June 17, 2005
Gus and I are in the zone now. Cranking out the pages. I finished two more pieces of art, one of Bob Paul standing over the bullet riddled body of Frank Stilwell on the Tucson railroad yard track, and the other of Bob “Dutch” Martin and a pard riding into an ambush at Stein’s Pass on the New Mexico line. I found great reference in a yard sale book I bought several years ago. It’s a 1940s photo book. One of those oversized jobs with the pushed, too good to be true, color. One page is an autumn scene in Vermont, the next is a boat dock in Cape Cod and then a barn in Iowa, you know. It has a great train station photo of Stein’s Pass in about 1945. Really lush shot, great detail on the prominent peak in the background. Of course, I took out the depot, although the tracks were there, having been completed in September of 1880. The gunfight there took place in November so they were brand new (and that’s exactly how I painted them).

Got into the office about nine and Robert Ray and Abby shot the new art, while Gus and I laid out the O.K. Corral montage (I could do this in my sleep).

And speaking of the O.K. Corral, the owner of said corral, Robert Love, just bought Wyatt Earp’s hand drawn map of the fight. I think he paid $40,000 for it. He told me on the phone today that he intends to blow it up and put it on the site for visitors to study, enjoy and compare. He also has commissioned new statues for the corral and placed them in the order Wyatt had them (the order is at variance with some of the other eye-witnesses, but hey, the Wyatt-ster was standing right there, so he should know.

Anxious to paint an opium overdose (happened in front of the O.K. Corral in 1880), the Nekkid Fandango (still haven’t finished it), mug shots of Turkey Creek Johnson and Texas Jack Vermillion and a Redington Pass overview (done from the flying photo reference images I took two weeks ago).

Got a call from the Northfield, Minnesota Museum and they want to use some of my artwork for a revamping of the museum. They want to use the big painting of the James-Younger Gang riding out of town, five abreast, taking up the entire road.

Meghan is in Spokane, Washington this weekend attending the Western Writers of America Conference.

More angling for the free lunch on the catchy cover titles:
Darkest SECRETS Revealed
NOW and 130 Years Ago ...
WHY FAT DOCTORS and Other Old Geezers
Chase FAST Women
of Fallen Virtue & Simple Minds
for EASY SEX
and WIN Favor with Local Priests
for Sharing Details of Their
SECRET Deeds
During CONFESSIONS,
Before Returning Home to the
THIN, Haggard and Lonely Wife
Who Sits and Darns
His Damned Old Socks
—J.Rae

It's almost 5:30 and I’ve got to leave and go pick up Kathy and take her to the "Randi Rocks" show down in Scottsdale. The show is sold out and features Randi Rhodes, the Liberal talk show host on Air America. She’s been doing her national show for the past week in the Valley. Tickets are $10.10 (the radio station Randi is on is at 1010 on the AM dial. Get it? Sooooooooooooo radio).

"The simplest toy, one which even the youngest child can operate, is called a grandparent."
—Sam Levenson