January 3, 2007
I'm still writing 2006 on everything. Had to go back and change several sketch page dates (and yesterday's post, which I billed as Jan. 1, 2006. Ha). Hard to believe we're seven years into the new century. So far, so good.

I finally got a haircut from Bev last Saturday ($20 cash). It's been months and months. She has been sick and every time I called her she encouraged me to go into town and get a haircut from someone else. I told her, thanks, but she's my haircutter and I'm waiting for her. I wanted a haircut before we filmed at Old Tucson in November, but she was too ill. So I laid off the requests and waited. As she finally cut my hair on Saturday, she said she would see J.D. from time to time and ask him if I got my haircut yet. And he said he didn't know. And when she asked him why, he said, and I quote, "I try not to look at Bob's head."

Now that is classic J.D.

Royal Wade Kimes if flying in today for a cover shoot. Joel Klasky is picking him up this afternoon.

Sketchbook Review
My early sketchbooks are extremely erratic with pages blank and very few sketches per page. I had no discipline and no consistency. So I would do something decent then not draw for weeks or even months. Here's two examples from several years ago. I did two pretty decent sketches of Elfego Baca (below, left), then dropped it. Didn't pursue the game to the kill. On the right is a decent study of a certain Kingman Kaboy, as a study for a Honkytonk Sue panel. Once again decent, but I didn't push it to the next level:



Moving into 2003, I am still lollygagging, lazy and erratic. Hit and miss. Ironically, the page on the left holds a subtle clue as to the Top Secret Project:



From time to time I would do a decent portrait. This is of the Indian agent Tom Jeffords (the inspiration for Broken Arrow). And on the right is John Wesley Hardin shooting a deck of playing cards in El Paso as whores and hangers-on get drunk and enjoy the show. Very nice beginnings, but should have expanded and shown the hint of a building, fleshed out each, more. So close, but didn't finish. It's like driving the lane, faking everyone out, and not shooting. Or, put another way, I'm so ADD, it's probably a miracle I did this much. Ha.



And, of course, I did try and do prep sketches for Classic Gunfights but even here I didn't take it far enough. On the left is overview sketches for the Marshal White shooting in Tombstone. Actually has some deent potential, but not pushed far enough. And the sketches on the right did make it into Classic Gunfights, Volume II. This is a case where the sketches are better than the finished painting. I think I went too soon to the finish, or final, and didn't work out the bugs in the sketches.



As you can see, this is all a work in progress. Tommorrow we move into sketches for my True West stunt covers period (Jesus Out West, Homos On The Range) and major ripoffs of Degas and Toulouse Latrec.

Onion Headline de Jour
Man With Dream To Open Liquor Store Achieves Dream

"Watch out for emergencies. They are your big chance!"
—Fritz Reiner