The Final Bitchin' Push On The Great Western

July 3, 2017
   I put the finishing touches on several big ideas this morning. Worked all weekend on The Great Western. Left the house only once, to have brunch with Wonderful Russ down at Mimi's. Came back and bailed in. Goes to press a week from today. Want it to be bitchin'.

Daily Whip Out: "The Great Western & Her Second Artillery Cap"

   Thanks to John Langellier for the details on Sarah's campaign cap and insignia. Meanwhile, the Top Secret Writer prefers this painting for the splash page opening:

Daily Whip Out: "The Great Western Splash Page Option, No. 1"

   Everyone likes the color on this one, but as I mentioned earlier, this gal is too svelte for the six foot plus Sarah Bowman. That's why I took another crack at her.

Daily Whip Out: "The Great Western Splash Page Option, No. 2"

And, because someone told me she looked too "Butch" in this pass, I took a third pass at the idea:

Daily Whip Out: "The Great Western Splash Page Option, No. 3"

And then, to attack the idea from a completely different direction, I did this study:

Daily Whip Out: "The Great Western Portrait"

   The problem, from the very beginning, stems from there being no known photograph of Sarah Bowman.

"I don't have a photograph, but you can have my footprints. They're upstairs in my socks."

—Grouch Marx