Heroic Weasel Redemption!

 June 18, 2021

   What did the poor weasel ever do to become the brunt of human derision?—Hey, don't weasel out on me! Hey, don't be a weasel! You and your weasel words! Apparently, the weasel's big sin is they are known to suck the contents out of an egg shell and then discard the shell and move on. I'm sorry, that doesn't sound like a negative trait at all. It actually seems like a genius move by a very smart little critter. Shouldn't we be saying,"Hey, clever weasel move, Dude!" Or, "The award for best weasel behavior goes to Elon Musk." Or, "He is damn smart but not weasel smart."

A Delightful Little Snow Weasel

Little Known Weasel History

   If you are older than dirt, like me, you probably remember this Frank Zappa album cover:

   The legendary "Weasels Ripped My Flesh" album cover was actually created by an artist named Neon Park (real name Martin Muller), who worked professionally designing posters at Family Dog, a design firm in San Francisco. The story goes that Frank Zappa summoned Park and showed him this 1953 magazine cover.

   Mister Neon extrapolated that idea and combined it with this ad from a 1953 Saturday Evening Post:

   And now you know the Weasel backstory for the iconic Mothers Of Invention album cover.

More Weasel History You Need to Know

   The next issue of True West (September) will feature this wonderful weasel on the cover.

Weasel Tail, Blackfeet, 1900

Photo by Edward S. Curtis

Exciting New Ways to Honor Weasels

   It's time to name a professional sports team The Weasels. I nominate Dallas, or Cleveland. Okay, granted, Phoenix would be perfect. Let's also change our language to honor this intelligent species.

• "Lord, grant me the wisdom to be like the mighty weasel."

• "You got your intellectuals and then you got your high brow geniuses and then there are the weasels of our community."

• "It is better to live one day as a weasel than a thousand days as a lamb."

"Intelligence without weasel behavior is a bird without wings."

—Old Vaquero Saying

Totally Gay Wild Bill And The Big, Fat Rothko Turnaround

 

June 17, 2021

   Why did some historians in the 1960s think Wild Bill Hickok was gay? If you watched last night's Facebook Live broadcast you know the ridiculous answer. If you didn't watch it you can still retrieve the answer right here.

Gay Wild Bill?

    Meanwhile, on the existential artist front, I am reading Louis Menand's "The Free World: Art And Thought In The Cold War" and it is an eye opener, at least for me. Thought I knew the origins of The Cold War, Drip Paintings and Pop Art, but what I didn't know you could apparently fill an 857 page book with. One of the most troubling and maddening things so far, (I'm on page 235), is that one definition of Modern Art is "the imitation of imitating." And, if that isn't enough of a dead end conundrum, another intellectual hipster, back in the day, claimed Modern Art represents reality "by refusing to represent." And the crucial element in the entire effort is allegedly "the silent gesture toward what [is] no longer possible." And, here's the kicker, if a painting starts to make sense it's not art.

   Damn, that pissses me off.

   At least this tail-chasing-expository-BS begins to explain this amusing painting, which by the way, matches my sweatshirt.

BBB In Front of a Rothko

 

   Okay, so I Googled Mark Rothko (real name Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz) and found out his success in the mid-fifties branded him as a sellout by some of his petty peers and he became depressed and commited suicide in 1970. That I began this day despising him and his work, and now I am feeling empathy towards him says something about context and high school popularity dynamics. That, and he also wore a pretty cool hat,  which gives me even more sympathy for the poor Latvian born, truth-seeking-artist.

Daily Whip Out: "My New Hero Rothko"

 "The people who weep before my pictures are having the same religious experience I had when I painted them. And if you, as you say, are moved only by their color relationships, then you miss the point."

—Mark Rothko

Communication Breakdown It's Always The Same

 June 16, 2021

   I was talking on the phone to my daughter yesterday, who lives in Seattle and works for Principal Financial. She told me that the discussion in her business is, "What did we learn from the pandemic?" Great question. And one that we should all ask ourselves, both professionally and personally.

   For me and True West it is this:

One Old, Cranky, Stubborn Guy

   We could not sustain our office environment in the pandemic. Several of our key employees were driving 25 to 35 miles to work and the quarantine literally demolished that model. My partner, Ken Amorosano, saw that threat immediately and moved quickly and aggresively to not renew our lease and in fact, we moved out of our offices and started working remotely. Frankly, it probably saved our business. If it were up to me, I would still be there because I loved the True West World Headquarters—it was my sandbox—and would never have made that decision on my own.

Adapt Or Die

   But it isn't just magazines. I had a doctor's appointment in Scottsdale yesterday and as I drove down there and back I saw major, jaw-dropping ruin on almost every corner. Long-time favorite restaurants that did not adapt to outdoor dining are boarded up. Strip malls look like some haphazard wrecking ball has hit every third store. Big mall parking lots look like abandoned drag strips. The wreckage is massive and everywhere.

What Have I Learned Personally?

   On a personal note, I have noticed that key relationships are quite a bit more intense (Hello Kathy!), and sometimes it seems that we are twice as likely to go into full blown catastrophic arguments at the drop of a hat. The stay-at-home mode has created a much more hair-trigger-pressure-cooker environment. This is probably why the old job commute and being gone all day, softened that intensity and made being home more special ("Honey, I'm home!" seems like a distant, quaint memory). Miss that a bit. I also don't like the "every day is Saturday" aspect of the new world order.

   But, really, what I especially learned is, after all is said and done, it's even more important to communicate successfully.

Hey, Chill Out Covid Dude.

"Communication breakdown, it's always the same
Havin' a nervous breakdown, a-drive me insane"

—Led Zeppelin

Weasel Tails & Hungry Wolves

 June 15, 2021

   Got a big special issue of True West magazine in the works. And we're working on a couple different cover concepts, which I can't share just yet, but one of them features this guy:

Weasel Tail, Blackfeet 1900

Edward S. Curtis

   Speaking of covers that rock.

   A series of Alex Hawk covers

   Bill Brooks sent me this great photo, below. He thinks it looks like me, but I am enthralled with his big oi' hat and the pistol handle, which appears to be a Colt Thunderer? As for the resemblance, I never see myself from that side so I don't know. 

Kid In A Canyon

   Want to do a hungry wolf for a project I'm working on with the boys down at Cattletrack. Utilized a 1920s era Ludwig Holwein wolf for this study.

Daily Whip Out:

"Salivate Like A Pavlov Wolf"

The Wisdom of Imitation

"I once met a painting coach who tells students to copy their favorite artists. At first, students resist.

In response, the coach tells them to listen for friction. 'Do you hear that resistance? It’s the whisper of your unique style.' Through imitation, we discover our voice."

—David Perell

When Tamales Are Flying You Will Find Corn Shucks Falling From The Sky

 June 14, 2021

   Thomas Charles Bell is working on a new story. I asked him what it is about and he said, "Some sheep are killed. Tamales are flying in the air. It gets pretty wild." I think it's safe to say, he is my son. 

Daily Scratchboard Whip Out:

"Old Vaquero Sayings Dude #22"

"El que nace para ramal, del cielo le caen las hojas."

—Old Vaquero Saying

(He who is destined to be a tamale will find corn shucks falling from the sky.)

El Mechudo & His Pinche Bad Boy Compadres

 June 13, 2021

   I found a packet of collected scratchboards that my curator, Kristi Jacobs, has compiled under the simple heading of "Vaquero Series" and I thought a couple of them needed a little more work and when I was working on them, names just popped into my head.

Daily Scratchboard Whip Out:

"El Mechudo (The Hairy One)"

A Yaqui

Daily Whip Out:

"El Grunidor (The Snarler)"

Daily Whip Out: "Emiliano"

Daily Whip Outs:

"Rooster & His No Good Cousin Tuti"

"Love is blind but not the neighbors."

—Tuti Alvarado

Daily Whip Out:

"Tom Horn The Cowboy Scout"

Daily Scratchboard Whip Out:

"That Dang Dude Was Out of His Skull!"

"To the mob, everything is a lie."

—Old Vaquero Saying

Old Snaggletooth & Crow Knows Best

 June 12, 2021

   Call me Covid Crazy but I got an eight-week-fever and the only thing that can cure it is more cowbell.

Put Your Hip Boots On And Batten Down The Hatches

   Anybody who knows me, knows I come from a long line of BSers. And, in my humble opinion, when it comes to laying it on thick as a brick, nobody I have ever known has done it better than this guy.

Daily Whip Out: "Old Snaggletooth"

The Notorious Hunk Hoppers of Albert Lee

   Before my father got drafted in WWII he served for a short time as a Hunk Hopper (a cousin to car hops) at a drive-in south of Albert Lee, Minnesota. The idea was to get these farm hunks and put them in shorts and cowboy boots to draw in the milk maid crowd, which if you've ever been in northern Iowa or southern Minnesota, you know there are more than a few.

My father, the Hunk Hopper, at left.

That's Milton Cece at right.

   And here's my father and his Hunk Hopper amigo, Milton on the Route 66 Fun Run in the 1990s.

At The Iron Skillet, Blake Ranch Turnoff

on I-40

Deena, BBB, Allen P. and Milton on the way to Seligman and the Route 66 Fun Run

Daily Whip Out: "The Crow Knows"

   So, is the crow saying, "Just about all of this blog post is B.S."?

   Right as rain, Roy.

  "Does the truth actually go through Kingman, Arizona?"

—Old Vaquero Question

Nigerian Navajo Ninjas

 June 11, 2021

   Sometimes I just wind up in weird places. Some of this is because of my wandering mind as I draw, some of it is because I am consciously seeking counterintuitive solutions and some of it is probably due to my Covid addled brain.

Daily Whip Out:

"Zu Lou The Nigerian Navajo Ninja"

Who is she? Ask Juni Fisher. She knows her. What does she look like? I just showed you.

Mistakes? Oh, I've Made A Few

• If you don't make mistakes, you're doing it wrong.

• If you don't correct those mistakes, you're doing it really wrong.

• If you can't accept that you're mistaken, you're not doing it at all.

—Uncle Russ

"There are no bad pictures; that's just how your face looks sometimes."

— Abraham Lincoln

BBB And The Covid Cocktail

 June 10, 2021

   I was supposed to give a talk in Encampment, Wyoming today but this Covid crap put the kibosh on that. Speaking of which, I went to the doctor yesterday to see if I could get the Covid cocktail Trump got at Walter Reed and the medical assistant just laughed at me and said, "I know, it's crazy. That's high access stuff. Perhaps if you were a better artist?"

   Okay, okay, part of that is not true. She never said the artist part. So, I got the cocktail and took my motorcaid around the medical center and waved to everyone for about twenty minutes, then came home, took my mask off and posed on the front porch for about fifteen minutes before going to bed early. It's draining to be so privileged.

Daily Whip Out:

"BBB After Receiving The Covid Cocktail"

"I kid the ex-president."

—BBB

Dean's List Debacle Finale

 June 9, 2021

   Okay, here is the final chapter in the mysterious and petty, false Dean's List news clipping.

Dean's List Debacle Finale

   As previously mentioned, when I was a freshman at the University of Arizona, the school made a mistake and sent the accolades of another Robert Bell to my hometown newspaper and, thanks to Andy Sansom, who found the clipping, here's how that looked:

Robert Bell Gets Undue Credit

Mohave County Miner

June 30, 1966

   I think it's interesting that they listed my parent's home address. And, you can see why my mother didn't bother to correct all of the people who called to congratulate her.

    Now, thanks to Gay Mathis, here is how I looked at that time. She tracked this photo down from the U of A yearbook annual.

Cochise Hall Dorm Crew, 1966

   Photo taken on the front steps of the only dormitory on the University of Arizona campus without air conditioning. That's my roommate, Steven Craig Burford, another Kingman kid, back row, fifth from left. 

"Frankly, I don't know how someone could be that skinny and not be in a famine commercial."

—Bozo Bell

Been Under And Over The Moon Lately

 June 9, 2021

   Had moon on the brain for the past couple weeks. 

Daily Whip Out: "Billy In Moonlight"

"There are nights when the wolves are silent, and only the Moon howls."
—George Carlin

Over the moon? Or under the moon? Either way, I've been there.

Daily Whip Out: "Pendejo Moonstruck"

“It is Homer who has chiefly taught other poets the art of telling lies skillfully.”

—Aristotle

Daily Whip Out: "Rings Around The Moon"

"There is no truth, there is no history, there is only the way the story is told."

—Richard Avedon

Daily Whip Out: "Mickey In Moonlight"

Daily Whip Out: "Paulita In Darkness"

Daily Whip Out: "Billy Lit Up"

"Painting is really hard, it's about accepting your limitations but reaching for the moon" 

—Damian Hirst

Failing at Something I love

 June 8, 2021

   I have been looking for reaching women reference and was struck by this somewhat obscure painting.

Edgar Degas

"Dancer Posing for a Photograph"

1875

   I like the stance, her reaching upwards and she looks just a tad like what I picture Ms. Maxwell would look like. So, what if I turned her, slightly and split the difference between the ballerina and this?

Maynard Dixon

"Tragic Mood"

1923

   So, that she is reaching up and semi-disrobing at the same time, like this.

Daily Whip Out: "Querida Semi-disrobing"

   Naw. Crap. Getting too far out into the weeds. Stay focused Mister Scatter-Head. Stay focused on the original idea, which is Pabilita—I mean some anonymous querida—running out to meet her lover in the moonlight. What does that look like?

Daily Whip Out:

"The Night Was Cold But She Was Not"

Or: 

"Reaching for His Saddlehorn In The Moonlight"

   One of my curses is I am afflicted with is to have this ideal image in my head and not be able to get it on paper even after multiple tries. Here's the scene of the crime.

My Studio This Morning

8 A.M.

   One Hound Dog—Uno—lots of Frank Tenney Johnson, Gustav Klimt reference (on floor) and my latest stab at "The Night Was Cold But She Was Not." 

   Still I agree with Gracie Allen's hubby.

"I'd rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate."

—George Burns

The Coming Storm Came

 June 6, 2021

 Here's a photo I took out my office window five years ago.

"The Coming Storm"

August 26, 2016

   Oh, the irony of that title. Today, the office is history and history itself has been turned upside down. Didn't see either coming. Probably just as well.

“The writer who knows what he's doing isn't doing very much.”
― Nelson Algren

Travails of The Re-Emerging

 June 5, 2021

   Well, the signs are everywhere. In the waning times of sweat pants and Zoom shirts, I bring you a respite—and a few observations—about the travails of the re-emerging.

Travails From The Re-Emerging

Albert Baggetta, from Agawam, Massachusetts, saw a problem and fixed it. If only more Americans would do this in the reemerging, I think our country would be in better shape.

"I tried to find True West magazine at our local Barnes & Noble but it was buried behind a bunch of other mags, so I was forced to bring the batch to the front, so others wouldn't have a difficult time finding them."

—Al Baggetta

On The Covid Front

  It's been seven weeks now of mild symptoms and after a hearty regimen of super vitamins and selected medicinal herbs, I am still in the same place, which is discouraging, but given the horror stories of others who got the dreaded disease without having the vaccine, I am very thankful. But, if I had to choose today what the title of my memoir would be, this would be it.

Daily Whip Out: "All Hat, No Cattle"

For me, it's always been about the hat (I own hundreds) and to be honest with you, although I come from a prominent line of cowboys, I have never owned a cow. Not even an FFA (Future Farmers of America) cow. Not one.

Just sayin'.

The Elusiveness In The Re-Emerging

One thing I have not been able to effective land is the framework of narrative flow.

Daily Whip Outs: "Narrative Flow Studies"

Covid Art?

One of the symptoms of Covid is a foggy brain and a fever. That's what produced this.

Daily Whip Out: "Covid Fever On Paper"

  It's been fun, but we're done? Meanwhile, this is one of my favorite memories:

"Calm down! We're just asking you to wear a mask. You can still wear your pajamas, and leave your bras and teeth at home."

—Walmart

Authentic Soiled Doves, Aging Swooners & Steaming Horses

 June 4, 2021

   Wish I had this one back.

Dan The Man's Cover for "Soiled Doves"

   We ended up using another image of an actual soiled dove (the consensus was Lotta Crabtree, above, was not a soiled dove and so this is misleading, or inaccurate), but I don't think what we ended up with matched the power of this rejected cover.

   Sometimes it hurts to be authentic and true.

Living On Borrowed Time

   Meanwhile, Charlie Watts of the Stones is 80 and here's the bad news: he looks it. I refuse to run an authentic photo of him today because it's too painful. Let's go with him at the beginning.

Charlie Watts Beating His Original Skins

   Notice a trend here? Aging Boomers Not Aging Well. Plus, I just saw one of those new AI photo blending videos of aging swooners—Brigit Bardot, Jessica Lange, Vivien Liegh, et al—not aging well. Depressing and creepy. At my age, give me the myth any time.

Daily Whip Out: "Steaming Horses"

Daily Whip Out:

"The Night Is Cold But She Is Hot to Trot"

And here's where I got that hat from.

Jicarilla Apache holds Billy's Hat

"There's no 'I' in team, but there are three in narcissistic."

—Wonderful Russ

The BtK Class of 2021 Just Keeps Getting Better

 June 3, 2021

   Here's a metaphor I can hang my hat on: as a part-time substitute teacher in a class full of renegade ruffians, I am proud to say this year's BtK Class of 2021 has made us all proud. In addition to yesterday's accolades, here are a few more that just came in.

Daily Whip Out:

"Bandido In The Green Hatband"

Tom Blyth In The Tunstall Store

The BtK Class of 2021

  This just in: in addition to the fine scholars I mentioned yesterday, we just received word on the day True West magazine goes to press, that Tom Blyth, above, has been tapped to play the Kid in a new eight part Epix-MGM series being written and produced by Michael Hirst (Elizabeth, The Tudors, Vikings). Filming begins in Calgary this June and the series is set to air in 2022. Photo of Blyth in the Tunstall Store in Lincoln, New Mexico on May 27, by Tiffanie Owen.

The Kid In The Bright Green Irish Hatband

   This also just in: A big thanks to researcher James Townsend, who forwarded us this newspaper clipping from the Ruidoso News, from August 1, 1952, which states that this is a reprint from an 1881 article in the Lincoln County Leader:

from the Lincoln County Reader:
"The Kid in the broad brimmed sombrero
with the bright green Irish hat band"

   Well, I guess that settles THAT!

"The more we find out, the less we know for sure."

—Old Vaquero Saying