March 20, 2008
The May issue is all set to go out the door and it is, pound for pound, the strongest True West magazine I have ever been involved with. In addition to excellent writing and superb photos, this one has some very interesting history and mucho amber glow. This morning Robert Ray showed me a Photo Shop filter called "the warming filter" which he applied to several Fandango photos. I was stunned. Garish hues became softer and, well, much warmer. We went through the mag applying it where it was appropriate (the cover for one) and it certainly spiced up some so-so pages. I'll be curious to see if it translates to you, the reader.

By the way, my sidebar excursion to Mrs. Klotch-land this morning, included sketch numbers 5,994-6,000. I wanted to do something special for the big six-O, but got so jacked up on the March Madness thang, I kind of went B-Ball crazy. Hard to believe. Six-thousand sketches at six a day. That means I've been doing this for a thousand days, without missing. Pretty amazing.

Meanwhile, as if you needed any more proof about how obsessive I get on these things, I went home for lunch and whipped out a cleaner version of "Mr. Clutch, Meet Mrs. Klotch." The B-Ball player is better (not so Black, and more anglo oafish), but Mrs. Klotch is too Lois Lane-ish. The real Mrs. Klotch was really buttoned up, severe almost, ancient, although as Dan Harshberger remarked to me yesterday, she was probably 42 years old when we were in her class in the fifth grade. Ha.



May do another one. Sigh. I know. I know.

"You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm."
—Colette