John Singer Sargent & The Picture Book Kid

April 17, 2014
   Kathy and I flew to Burbank today on business. After a visit to the Huntington to see one of my favorite paintings by John Singer Sargent we headed north:



We ended up at the job site in north Pasadena. It was my job to read four picture books and I must say I think I enjoyed it even more than my little charge:



G-Paw reading Weston's favorite picture book "It's Time To Sleep, My Love"

"The otter utters by the lake
'Tis getting hard to stay awake."
—Nancy Tillman, "It's Time to Sleep, My Love"

Krazy Kat, Jim Jarmusch and William Randolph Hearst

April 16, 2014
   Some artists are an acquired taste. In my own case these would include, John Prine, Van Gogh, Jim Jarmusch and George Herriman.

   John Prine won me over with one song: "Angel From Montgomery." And once I got that tune, I realized nobody does song lyrics better than Mr. Prine. Nobody.

   I hated Jim Jarmusch movies after seeing "Dead Man," with Johnny Depp and Robert Mitchum. In my opinion it's one of the worst Westerns I've ever seen. Neil Young does the music and it's just a series of distorted twangs and open chords, perhaps inspired (Hey, I love The Horse!) but ultimately just really, really irritating. I think I gave him another try on a winter Western about gold, but it was so bleak and non-narrative I just couldn't enjoy it all.

  For some reason, after reading a positive review of his new movie, "The Last Lovers" I decided to try "Broken Flowers." So, last night Kathy and I watched Jim Jarmusch's "Broken Flowers," with Bill Murray, Jessica Lange, Julie Delpie and Chloe Sivegney. Prepared for its odd flow (from the review), I actually enjoyed it and after watching a special features on the making of the movie and hearing Jarmusch talk about his method I am slowly, acquiring a taste for the artist, although I still hate "Dead Man." Here he is talking about his process:

"Filming is like sex. Writing the script is like seduction, then shooting is like sex because you're doing the movie with other people. Editing is like being pregnant, and then you give birth and they take your baby away. After this process is done, I will watch the movie one more time with a paying audience that doesn't know I'm there, and then I will never see it again. I'm so sick of it."
—Jim Jarmusch

"The beauty of life is in small details, not in big events."
—Jim Jarmusch

   Meanwhile, I'm doing a True West Moment on another dude who's an acquired taste, at least to me:

One Crazy Cat
    George Herriman was born in New Orleans in 1880. His parents were Creole (their marriage certificate labeled them as "mulatto") and although it seems obvious George was black, he passed for white his entire life (many assumed he was Greek). He was said to wear a hat inside and outside to cover his "kinky" hair.

 
Daily Whipout, "George Herriman, Comic Strip Genius"

   The family moved to California allegedly to escape the increasingly harsh Jim Crow laws of Louisiana.

   Mr. Herriman created a very eccentric comic strip that first appeared in 1913 and ran to 1944. People didn't get it (I was one of them) and, at best it was "likeably absurd." Krazy Kat is set in the ever changing landscapes of the imaginary deserts of Coconino, Arizona and the plot is simple: a doofus cat of hazy gender (referred to as both "he" and "she") is in love with Ignatz Mouse, who, in turn, despises Krazy and constantly schemes to throw bricks at Krazy's head, which Krazy interprets as a sign of affection, uttering grateful replies such as "Li'l dollink, allus f'etful". Meanwhile, Offissa Pupp, as Coconino County's administrator of law and order, makes it his unwavering mission to interfere with Ignatz's brick-tossing plans and lock the mouse in the county jail. And this premise ran for 31 years.

   So I went home for lunch today and took a try at Herriman's distinctive abstract style:

 
Daily Whipout, "Ignatz slings a brick at Krazy Kat in front of the Monument, a well-known butte near Monument Valley"

   Supposedly Woodrow Wilson and Picasso were fans of the strip, but not too many others. In fact when the strip fell below 50 newspapers (the threshold to cancel a comic) William Randolph Hearst would not allow it. when editors mentioned they wanted to kill it he yelled at them. When Hearst tried to give Herriman a raise, the artist refused saying it was too easy to draw, but Hearst forced him to take the raise. I dare you to name another business situation where a capitalist of Hearst's standing (Citizen Kane!!!!) not only supported an artist to do what he wanted to do but demanded raises because he appreciated the art and humor so much. I dare you!!!!!

   Known for its offbeat surrealism and poetic, idiosyncratic language, the comic strip Krazy Kat, was more influential than popular. Herriman empolyed idioyncratic language. Here is an example:

"Agathla, centuries aslumber, shivers in its sleep with splenetic splendor, and spreads abroad a seismic spasm with the supreme suavity of a vagabond volcano."
—George Herriman, in Krazy Kat

 
The actual Agathla Peak north of Kayenta during a dust storm

   And here's my take on the same scene but with a lone hogan at the bottom, a scene I remember as a kid traveling through the area with my folks.

 
Daily Whipout, "Dust Storm at Agathla Peak"

  And here's another take:

 
Daily Whipout, "Agathla Peak Dust Storm #3"

    The strip Krazy Kat features other characters, Mrs. Kwak Wakk, "Bum Bill" Bee and Don Kiyote, and the ever-changing landscapes of the imaginary desert of Coconino County, Arizona.

   Picasso was reputedly a fan. But the artist's most ardent supporter was William Randolph Hearst who refused to drop Herriman's Krazy Kat even when it was carried by fewer than 50 papers. Hearst kept the strip alive and It was Hearst who ordered the strip to be cancelled in 1944, when Herriman died of "non-alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver" and, at Herriman's request, his ashes were scattered over Monument Valley, Arizona. In Hearst's opinion, no one could replace the artist and Krazy Kat was possibly the first strip to die with his creator.

"Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent. And don't bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: 'It's not where you take things from - it's where you take them to.'"
—Jim Jarmusch

Gunnar Widforss Rocks Rock

April  15, 2014
   As I mentioned I got a sneak peek at the Wetherill Guest Ranch registry book last Sunday and the page that absolutely rocked is the page Gunnar Widforss painted in the guest book. Here it is:


Gunnar Widforrs, Daily Whipout, "Agathla Peak"

   Crazy amazing painting. Even more stunning in person to realize it's just on a random page of a guest book. Made a mental note to myself: "Paint better pictures!"

"No one has a cornerstone on great stuff."
—Steven Soderbergh

The Wild Bunch vs. Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid

April 14, 2014
  One of the clockwork-like-phenoms of Hollywood is that there are invariably at least two projects with the same theme, or story line, chugging through the development pipeline at any given point. "Tombstone" vs. "Wyatt Earp" is a good example. In 1967-68, two films about the Wild Bunch were perking. The one with the biggest profile was William Goldman's "Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid" which Twentieth Century Fox was producing to great buzz. Warner Brothers had a competing film, "The Wild Bunch" and intended to get it in theaters before Butch & Sundance.

   Allegedly, the guy who thought up the basic story of WB was Roy Sickner, the original Marlboro Man. Then, of course, Sam Peckinpah got on board and everything changed. Believe it or not, Sam actually thought if you showed violence the way it really is, people would shun violence. The "bullet driven ballet" is a long way from the Goldman version and has very little to do with the historical Wild Bunch, but both films deal with the theme of changing times vs. the men who could not.

 
The Wild Bunch Walkdown

 "It ain't like it used to be, but It'll do."
—Freddie Sykes (Edmond O'Brien) to Pike

True West Moments Number 180 and John Wayne Review

April 14, 2014
   Knocking down a kitchen wall this morning. The back story is this: when we built our dream house in 1987 the architect favored my fevered dreams of a Santa Fe adobe with humorous overtones. He did a very good job, but in the process he more or less insulted Kathy by insisting that a wall was necessary in the entrance to the kicthen to hide "Kathy's messiness." Needless to say, Kathy has issues with that wall. When she mentioned she would like to upgrade the kitchen a couple months ago I said, "It's all yours." So, the first thing the construction dudes have been tasked with, is this:

 
The Wall Destroyers, 8:30 a.m. April 14, 2014

   Last month marks four years of producing True West Moments for the Arizona Republic. Hard to believe, but the TWMoment that ran in last Saturday's Republic is the 180th moment.

A Letter From An Old Reader Who Found Us Again
   "I just re-subscribed to True West for another three years. While I’m thinking of it, I just wanted to thank you for the great job you’ve done with the magazine. It’s one of the few I read cover-to-cover each month. When I was a boy in the 1960s, I used to love reading my grandfather’s collection of True West. It’s where my fascination with the Old West was born. So what a treat later in life to find the magazine in such capable hands. I started subscribing last year, mostly as research and ideas for the Western novel I’m writing. Now I just can’t get enough. As a former magazine editor, I know how tough a job it is to produce such a high-quality piece of work month after month. Thanks, and keep up the great work!"
—John Hamilton, Eden Prairie, MN

My good friend Allen Barra wrote a very good review of the Scott Eyman book, "John Wayne, The Life And Legend," which I am reading now and thoroughly enjoying.

John Wayne review

"People who say they don't give a damn, do give a damn—because the ones who don't, don't say so."
—Toulouse-Lautrec

Teddy, Zane & Kit at The Wetherill Guest Ranch

April 13, 2014
   Here's another gem from the Wetherill collection, a movie still of a scene being filmed near Monument Valley:



Indian Attack On The Wagon Train, from the movie "Kit Carson" (1939)

   Working on the final tweaks of "The 66 Kid." I found this cartoon in my garage morgue this morning. I did this way back in the Razz days (early 70s) and may use it to illustrate the con man ways of some Kingman gas stations:



I totally forgot about cool cushions, those straw seats you strapped over your hot vinyl seat covers to keep from blistering your legs.

Oh, and it turns out Teddy Roosevelt visited Kayenta and the Wetherill's in 1913.

"Time is cruel. Her years are tragic. The pioneers could not stay the approach  of deadly civilization."
—Zane Grey's entry in the Wetherill Guest Ranch registry

Maynard Dixon, Geoge Herriman and Jimmie Swinnerton Blow My Socks Off

April 12, 2014
   This morning, in Prescott, I got to take a sneak peek at the famous Wetherill Monument Valley Guest Ranch guest book. Many famous artists and dignitaries stayed there during the twenties, including Teddy Roosevelt and Zane Grey. But the ones I am interested in are the many cartoonists and artists who drew pictures in the guest book. These include James Swinnerton (Canyon Kiddies), George Herriman (Krazy Kat), Rudolph Dirks (The Captain And The Kids) and Frank King (Gasoline Alley). And then, there are the fine artists. Here's a taste:



Maynard Dixon's "Daily Whipout" signing the Wetherill registry book.

And here's William Robinson Leigh's full page entry:



W.R. Liegh's "Daily Whipout"

But the one that blew my socks off is the watercolor Gunnar Widforse whipped out of Shiprock. I'll post that masterpiece later. Here is the gentleman who owns the guest book and many other treasures of the Wetherill family.



Harvey Leake, a direct descendant of the Wetherills and the keeper of the flame. Great guy.

"Back again, Hey?" "Sure, I are, ain't that a hebit [SIC] among us 'kets'"
—George Herriman'a Krazy Kat entry in the Wetherill guest registry

Is This Pat Garrett?

April 11, 2014
   I'm attending the Arizona History Conference in Prescott and Paul Hutton just shared with me a new photo he believes is Pat Garrett when he was Customs Inspector in El Paso, circa 1903. What do you think? Is the gentleman, seated at center, Pat Garrett?

A Sneak Peek at The New Billy On The Horizon

April 11, 2014
   I'm at the Arizona History Conference in Prescott this weekend. Yesterday, on the way up, I stopped at Bronzesmith in Prescott Valley to see the progress on my next sculpture. The very talented Deb Gessner is working off a sketch of mine. Perhaps you recognize the subject matter.



Deb Gessner tweaks the Kid's Bowie knife.

I had a couple suggestions on equipment, chaps, boots, shirt, sleeves, and, of course I had to weigh in on the hat:



Ed Reilly utilizes one of my prop hats to point out his theories about the elusive crown.

If you are trying to capture the Kid, his damn hat has given countless artists and movie prop guys fits. Many assume wrongly it's an Abraham Lincoln top hat (Val Kllmer in "Gore Vidal's Billy the Kid") and most give the crown too much height, although, Garrett said the Kid wore a Chihuahua "sombrero" so a certain kind of artistic license is in order.



Deb continues to tweak Billy's knife.

That is a very authentic Lightning in his holster. The '73 Winchester is lying behind the sculpture. I asked Deb to applicate it so I could see it all together:



I agree with the Smiley Face on Deb's chest.

   I totally dig the stance she and Ed captured. Their hand (Billy's left hand) is better than mine (in the drawing behind). It's a tad more "ready for action" and yet cocky. It seems to be saying, "You want a piece of me?" They also pointed Billy's left foot inward which also adds to the cocky factor. All in all, very exciting.

"Advise persons never to engage in an art career."
—Kid Bozer

A New Appreciation of B Westerns

April 9, 2014
   I must have a dozen books on John Wayne, mostly picture and movie poster books of his movies. I have read a couple bios on him over the years and always thought I knew the Duke's story, but the new biography by Scott Eyman (see excerpt of "John Wayne, The Life And Legend" in next issue of True West) is a real eye opener. He gives all of the financials for the movies John Wayne made over his career. When you know Wayne was paid $1,000 for a Lone Star film in the early thirties (with a total budget per film of $8,000 to $12,000), and that he made Hondo in Camargo, Mexico and to see the rushes he and his crew had to drive to El Paso—five hours away!) and that the Duke is making $250,000, well you can see the career arc pretty clearly. Plus we get a close-in view of Wayne's divorce from his second wife, Chata, which cost him $375,000.





 "Hondo Lane is an Army scout who has an uneasy relationship with creatures with two legs, a marginally easier one with creatures with four legs."
—Scott Eyman

   But the big eye opener for me is I have always thought B Westerns were the end result of inferior talent and poorly chosen aesthetics. Not true. As Eyman explains, "Although these pictures got no respect, and didn't earn any, there was a good amount of money to be made." The media companies, mostly Republic, were filling a need: in those days the main movie needed an opening picture, the first half of a double feature, and the combine companies that put these double features in theaters paid a flat fee, about $28,000 for the B picture. Given that Republic was padding their expenses by at least $10,000, the six pictures produced "were carried on the books as having cost $128,000 and earning a total of $1.25 million, for a net profit that must have been in the vicinity of $850,000."

   So the guys, like Herb Yates, who were producing these B pictures, utilizing stock footage from older movies and slamming them out in six days, were actually geniuses, in my book, creating content for a new technology that resembles the current internet landscape more than it does anything else. Makes me appreciate their vision and ability to create these very smart movies.


"Harry Carey always wore a good hat, a good pair of boots, and what he wore in between didn't matter much."
—John Wayne

Scratchboard Smorgasbord

April 8, 2014
   Found this compilation of old scratchboards I spread out on my studio floor a couple years back. Quite a compilation, eh? I think I spot a theme in there: It's Free Time.

 
Daily Whipouts, "Scratchboard Smorgasbord"

   And here's a pair of sketches that sums up the romantic version of Old California vs the reality of Old California:

 
Daily Whipout, "Tiburcio Vasquez Tricked Out vs. Tiburcio Vasquez In San Quentin"

   There is a huge butte just off Highway 93 on the south side of the Santa Maria Creek and it must have a magnificent name (or, at least it deserves one). Every time I drive to Kingman I look for it and you can only see the tip of it from the highway. Several years ago I finally pulled off the road and hiked up to a ridge to get this shot of it:

 
Massive Sandstone Butte (just above the joshua tree)

   I'm reading the new John Wayne book by Scott Eyman and it is an eye opener. Totally changed my view on B Westerns.

"When people say to me, 'You look familiar, where have I seen you before?' I like to say, 'I don't know, do you watch a lot of porn?'"
—BBB

The Power of No!

April 7, 2014
   On the last day my grandson Weston was here, I taught him the power of NO.

The Power of NO!

   I wish someone had taught me that skill when I was his age. Not sure his mother agrees, but it's a G-Paw's Prerogative. But it wasn't all negative. Here I am training Weston to be like Ginger Baker:

Drum Solo Training

  Meanwhile, in "The 66 Kid" I have been trying to trade up on artwork and here is a sketch of a certain hispanic babe I know, who I want to get in the book. She will be billed as Jennie in the book:



 
Daily Whipout, "Jeanner Cuts A Pretty Radical Profile"

   Had art prints made of quite a few paintings from the book down at Document Station. If you want one, they're $45 plus S&H:

 
Daily Whipout, "Billy Logas Blows The Doors Off A Boulder City Chevy"

"The more a man knows, the more he forgives."
—Catherine the Great

Man of The West Is In The House

April 5, 2014
   Got some house guests from Pasadena. They brought along this little guy:



Weston Allen Borscheller, 9 months old and mystified by his G-Paw's funny faces.

Harsh View of Coming Soon Billboards for The 66 Kid

April 4, 2014
   Here's a switch: Daniel Harshberger went home for lunch today and whipped out some billboard ideas for The 66 Kid. Here they are:

 
Harsh Daily Whipout, "Coming Soon Card #1"


 
Harsh Daily Whipout, "Coming Soon Card #2"


 
Harsh Daily Whipout, "Coming Soon Card #3"



Copy on back of postcards:

 

"Any traveler who misses the journey, misses about all he's going to get."
—William Least Heat Moon

You've Got to Know How to Pony (Like A Bony Maroni)

April 3, 2014
   Now that the book is in the can, we are shifting gears to do the documentary of "The 66 Kid." We need youngsters who know how to do this:



 
Daily Whipout, "We Knew How to Pony Like A Bony Maroni!"

   We need kids who know how to pony, watusi, jitterbug, the jerk, and, for extra points, the skate. We'll pay real money for this and bonus cash if they have the outfits to make it fly. You know, stuff like this:

 
Daily Whipout, "The Mo-ped Mamas"

   And can hold poses like this:

 
Daily Whipout, "The Carkid Ponders Road Kill"

   Speaking of the book being in the can, here is a wonderful cover blurb by a friend and fellow traveler:

“Any rascal who misspent his youth in the ‘50s and 60’s toting ice for travelers at his Dad’s gas station in Kingman, Arizona, got his hand tangled up in a motel washing machine wringer, and lost his virginity in a Nash Rambler, should have one hell of a story to tell about his life and times on Route 66. And that is exactly what Bob Boze Bell delivers in this book about a fast life in the slow lane of that varicose and scarred path of concrete and asphalt. BBB’s words and images are as tasty as truck stop pie. You will want another helping.”
—Michael Wallis, Route 66: The Mother Road and “The Sheriff” of Radiator Springs in CARS

Clean Start and RFDTV

April 2, 2014
   Cleaned up my office and took home all the photos and artwork that had piled up from "The 66 Kid" project. Even found some little gems, like this little study:

 
Daily Whipout, "Bruja On The Mountain"

   Collected some of the best, little studies for artprints as gifts for all the people who helped me:

 
Daily Whipout, "The Night Man Series"

   And this one:

 
Daily Whipout, "Leaving Kingman For The Last Time"

   Taped a segment on True West magazine for RFDTV this afternoon and talked about this issue:

 
Best selling issue since I've been involved. January, 2001.

"He who hesitates is not only lost, but miles from the next exit."
—Old Service Station Saying

BBB Guest Stars On Brisco County, Jr.

April 1, 2014
  Been cleaning out some old KSLX stuff and found this photo of me guest starring on "Brisco County, Jr." twenty years ago:
  
   That's co-star Julius Carry as Lord Bowler, BBB and Bruce Campbell as Brisco, on the Warner Brothers back lot in January of 1994. The show, "Hard Rock" was a takeoff on the Hard Rock Cafe (they built a wagon coming out of a false front) and they invited popular radio personalities from around the country to be in the show. We got along famously, meaning they were famous and had no idea who I was.

   Not sure if it's connected but I was fired several weeks after this.

   I did have big TV plans, though. And I've often wondered what happened. Gee, I wonder what ol' Seneca has to say about this?

"Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind."
—Seneca

When Drummers Get Stiffed

April 1, 2014
   Went home for lunch and whipped out the last painting for the book:

 
Daily Whipout, "When The Girl Pretends to Like The Drummer But Actually Has Her Eyes On The Lead Singer"

   This painting makes me so sad. It's based on a scene from the movie "Two-lane Blacktop," where the hitchhiker (Lauri Bird) rubs the Mechanic's shoulders (Dennis Wilson, drummer for the Beach Boys) but is making eyes at The Driver (James Taylor). Been there, had that happen.



"What do you call a drummer without a girlfriend? Homeless."
—Old Rhythm Guitarist Saying

The Backseat Performer

March 31, 2014
   Okay, here we are 90 days in, and I'm still trying to trade up on images. Worked this weekend on sketch ideas for a sidebar I did on putting on plays for the people behind us on the road.





   Got up this morning and whipped a little panorama painting from the POV of the car behind us:

 
Daily Whipout, "The Backseat Performer"

   A little more subtle, although Dan H. thinks the three question marks are not needed. What do you think?

"If someone ever accused me of being a hypocrite, I think I just would pretend it didn't bother me."
—Jack Handy

Home Stretch On HEYBATTAHBATTAH!

March 29, 2014
  A year ago I was standing on the beach at Rota, Spain when I had my epiphany about Route 66. Kathy took a photograph of me contemplating the Columbus boy's journey and then seeing the Route 66 Bar behind me on the beach. It ended up in "The 66 Kid" and is a very cool photo.

Meanwhile, the University of Arizona Wildcats play Wisconsin today and one of the main guys we are counting on is TJ McConnell, the dude on the right:



That's T. Bell in the center and Gabe York on the left. We accidentally ran into them last December while going to get our tickets upgraded at McKale Center in Tucson.

  Meanwhile, I'm trying to find a mention of the University of Arizona in The New York Times and by their coverage you wouldn't even know we were in the tournament. If, per chance, we make it to the final game I have a hunch how the NYTimes will handle the headline:

GEORGIA WALK-ON GOES TO THE BIG GAME

Worked most of today on getting atmospheric conditions right for a Little League night under the lights in Kingman, Arizona, circa 1959. A couple of the cars could be better but that traffic on 66 in the background is pretty accurate.



Daily Whipout, "HEYBATTAHBATTAH!"

"Clear your mind. Overcome your fear. Be daring."
—Damn good advice from Ron Mann, Comic Book Confidential

We All Helped Skin Bob

March 28, 2014
   Well, this is quite interesting. We handed in "The 66 Kid" a week ago today, and here we are a week later, still working on it. Making tweaks, clearing quotes (spent two hours yesterday just providing the location of quotes in "On The Road" for Penguin's approval and clearance). I'm now actually somewhat sorry I even used the quotes. Not sure I even need them.

   Speaking of quotes, yesterday I was cleaning out the piles of reference photos for the book, that are in my office and ran across my old news folder which I used on KSLX 100.7 FM in the eighties and early nineties. Found a slew of old quotes, I pulled off the wire and other places. Love these:

"If I had a mine shaft, I don't think I would just abandon it. There's got to be a better way."
—Jack Handy

Or, this one:

"I guess we were all guilty in a way. We all shot him, we all skinned him, and we all got a complimentary bumper sticker that said, "I helped skin Bob.'"
—Jack Handy

Still noodling sketches for my Little League memories:

 
Daily Whipout, "HEYBATTAHBATTAH! II: (plus, we all helped skin Bob, by Sterling Hayden)

   And here's one that hits close to home:



"There is many a good man to be found under a shabby hat."
—Old Vquero Saying

   And one for the road:

 
Daily Whipout, "Shiprock Hitcher"

"Misquotations are the only quotations that are never misquoted."
—Hesketh Pearson

HEYBATTAHBATTAH!

March 27, 2014
   Spent the last couple days working on a chapter opening for "The 66 Kid":

 
Daily Sketches, "HEYBATTAHBATTAH!"

   My memories of playing right field at the Kingman Little League Park, circa 1959. I'd like to get a view from outside the outfield fence where all the parents parked in their cars:


With a big Ford parked next to the right-field fence.



 
Daily Whipout, "HEYBATTAHBATTAH!"

   Came out a little too green. There wasn't a blade of grass within two miles of our park.

"Little League is good because it keeps parents off the streets."
—Yogi Berra