Happy Pappy Day to All Our Pappys Everywhere!

 June 21, 2026

  Allen P. Bell was a stubborn man, and then some. He was also very generous—Boy Howdy! And he was very, very zany.

Al Bell goofing in front of his Mobiloil Gas Station in Peach Springs, Arizona, circa 1947

   On this Father's Day, I am thinking of him fondly because of what he gave me. Let's just say there would be no surviving True West magazine, if he hadn't gifted me all three attributes, above.

Daily Whip Out: "Cloud Cliffs"

Drummer's Insight #37

   Sometimes when I was playing drums in a honkytonk I noticed that certain songs would set off a contact high among the dancers that often spread to the bar and beyond. These moments of communal ecstasy no doubt fueled the desire to return every weekend and explained some magic, mystical draw to these otherwise seedy places.

Daily Scratchboard Whip Out:

"Barroom Nirvana"

   And, speaking of nirvana, there is something about riders in formation that is very compelling.

Wild Bunch opening

The Long Riders

"To be original is to be yourself. However, as soon as you try to be original, you're being a little fake."

—Old Vaquero Saying

Frannie McGoo Is In The Studio!

 June 20, 2026

   My granddaughter, Frances, who is 9, is visiting from Seattle, so, of course, we had to do some artwork in the studio together.

The Budding Apprentice

   And, here is what she whipped out this afternoon:

Daily Frances Whip Out: "Desert Cat"

     When she whipped that out she then bravely said, "Grandpa, I want to try scratchboard." So, here she is taking a bold stab at that.

First Scratchboard Whip Out Ever:

"Charlie Horse"

And, I am happy to report, she named it as well. Their family dog is named Charlie, so this is a shout out to him.

"All children are artists. The problem is how to remain one once we grow up."

—Picasso

What Is The Name of The Bravest Rurale Who Ever Lived? Oh, And How Do You Distract Nitpickers?

 June 19, 2026

   I am hot on the trail of the bravest Rurale who ever lived.

Daily Whip Out: "El Bravo Rurale"

   Que es el nombre of this gallant Sonoran rider?

Daily Whip Out: "Dust Devil Devine #3"

   Meanwhile. . .

     Narrative In Red

Daily Whip Outs: "June 10, 2007"

   File this next one under

Couldn't Leave Well Enough Alone

Narrative In Red Reworked

(to death!)

   I never know when to stop. And, just when you thought you could not bear to see another page of red head sketches . . .

Daily Whip Outs: "Red Head Exceptions"

Storytelling 101

   Speaking of successful storytellers, in our family we believe it doesn't hurt when you are telling stories to have a good hat on and this certainly rang true with our first presenter. Frannie B. who is in town to ride horses and last night she introduced the first movie of the Father Hilario Film Festival wearing this headgear. 

The Storyteller

   Oh, and it worked. We were totally charmed as we watched her favorite movie, Walk. Ride. Rodeo and a good time was had by all.

"If you are going to sell windies, it helps to have on unique headgear to distract the nitpickers."

—Old Vaquero Saying

Out Here On The Sonoran Desert We Call Dust Storms Guacamuggies

 June 18, 2026

   Still noodlin' the past as I see it. What happens when Navajos and Mexicans meet?

Daily Whip Out: "Yatahey Ese"

   What happens when vaqueros are riding at dusk and get swallowed up by a Guacamuggie?

Daily Whip Out:

"Vaquero at Dusk In A Guacamuggie"

   Full disclosure: in the 1980s on the Jones, Boze & Jeanne Radio Show (KSLX) we did a a bit about renaming Haboobs because we thought that sounded too Mideastern and we wanted our own term for the summer storms, and our clever listeners bombarded us with suggestions like Megahuggie and my personal favorite, Guacamuggie, which if memory serves me correctly was Jeanne Sedello's clever term.

Daily Whip Out: "Midnite Guacamuggie"

"The desert teaches you more about water than the ocean ever could."

—Old Vaquero Saying

Uno And His Assistant In The Triple B Studio

 June 17, 2026

   My daughter Deena comes in from Seattle today.

Uno and his Studio Assistant

   And, here is the above photo in context:

State Forty Eight And BBB

     And, in case you were wondering what is on the art desk to my right, in the above photo. . .

Desk Top Rodeo

By Rooster Rob Mathiash

   This photo captures the scattered nature of my work ethic. At any given time I am usually working on multiple images, laying in some strokes on one, grabbing another unfinished—or, in some cases, finished!—artwork and giving it another go. That is my cartoon creation, The Doper Roper, bottom right, which is a photo of Granthum P. Hooker (actually a pressman at Rau Advertising) holding a Coors can at the Heatwave Cafe which was actually a remote bar north of Buckeye, Arizona known locally as Froggy Bottom, circa 1974. And I see several Old Vaquero paintings in progress, a young Jesse James, Emiliano Zapata, Wyatt Earp from the side, a study of a Vincent van Gogh (peeking from behind, top, left) and the movie poster for Young Guns on the wall behind everything.

   All of which begs the question for a guy six months shy of turning 80: I fear I have wandered onto the stage and stayed too long. It's embarrassing and pathetic. What can I do to possibly redeem myself?

An Exit Strategy

   Be gracious, generous and grateful  Orchestrate your exit from the stage. Gift as much as you can. Enjoy the process and let it go. All the put downs and humiliation gave your life meaning and context. Embrace it all. What a gift!

"The really worst part of being 80 is that you find, at last, you've got an understanding of something that might have altered everything in the past, had it come at a time when something could still be altered."

—Bob Dylan

Death Metal Cowboy Meets Inky, Dark Gothic Vaquero

 June 16, 2026

   Woke up in a funk. Feeling a bit blue. It happens. But then I have friends who make me laugh and I pull out of it. Read on.

Seriograph of "Cave Creek Crazy Arms"

(5 of 38 art print)

   Yes, when we first moved out to Cave Creek in the eighties, this twisted cacti stood about 20 yards from our house near the banks of the creek. I marveled at the arms of agony and finally walked down there and sat at the base and looked up to sketch what became this pen and ink rendering of what happens to saguaros who end up in the creek bottom and have to endure the colder, frigid air during the winter months, which twists the arms into gothic shapes. Boy howdy.

Daily Scratchboard Whip Out:

"Old Vaquero Demonic"

      Maybe, just maybe, that is the key to this Old Vaquero dude. Perhaps he is not the wisened old sweet-heart of a curmudgeon we thought he was.

Daily Scratchboard Whip Out:

"Old Vaquero Demonic II"

"When the law is far, the fist is near."

—Old Vaquero Saying

Daily Whip Out: "Pendejo Puncher"

Daily Whip Out: "When Nana Gets Steamed"

(known north of the border as "When Grandma Gets Steamed"

Good Advice From An Old Friend

"Give it that inky, dark Gothic Vaquero, Death Metal Cowboy, sharp-shinned, sinister, sexy silhouette, that you do so well."

—Kit Carson, the sculptor, not the pathfinder

How to Spot AI Ridiculousness Before It Swallows Us All

 June 15, 2026

   The AI Accusation Era is upon us. How many times have you heard, "That's fake, that's AI"? For me, I hear it every single day. Sometimes ten times a day. How it will impact history in the long run has yet to be seen, but there are signs it will not be good.

   For starters, it can't be positive when manufactured images of purported historical characters begin to proliferate all across the web and beyond. For example, is this an authentic photo of Wyatt Earp?

Wyatt Earp In Camp?

   Not hardly, but here's another one. . .

Another fake AI Wyatt In Camp image

Both are fabricated, and most likely modeled from this photograph:

The real Wyatt, Josie & Earpie in camp

   As the AI tech gets better, at some point it will be damn hard to spot what is authentic and what is made up. Hang on, it's going to get bumpy.

"Anyone who believes you can't change history has never tried to write his memoirs."

—David Benburion

Old Vaquero Sayings Makes A Big Splash In The Epitaph

 June 14, 2026

   Just received the latest Tombstone Epitaph and found a nice treat in the center spread.

Tombstone Epitaph Center Spread, page 1

Tombstone Epitaph Center Spread, page 2

   This is our designer, Rebecca Edwards, at her best. Excellent balance and colorful layout. Expect to see more of this.

   Meanwhile, out in the dust bowl. . .

Daily Whip Out: "Dust Figures Advance"

   And speaking of dust, my Kingman Cowboy Cousin, Craig Hamilton, told me some of the wildest rodeos he has ever witnessed were on the Turkey Track Ranch, and totally unplanned.

Daily Whip Out:

"Rodeo On The Ridgeline"

   

“Tequila is Spanish for I don’t remember doing that.”

—Old Vaquero Saying

Previews of Coming Distractions: 13 Real Wild Women

 June 13, 2026

   I just got word that one of my favorite museums wants to do a major art show featuring my work on Real Wild Women of The Real Wild West next year. Here's who they want for starters:

"Las Tules"

"Olive Oatman"

"Sharlot Hall Pulls A Gun

On Grover Cleveland"

"Lozen"

"Diltche"

(The Apache grandmother who walked a thousand miles without a map or provisions)

"The Scandalous Sadie Marcus"

(In your dreams!)

"The Great Western"

(who claimed she had the biggest leg in Mexico!)

"Jennie Rogers"

"I shot him because I love him, Damn him!"

"Big Nose Kate"

"Stagecoach Mary"

"Hogtown Hussies"

(Flora Quck, Squirrel Tooth Alice & 3 Others) 

"Adelita"

"Bruja Suprema"

(Bruja is Spanish for witch)

"Belle Starr"

"Amelia Robles"

   And, of course, the show and the subsequent book will be dedicated to the late, great Jana Bommersbach.

"Well-behaved women seldom make history"

—Old Vaquero Saying

Uno Stalks Giant Saguaro And Girls Just Really Wanna Have A Certain Amount of Fun

 June 12, 2026

  You can sometimes see the funniest things out on the great Sonoran Desert. For example, just this morning I witnessed this up on Morningstar.

A Giant Saguaro With A Bird On Top

And A Skulking Dog at The Bottom

     Here's a better look at the bird. . .

     And, here's a better look at the skulking dog. . .

     Uno does his best bird dog imitation.                            

   My son, Tomas, has a great character and I whipped him out this little caricature of her.

Daily Whip Out: "Mama Luisa"

   I have a hunch this was written about guys like me.

“Fun is fun, but no girl wants to laugh all the time.”

—Anita Loos