Earlier this week, my production manager Robert Ray was looking for spot illustrations for our book feature in the next issue and he discovered a stash of my scratchboards in a filing cabinet. Most of them were crap, but found one this morning that kind of amazes me. First, a disclaimer: I agree with the below quote. Hardly anything I produce pleases me. I was on a panel several weeks ago and my painting of the Jame Gang taking the whole road on the cover of TW was on the table in front of me and I had to turn it over because I kept looking at it with a critical eye ("Wish I had THAT back!"). So, this quartet of unlikely bedfellows really stunned me, both by the subtlety of facial tone and loosey goosy design and secondly, how I can easily recognize each dude. Can you?
![](http://api.ning.com:80/files/0W6CcrqL9ut0pTOIFJ5NN7C18UAZU0Dy9oCvcrdSA7W90Y1vEazuuxsvxmL02F*BGgnYfMvSec1ggIGdkovYwKy0MRn6Fqgv/earpandmonet.jpg)
Also found this scratchboard of "Billy's Back," which I seem to remember was inspired by the movie poster for "Unforgiven."
![](http://api.ning.com:80/files/Q*Auv4XAfsemxYU7Ga8i8PabWwhsChNSJ7lCNZia58TLU0S6cPPKIIz6lnFWHnOhXv4C8yfJNhjpqknZt*7hHN1nJwixw-YS/billysback_01.jpg)
Summer storms are still churning through Cave Creek. Humid and cloudy this morning. Whipped out another storm study this morning, inspired by the monsoon weather. This is "The Mexicali Stud."
![](http://api.ning.com:80/files/2c9X0G35sD75cUD1b6699xMM1XA1ga36Z4ZvDyzzz-VSq80dq3Vhu4QFEzHxUxNwyz0dNiS4keKUAum4xTu2wv2XX9DX65bA/mexicalistud.jpg)
"ninety-five percent of anything is crap."
—Science fiction writer Harlon Ellison responding to the criticism that 95% of science fiction is crap