailer house in Prescott Valley. The medical responders found a man lying on the floor of his kitchen clutching his chest. The medic leaned in close and asked him, on a scale of one to ten, what the pain level was, and the man blurted out, "A six."

And then he died.

Men are… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 28, 2009 at 9:30am — 6 Comments

Beyond Nothing And Martha Waters

January 27, 2009

Travelled to Kingman on Sunday for the funeral of Charlie's mother, Martha Waters. Kathy and I stopped in Wickenburg for gas and probably spent ten to fifteen minutes at the Mobil Travel Stop outside of town on Highway 93. Took off once again and cruised through the Joshua Forrest and across the Santa Maria. Just past Kaiser Springs we saw an ambulance pull out of the Bagdad turnoff and speed north ahead of us. Just beyond Nothing, Arizona all the traffic came to a… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 27, 2009 at 2:30pm — 5 Comments

Billy the Kid's Air Quote

January 25, 2009

Recently, someone sent me a funny quote attributing it to Billy the Kid:

"I like dancing, but not in the air."

While clever and tempting to believe I coudn't recall seeing it all of my Kid research, but you never know. So, I emailed Frederick Nolan, who has been studying Billy and the Lincoln County War for close to sixty years. Here's his reply:

"Sorry, I´ve been and still am on vacation in Brazil since the first of the year and… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 25, 2009 at 1:00pm — 2 Comments

Knife Sheath & Holster Controversy

January 23, 2009

Several weeks ago I posted a study for my big oil painting of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, "Brothers In Arms":

Several of you commented on the placement of Billy's knife sheath in front of his holster: "this was never done in the real Old West," you said. Another comment was made regarding Billy's V-topped boots. "Didn't have them in the Old West. All boots were stove tops." Well, last week we got in a… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 23, 2009 at 2:30pm — 11 Comments

How Old Is Weaver's Stance And V-topped boots?

January 23, 2009

As promised here's a photo of a Texas Lawman posing in a very modern looking pistol stance:

I remember going into a Scottsdale art gallery about ten years ago and seeing a painting of a dozen cowboys riding off a ridge and all of the riders were holding their pistols with two hands as they cocked and fired. I laughed out loud. It seemed so ludicrous to see what has become the universal pistol shooting… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 23, 2009 at 10:30am — 21 Comments

Get Back To Where You Once Belonged Bozo

January 20, 2009

Lining up my schedule to travel tomorrow down to the Old Pueblo. I'm one of the guest speakers at the annual Dude Ranch Association Convention out at the Tanque Verde Guest Ranch on East Speedway (it's actually located beyond Speedway at the foot of the Rincon Mountains). I've heard about this legendary ranch for a long time but I've never been on the property. I've been close. My good friend and custom bootmaker, Johnny Weinkauf took me out to see Paul McCartney's… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 20, 2009 at 12:34pm — 13 Comments

Czech Cowboys & Texas Rangers Style

January 19, 2009

Just heard from a Czech Republic film crew who want to come to America and film on a real cowboy ranch and rodeo. Contacted my cousin's daughter, Brenda Stockbridge in Kingman, to see if any of my cowboy kin in Mohave County are interested.

News From The Front Lines

"By the bye, this latest issue is a pip! I can't remember the last time I've had a magazine which I could keep beside my chair and browse through time after time after time like… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 19, 2009 at 11:00am — 7 Comments

South of Solvency, West of Hell No!

January 17, 2009

A couple weeks ago I finally got to see the ending of a notorious Western: South of Heaven, West of Hell. I had been hearing for years that it was "awful", a "Trainwreck" and worse, but I wanted to see for myself.

While clicking around the cable world, there it was on the Westerns Channel so I clicked on it and saw about the last twenty minutes.

The next day, at the office, I got this email from someone else who evidently watched it on… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 17, 2009 at 11:30am — 18 Comments

Mickey Free Rejections

January 16, 2009

Just before the New Year, Sheri sent out several dozen packets of the Mickey Free issue, with a cover letter from Paul Hutton and myself querying movie production companies regarding a Free movie. Last week we got a snotty rejection letter from a Hollywood lawyer type saying: "You should know that RDF has at all times many projects in development in nearly every genre of scripted and unscripted television and exploitation of other media. There is a very good chance… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 16, 2009 at 4:00pm — 8 Comments

What Do Bitter Creek Newcomb And BBB Have In Common?

January 16, 2009

Just after Christmas, my daughter Deena finally showed me a photo she took on March 23, 2008. She told me she couldn't look at it for a very long time. The scene: Kingman Regional Hospital where a certain drummer ended up after playing Wipeout at the Elks Lodge in downtown Kingman.

When she finally shared it with me and asked me what I thought of it, I laughed and told her I look exactly like Bitter Creek Newcomb after he was bushwhacked by the Dunn… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 16, 2009 at 2:00pm — 4 Comments

El Vaquero de la Iowa

January 15, 2009

Three weekends ago I took a Billy the Kid model (Billy Glenn) over to the west side of The Beast to take some reference photos. We met at Lee Anderson's paddock at 51st Avenue just below Greenway. When we pulled up Lee was decked out in his vaquero finery and riding his beautiful horse, who likewise was all decked out in an authentic Spanish rig. Here is a photo from that session:

Lee is a walking textbook… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 15, 2009 at 4:00pm — 5 Comments

A Sneak Peek At Our True West Community Ad

January 15, 2009

We had fun yesterday and today creating a full page ad for this new True West Community you are helping to form here. Like all creative groups, first we form, then we storm, and finally, we perform.

We did a page capture of several of your comments and blogs and photos and sent these ideas down to our art director. He did an initial layout, but nobody was happy with it, including Daniel.

Ken Amorosano then wondered if we could take a photo… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 15, 2009 at 12:00pm — 10 Comments

Billy the Kid and Harry Truman: Humor Masters

January 15, 2009

One of the surprises of the Joe Vitale book I'm reading on P.T. Barnum is this: there is no evidence that Barnum ever said, "There's a sucker born every minute." According to Vitale, one of Barnum's competitors said it, but Barnum was a bigger name so the quote stuck to him. This leads me to several too-good-to-be-true quotes I found recently:

"My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth,… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 15, 2009 at 9:46am — 1 Comment

Powder Monkeys Is A Blast!

January 14, 2009

If any of you are within riding or flying distance of Prescott, Arizona you need to check out a great show:

The Phippen Museum is pleased to announce their current exhibit of Buffalo Soldiers, Vaqueros and Friends.

Open now through February 22, 2009, the Main Gallery of the Phippen Museum is filled with outstanding work from new and established artists celebrating the historical contributions made by African-Americans, Latin-Americans,… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on January 14, 2009 at 4:00pm — 1 Comment