April 10, 2007
Gus finished his Salt War maps and uploaded them this morning. I'm still scrambling to finish three paintings for the book. Meghan is doing final edit. Going to go home early to work on the paintings.
I have a bunch to tell, but no time right now.
“The people who are grandly famous are people who are often famous for contradictory reasons. The more contradictions you can hold on yourself, the more contradictions your image has, the more famous you will be, because people will interpret you in different ways. The more different kinds of stories and even contradictory stories that can be told about someone, the more famous he will be.”
—Leo Braudy (interviewed by Bill Moyers in his book World of Ideas)
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Monday, April 09, 2007
April 9, 2007
Dave Daiss is up from his ranch, so I treated him to lunch at Tonto Bar & Grill ($25.02 plus $5 tip, biz account). Sat outside on the patio. Beautiful day. Talked quite a bit about promotional efforts for True West. He often buys banner space and rodeo mentions down in his area to promote TW. Dave is a natural promoter and we need him to do even more to get the magazine known.
Got a call from Buckeye Blake and he tells me it doesn't look good in Sumner. The meeting is tonight and the buzz has been quite negative. Evidently, someone from the Lincoln area, specifically, Capitan, got involved and the locals are not happy.
Decided to get crazy, and brought in some Essdee scratchboard to the office. Hadn't touched the stuff in six months, so my first efforts were kind of rusty:
But once I got going, it kind of flows right out of me. These are more studies for the Salt War Insurgent Faces. I especially like the Vato in the lower right corner. That Dude will mess you up.
Onion Headline de Jour
Inner City Community Bands Together To Find Missing Parent
What helps me is the daily habit of drawing six pictures no matter what. By the way, with these ten and the six I'll do when I get home, it will bring me to 3,558 drawings without missing a day. Amazing (for me).
"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going."
—Old Vaquero Saying
Dave Daiss is up from his ranch, so I treated him to lunch at Tonto Bar & Grill ($25.02 plus $5 tip, biz account). Sat outside on the patio. Beautiful day. Talked quite a bit about promotional efforts for True West. He often buys banner space and rodeo mentions down in his area to promote TW. Dave is a natural promoter and we need him to do even more to get the magazine known.
Got a call from Buckeye Blake and he tells me it doesn't look good in Sumner. The meeting is tonight and the buzz has been quite negative. Evidently, someone from the Lincoln area, specifically, Capitan, got involved and the locals are not happy.
Decided to get crazy, and brought in some Essdee scratchboard to the office. Hadn't touched the stuff in six months, so my first efforts were kind of rusty:
But once I got going, it kind of flows right out of me. These are more studies for the Salt War Insurgent Faces. I especially like the Vato in the lower right corner. That Dude will mess you up.
Onion Headline de Jour
Inner City Community Bands Together To Find Missing Parent
What helps me is the daily habit of drawing six pictures no matter what. By the way, with these ten and the six I'll do when I get home, it will bring me to 3,558 drawings without missing a day. Amazing (for me).
"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going."
—Old Vaquero Saying
April 9, 2007
Worked all weekend on Salt War images. Here's "Face of The Insurgency." Very nice effects and patina. Note the small scar on his jawline (a happy accident). And also notice the dirty fingernails (he's a farmer). I'm also proud of the '73 Winchester. I have one, and propped that sucker right on my art desk for reference. Notice the rubbing circle created by the saddle ring, just above the trigger guard.
Also did a gaggle of facial studies for other insurgency characters. Runs the gamut.
The insurgents got up on the adobe rooftops of the surrounding houses in San Elizario and laid down a deadly fire at the Texas Ranger compound. Nice subtle effects here. Still need to add the Ranger compound in the mid-distance.
"Believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy."
—Norman Vincent Peale
Worked all weekend on Salt War images. Here's "Face of The Insurgency." Very nice effects and patina. Note the small scar on his jawline (a happy accident). And also notice the dirty fingernails (he's a farmer). I'm also proud of the '73 Winchester. I have one, and propped that sucker right on my art desk for reference. Notice the rubbing circle created by the saddle ring, just above the trigger guard.
Also did a gaggle of facial studies for other insurgency characters. Runs the gamut.
The insurgents got up on the adobe rooftops of the surrounding houses in San Elizario and laid down a deadly fire at the Texas Ranger compound. Nice subtle effects here. Still need to add the Ranger compound in the mid-distance.
"Believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy."
—Norman Vincent Peale
Friday, April 06, 2007
April 6, 2007 Bonus, Bonus, Blog
Tom Tumus came by and gave back a TW check for $473. Claims we don't owe him the money. Carole's not here so I told him I'd check on it Monday.
Now Ron's gone and it's just Sylvia and I (she was here earlier too). Going to meet friends up at AZ Wine at 6:15 and then we're going to eat at Easy Street Bistro, who have been doing heavy email campaigns, sending us menus for their custom dinners on Friday and Saturday night. They aren't open to the public. Anyway, we finally decided to try them. Ah, those email campaigns work, don't they?
Here's one more page of red-ryder-roof-shooters-studies. Very nice and loose. Hope I can capture some of that in the finals. Many of the San Elizario shooters got up on the flat roofs and fired on the Texas Rangers.
English Numbers And Fun With Wild Bill
"A thought for you: have you noticed the fact that the number '10' not only played a part in the death of Hickok on August 2, 1876, but also Jack Slade? To be specific, Slade was hanged on March 10, 1864 by the Vigilantes; but if you add 1+8+6+4 you get 19 which is 1+9= 10. Similarly, Hickok's year of birth was 1+8+3+7 which again totals 19 or 10. And as a final figure, 8/2 for August 2 also equals 10—chilling isn't it?
" I enjoyed the latest issue on Billy the Kid, but I wish someone had taken time to point out that his real name was Henry McCarty and that much of the research into his earlier years was done by the late lamented Waldo Koop who unearthed details of his time spent as an urchin at Wichita.
"My best, and a Happy Easter to you all."
— Joe Rosa, England
Tom Tumus came by and gave back a TW check for $473. Claims we don't owe him the money. Carole's not here so I told him I'd check on it Monday.
Now Ron's gone and it's just Sylvia and I (she was here earlier too). Going to meet friends up at AZ Wine at 6:15 and then we're going to eat at Easy Street Bistro, who have been doing heavy email campaigns, sending us menus for their custom dinners on Friday and Saturday night. They aren't open to the public. Anyway, we finally decided to try them. Ah, those email campaigns work, don't they?
Here's one more page of red-ryder-roof-shooters-studies. Very nice and loose. Hope I can capture some of that in the finals. Many of the San Elizario shooters got up on the flat roofs and fired on the Texas Rangers.
English Numbers And Fun With Wild Bill
"A thought for you: have you noticed the fact that the number '10' not only played a part in the death of Hickok on August 2, 1876, but also Jack Slade? To be specific, Slade was hanged on March 10, 1864 by the Vigilantes; but if you add 1+8+6+4 you get 19 which is 1+9= 10. Similarly, Hickok's year of birth was 1+8+3+7 which again totals 19 or 10. And as a final figure, 8/2 for August 2 also equals 10—chilling isn't it?
" I enjoyed the latest issue on Billy the Kid, but I wish someone had taken time to point out that his real name was Henry McCarty and that much of the research into his earlier years was done by the late lamented Waldo Koop who unearthed details of his time spent as an urchin at Wichita.
"My best, and a Happy Easter to you all."
— Joe Rosa, England
April 6, 2007 Bonus Blog
Everyone's gone (3:35 p.m.). Just me and Ron left to hold down the fort. Everyone took off early, but we had a rough week and they deserve it.
Seth Hoyt and I had lunch at El Encanto earlier in the week. Good talking to him. He has a whole bunch of experience as a publisher and an all around media guy.
Bailed into sketches for the Salt War fight. Texas Rangers holed up in their Ranger Compound in San Elizario, Texas, firing out windows and thru portholes. They were brave fighters facing overwhelming odds and they repulsed wave after wave of insurgent charges, but in the end they surrendered, through a confusing maze of miscommunication and battle-fatigued and truce-fed negotiations, succumbing to outright lies and half-truths. Whatever, they are remembered to this day as the only Texas Ranger unit who ever surrendered.
Gee, I wonder if there's a moral in there for anyone in Washington?
Everyone's gone (3:35 p.m.). Just me and Ron left to hold down the fort. Everyone took off early, but we had a rough week and they deserve it.
Seth Hoyt and I had lunch at El Encanto earlier in the week. Good talking to him. He has a whole bunch of experience as a publisher and an all around media guy.
Bailed into sketches for the Salt War fight. Texas Rangers holed up in their Ranger Compound in San Elizario, Texas, firing out windows and thru portholes. They were brave fighters facing overwhelming odds and they repulsed wave after wave of insurgent charges, but in the end they surrendered, through a confusing maze of miscommunication and battle-fatigued and truce-fed negotiations, succumbing to outright lies and half-truths. Whatever, they are remembered to this day as the only Texas Ranger unit who ever surrendered.
Gee, I wonder if there's a moral in there for anyone in Washington?
April 6, 2007
Robert Ray, Abby Pearson and Meghan Saar and I worked late again last night, finishing several projects that needed to go out. This after getting the June issue out the door at two. Lots of last minute changes and tweaks. Very successful day.
Now, I need to shift gears and get all of the artwork done for Classic Gunfights, Volume III which goes to the printer a week from today. Robert Ray is home working on the layouts for that today, and I'm going to put in a hopefully successful three days in my studio this weekend.
I finally got photos back from my mother's funeral. They were on Deena's camera and she uploaded the images last week on Snapfish. I ordered a batch and they finally arrived, via snail mail, last night. Here's a good illustration of the cultural split in my family. The top photo is of the pall bearers and as you can clearly see, the Kingman cowboys certainly stand out and have their stance down. Ha. Left to right: Charlie Waters, Deena Bell, Billy Weir, Billy Hamilton, Bud Linn and Robert Jerl Stockbridge. The bottom photo is of the service, and Lou Cady, Jr. picked out the casket. That's Radar Hill in the background.
After the ceremony I took Deena and Kathy over to pay a visit to my father's grave. Several years ago, I stopped at a K-Mart and bought a miniature '57 T-Bird and placed it on his grave. It was still there (you can see it in the close-up).
Onion Headline de Jour
Google Announces Plan To Destroy All Information It Can't Index
"We can't do much about the length of our lives, but we can do plenty about its width and depth."
—Evan Esar
Robert Ray, Abby Pearson and Meghan Saar and I worked late again last night, finishing several projects that needed to go out. This after getting the June issue out the door at two. Lots of last minute changes and tweaks. Very successful day.
Now, I need to shift gears and get all of the artwork done for Classic Gunfights, Volume III which goes to the printer a week from today. Robert Ray is home working on the layouts for that today, and I'm going to put in a hopefully successful three days in my studio this weekend.
I finally got photos back from my mother's funeral. They were on Deena's camera and she uploaded the images last week on Snapfish. I ordered a batch and they finally arrived, via snail mail, last night. Here's a good illustration of the cultural split in my family. The top photo is of the pall bearers and as you can clearly see, the Kingman cowboys certainly stand out and have their stance down. Ha. Left to right: Charlie Waters, Deena Bell, Billy Weir, Billy Hamilton, Bud Linn and Robert Jerl Stockbridge. The bottom photo is of the service, and Lou Cady, Jr. picked out the casket. That's Radar Hill in the background.
After the ceremony I took Deena and Kathy over to pay a visit to my father's grave. Several years ago, I stopped at a K-Mart and bought a miniature '57 T-Bird and placed it on his grave. It was still there (you can see it in the close-up).
Onion Headline de Jour
Google Announces Plan To Destroy All Information It Can't Index
"We can't do much about the length of our lives, but we can do plenty about its width and depth."
—Evan Esar
Thursday, April 05, 2007
April 5, 2007 Bonus, Bonus, Bonus Blog
Got a call from Buckeye Blake. He got an email from the mayor and "village council" of Fort Sumner requesting a written proposal for his Billy the Kid sculpture. They are going to vote on it Monday night at a council meeting at 6:30. I asked him if he was going to make a call for supporters to show up like Paul Hutton, Drew Gomber or any of the Billy folk over at Lincoln and he said, "Oh God, no!" And he reminded me how much the Sumner crowd hates the Lincoln crowd (and vice versa). I had completely forgotten this aspect of the Kid world (early Alzheimer's?). And he's right. Please don't go to the meeting unless you are "from around those parts." You'll just make it worse.
I fretted all day about the Oklahoma railroad map. Emailed Ed LeRoy of the Old Cowtown Museum, Rod Cook president of the Cadlwell, Kansas Historical Society and Marcus Huff, former OK resident, but didn't hear back from them. Finally got this email from Gus late this afternoon:
“I was able to find info on the RRs in Okla. The one from Hennessey traveled mostly north to Waukomis, then to Pond Creek and enters Kansas at Caldwell. From Caldwell north to Wellington then on up to Wichita. Reference is from the map of Indian and Oklahoma Territory 1894 official records of the General Land Office. Good to go. If i’m wrong i’ll hang up my callipers.”
—Gus “The Mapinator” Walker
Well, that's good enough for me! I'll sleep better tonight knowinig that map is right. Thanks Mr. Mapinator.
Meanwhile, on the Paul Cool "Salt War" front. I painted one of the key buildings wrong (the aerial shape is off) and need to tweak it. No rest for the wicked.
"Never let the urgent crowd out the important."
—Kelly Catlin Walker
Got a call from Buckeye Blake. He got an email from the mayor and "village council" of Fort Sumner requesting a written proposal for his Billy the Kid sculpture. They are going to vote on it Monday night at a council meeting at 6:30. I asked him if he was going to make a call for supporters to show up like Paul Hutton, Drew Gomber or any of the Billy folk over at Lincoln and he said, "Oh God, no!" And he reminded me how much the Sumner crowd hates the Lincoln crowd (and vice versa). I had completely forgotten this aspect of the Kid world (early Alzheimer's?). And he's right. Please don't go to the meeting unless you are "from around those parts." You'll just make it worse.
I fretted all day about the Oklahoma railroad map. Emailed Ed LeRoy of the Old Cowtown Museum, Rod Cook president of the Cadlwell, Kansas Historical Society and Marcus Huff, former OK resident, but didn't hear back from them. Finally got this email from Gus late this afternoon:
“I was able to find info on the RRs in Okla. The one from Hennessey traveled mostly north to Waukomis, then to Pond Creek and enters Kansas at Caldwell. From Caldwell north to Wellington then on up to Wichita. Reference is from the map of Indian and Oklahoma Territory 1894 official records of the General Land Office. Good to go. If i’m wrong i’ll hang up my callipers.”
—Gus “The Mapinator” Walker
Well, that's good enough for me! I'll sleep better tonight knowinig that map is right. Thanks Mr. Mapinator.
Meanwhile, on the Paul Cool "Salt War" front. I painted one of the key buildings wrong (the aerial shape is off) and need to tweak it. No rest for the wicked.
"Never let the urgent crowd out the important."
—Kelly Catlin Walker
April 5, 2007 Bonus Blog
Finished Classic Gunfights at about ten. Still hanging out on the railroad tracks. Called Rod Cook in Wellington, Kansas and he said he could find the answer, but it wouldn't be until tonight (his notes are in Caldwell). Still need to tweak To The Point (my editorial) for the June issue. Also starting to work on July and need to finish a Bull Riding Program ad, and a new gunfight for The Cowboy Chronicle by tomorrow. Classic Gunfights, the book is due on April 13 and I need to finish a dozen peices of art for that. I know, it's like running in front of a train.
Regarding my concerns about copyright infringement, here is an interesting take on that:
Copyright Critique
"I'm not sure what all this means, but as someone who tries to be honest, and consistent, I don't like it one bit."
—BBB
“What it means is copyright in the 21st century is broken. On the one hand, you have Disney expanding copyright every time the Mouse is eligible for the public domain. On the other, you have technology that makes it really easy to share what you like.
“Copyright was originally established to make sure creators got a fair shake, and then their work was supposed to go into the public domain. The original copyright in Britain and the US was based on the Statute of Anne: fourteen years, non-renewable. They've been expanding it ever since. Now we're up to seventy years after the death of the inventor in some countries. That's just insane.
“Well, it's a huge topic. I'm on the side that says if no one profits, filesharing is okay. If someone makes money, I want my piece of the action.
“The evidence seems to suggest that sharing files actually increases sales, because most of the filesharers wouldn't buy anyway, but people who love the file often buy the official version.
“Okay, this is already too long. But don't feel guilty for enjoying the occasional piece of art someone shares with you!”
—Will Shetterly
Buckeye On Billy
“Can't we evolve in art & histoiry or must we forever be saddled by a sameness of one badly doctored image. How can the Pan at rest create such a motion. Should not this bright soul be released from that moronic shell to change the attitude of a nation. He was the boy warrior who bucked the tiger and died in so doing."
—Buckeye Blake
“Politics I supposed to be the second-oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.”
—Ronald Reagan
Finished Classic Gunfights at about ten. Still hanging out on the railroad tracks. Called Rod Cook in Wellington, Kansas and he said he could find the answer, but it wouldn't be until tonight (his notes are in Caldwell). Still need to tweak To The Point (my editorial) for the June issue. Also starting to work on July and need to finish a Bull Riding Program ad, and a new gunfight for The Cowboy Chronicle by tomorrow. Classic Gunfights, the book is due on April 13 and I need to finish a dozen peices of art for that. I know, it's like running in front of a train.
Regarding my concerns about copyright infringement, here is an interesting take on that:
Copyright Critique
"I'm not sure what all this means, but as someone who tries to be honest, and consistent, I don't like it one bit."
—BBB
“What it means is copyright in the 21st century is broken. On the one hand, you have Disney expanding copyright every time the Mouse is eligible for the public domain. On the other, you have technology that makes it really easy to share what you like.
“Copyright was originally established to make sure creators got a fair shake, and then their work was supposed to go into the public domain. The original copyright in Britain and the US was based on the Statute of Anne: fourteen years, non-renewable. They've been expanding it ever since. Now we're up to seventy years after the death of the inventor in some countries. That's just insane.
“Well, it's a huge topic. I'm on the side that says if no one profits, filesharing is okay. If someone makes money, I want my piece of the action.
“The evidence seems to suggest that sharing files actually increases sales, because most of the filesharers wouldn't buy anyway, but people who love the file often buy the official version.
“Okay, this is already too long. But don't feel guilty for enjoying the occasional piece of art someone shares with you!”
—Will Shetterly
Buckeye On Billy
“Can't we evolve in art & histoiry or must we forever be saddled by a sameness of one badly doctored image. How can the Pan at rest create such a motion. Should not this bright soul be released from that moronic shell to change the attitude of a nation. He was the boy warrior who bucked the tiger and died in so doing."
—Buckeye Blake
“Politics I supposed to be the second-oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.”
—Ronald Reagan
April 5, 2007
Worked late last night. Got out of the office at about 7:15. Meghan and Abby were still here, trying to wrap up the June issue.
Got in this morning and tweaked errors on the Ed Short vs. Black-faced Charley Bryant Classic Gunfight. I'm concerned about The Mapinator's railroad route from Hennessey to Wichita. Gus is in Alabama and doesn't have access to our map collection and we don't know how to find stuff the way he could when he was here. He ended up wing-dinging the railroad route from Hennessey, Oklahoma to Wichita. This makes me nervous because it would be like someone wing-dinging a railroad from Kingman to Vegas, which would be wrong for the simple reason that there isn't one. You had to go to Needles, California on the Santa Fe and up through California to make that route. I may call Ed LeRoy at Old Cowtown Museum in Wichita. I'll bet he knows.
Billy The Kid's Death Suit
To all of the Fort Sumner residents who are questioning Buckeye Blake's sculpture of Billy's funeral clothes, and why the ensemble wouldn't have included cowboy boots and a gunbelt, here's Paco Anaya's account in his book, "I Buried Billy":
"'OK,' my brother answered, and with out swearing in or anything else, my brother started to name from those that were there; and he named Antonio Saverda, Jose Silva, Sabal Gutierrez, Lorenzo Jaramillo, but he (Negro) did not want to serve. He said he did not know anything about that. Then Don Alejandro said to my brother, 'You, too, can serve.' And so it was done.
"Then Pat [Garrett] gave Don Alejandro a paper. This paper had the verdict already written by Pat Gartett, which we all signed. My brother signed as president, and then the rest. I took the paper, it was a paper of five inches wide, and about 10 inches long.
"When we were through, Pat said to Don Pedro Maxwell, 'Pete, take this $25 so you can put good clothes on Billy.'
"Don Pedro took the $25 and he and Don Manuel Abreu went to the latter's store and bought a beige suit, a shirt, and undershirt, shorts, and a pair of stockings. I, the writer, and my brother, Higinio Garcia, and several others of those that were there, dressed Billy with those clothes than we laid him on a high bed, one of those narrow ones, and we took him to the saloon where they held dances. There we watched, and on the next day we buried him."
Onion Headline de Jour
Office Manager Forced To Resort To Unfriendly Reminders
"Dilligence is the mother of opportunity."
—Old Vaquero Saying
Worked late last night. Got out of the office at about 7:15. Meghan and Abby were still here, trying to wrap up the June issue.
Got in this morning and tweaked errors on the Ed Short vs. Black-faced Charley Bryant Classic Gunfight. I'm concerned about The Mapinator's railroad route from Hennessey to Wichita. Gus is in Alabama and doesn't have access to our map collection and we don't know how to find stuff the way he could when he was here. He ended up wing-dinging the railroad route from Hennessey, Oklahoma to Wichita. This makes me nervous because it would be like someone wing-dinging a railroad from Kingman to Vegas, which would be wrong for the simple reason that there isn't one. You had to go to Needles, California on the Santa Fe and up through California to make that route. I may call Ed LeRoy at Old Cowtown Museum in Wichita. I'll bet he knows.
Billy The Kid's Death Suit
To all of the Fort Sumner residents who are questioning Buckeye Blake's sculpture of Billy's funeral clothes, and why the ensemble wouldn't have included cowboy boots and a gunbelt, here's Paco Anaya's account in his book, "I Buried Billy":
"'OK,' my brother answered, and with out swearing in or anything else, my brother started to name from those that were there; and he named Antonio Saverda, Jose Silva, Sabal Gutierrez, Lorenzo Jaramillo, but he (Negro) did not want to serve. He said he did not know anything about that. Then Don Alejandro said to my brother, 'You, too, can serve.' And so it was done.
"Then Pat [Garrett] gave Don Alejandro a paper. This paper had the verdict already written by Pat Gartett, which we all signed. My brother signed as president, and then the rest. I took the paper, it was a paper of five inches wide, and about 10 inches long.
"When we were through, Pat said to Don Pedro Maxwell, 'Pete, take this $25 so you can put good clothes on Billy.'
"Don Pedro took the $25 and he and Don Manuel Abreu went to the latter's store and bought a beige suit, a shirt, and undershirt, shorts, and a pair of stockings. I, the writer, and my brother, Higinio Garcia, and several others of those that were there, dressed Billy with those clothes than we laid him on a high bed, one of those narrow ones, and we took him to the saloon where they held dances. There we watched, and on the next day we buried him."
Onion Headline de Jour
Office Manager Forced To Resort To Unfriendly Reminders
"Dilligence is the mother of opportunity."
—Old Vaquero Saying
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
April 4, 2007 Bonus Cheat Sheet Blog
Went home for lunch to finish the Ed Short vs. Black-faced Charley Bryant gunfight. I looked through my reference file for something that would illustrate the situation just prior to the fight. Something to create tension and drama. Which brings us to the subject of:
Short Cheating
Most artists are loathe to show off their "reference" materials because a.) it diminishes the artist's perceived talent ("Oh, you just copied that photograph?!"), and, b.) it usually borders on stealing, which is on the outskirts of Lawsuit City.
Here is the painting of Ed Short walking dangerous fugative Charley Bryant across the train platform at Hennessey, Oklahoma on August 23, 1891. Notice that Charley has his hands manacled behind him. Deputy Ed Short makes one mistake on this prisoner transfer and it's a fatal one.
In my reference file at my home studio is a photo I tore out of an old Arizona Republic about the Grand Canyon Railway and tourism there. I liked the steam coming from behind the main character, John Moore, director of outlaw performers, and knew that reference would come in handy at a later date. Of course, the train is too modern but I knew I could fix that.
As you can see, the design and the main figure are pretty close to the photograph (or more accurately, closer than I'd like to admit in court). As far as that goes I have always labored under the "legal construct" that if you change something 20% it's okay, it's legal and you will not get sued. I can't remember where I heard this, but I think about it a lot. Perhaps that is artist folly (or Kingman stupidity) I don't know. The photographer of the above photo is Mark Henle of The Arizona Republic and he might disagree on the 20% (Hey great photo Mark!), as might the floor of lawyers retained by The Arizona Republic. Just to play devil's advocate—in this sue happy country—there might be as many as four litigants: Mark Henle, The Arizona Republic, John Moore and The Grand Canyon Railroad. Oh, and just to make it a lottery lock: let's throw in the municipality of Williams, Arizona.
Which brings us to a bigger problem:
Pirating Artist's Copyright
As someone who lives by and off of copyright, it is amazing to me how dishonest much of our culture has become.
On Monday, one of my good friends at work stuck his head in the door and wanted to know if I'd like to check out a pirated version of the film The Last King of Scotland. I was taken aback. Why, that's stealing!—I told him with some indignation. I do not appreciate ripping off of artists, like me—I think I also told him.
Fifteen minutes later, he stuck his head in my door and said, "You didn't seem to mind the pirated version of Bob Dylan's Modern Times which I gave you last month.
Ouch! My Christian friend is right. I did take the pirated (STOLEN!) version of Bobby Zimmerman's excellent CD and I have listened to it a hundred times (BMI will probably have a good charge for me on that admission). Why did I think one was okay and the other a capital crime?! Both involve artist's creations. Weird.
If someone stuck their head in my door and said, "Hey, I just stole a Cessna, want to take it for a ride?" I would report them to Corrine "Coe" Mitchell of the DPS (Department of Public Safety). I'm not sure what all this means, but as someone who tries to be honest, and consistent, I don't like it one bit.
Onion Headline de Jour
Dead iPod Remembered As Expensive
"Venture not to defend what your judgment doubts."
—Old Vaquero Saying
Went home for lunch to finish the Ed Short vs. Black-faced Charley Bryant gunfight. I looked through my reference file for something that would illustrate the situation just prior to the fight. Something to create tension and drama. Which brings us to the subject of:
Short Cheating
Most artists are loathe to show off their "reference" materials because a.) it diminishes the artist's perceived talent ("Oh, you just copied that photograph?!"), and, b.) it usually borders on stealing, which is on the outskirts of Lawsuit City.
Here is the painting of Ed Short walking dangerous fugative Charley Bryant across the train platform at Hennessey, Oklahoma on August 23, 1891. Notice that Charley has his hands manacled behind him. Deputy Ed Short makes one mistake on this prisoner transfer and it's a fatal one.
In my reference file at my home studio is a photo I tore out of an old Arizona Republic about the Grand Canyon Railway and tourism there. I liked the steam coming from behind the main character, John Moore, director of outlaw performers, and knew that reference would come in handy at a later date. Of course, the train is too modern but I knew I could fix that.
As you can see, the design and the main figure are pretty close to the photograph (or more accurately, closer than I'd like to admit in court). As far as that goes I have always labored under the "legal construct" that if you change something 20% it's okay, it's legal and you will not get sued. I can't remember where I heard this, but I think about it a lot. Perhaps that is artist folly (or Kingman stupidity) I don't know. The photographer of the above photo is Mark Henle of The Arizona Republic and he might disagree on the 20% (Hey great photo Mark!), as might the floor of lawyers retained by The Arizona Republic. Just to play devil's advocate—in this sue happy country—there might be as many as four litigants: Mark Henle, The Arizona Republic, John Moore and The Grand Canyon Railroad. Oh, and just to make it a lottery lock: let's throw in the municipality of Williams, Arizona.
Which brings us to a bigger problem:
Pirating Artist's Copyright
As someone who lives by and off of copyright, it is amazing to me how dishonest much of our culture has become.
On Monday, one of my good friends at work stuck his head in the door and wanted to know if I'd like to check out a pirated version of the film The Last King of Scotland. I was taken aback. Why, that's stealing!—I told him with some indignation. I do not appreciate ripping off of artists, like me—I think I also told him.
Fifteen minutes later, he stuck his head in my door and said, "You didn't seem to mind the pirated version of Bob Dylan's Modern Times which I gave you last month.
Ouch! My Christian friend is right. I did take the pirated (STOLEN!) version of Bobby Zimmerman's excellent CD and I have listened to it a hundred times (BMI will probably have a good charge for me on that admission). Why did I think one was okay and the other a capital crime?! Both involve artist's creations. Weird.
If someone stuck their head in my door and said, "Hey, I just stole a Cessna, want to take it for a ride?" I would report them to Corrine "Coe" Mitchell of the DPS (Department of Public Safety). I'm not sure what all this means, but as someone who tries to be honest, and consistent, I don't like it one bit.
Onion Headline de Jour
Dead iPod Remembered As Expensive
"Venture not to defend what your judgment doubts."
—Old Vaquero Saying
April 4, 2007
Working hard to finish the Ed Short vs. Black-faced Charley Bryant shootout. Worked on a mug shot of Bryant this morning. Trying hard not to glamorize him. A weapon discharged or exploded in his face and gave him the moniker. I'm imagining this would leave small black and blue dots on his face, rather than black tones. I'll publish the results later today.
We've got a new poll up: How many rodeos do you attend each year?
Onion Headline de Jour
Congress Awards Itself Congressional Medal Of Honor
"All growth is a leap in the dark—a spontaneous, unpremeditated act without benefit of experience."
—Henry Miller
Working hard to finish the Ed Short vs. Black-faced Charley Bryant shootout. Worked on a mug shot of Bryant this morning. Trying hard not to glamorize him. A weapon discharged or exploded in his face and gave him the moniker. I'm imagining this would leave small black and blue dots on his face, rather than black tones. I'll publish the results later today.
We've got a new poll up: How many rodeos do you attend each year?
Onion Headline de Jour
Congress Awards Itself Congressional Medal Of Honor
"All growth is a leap in the dark—a spontaneous, unpremeditated act without benefit of experience."
—Henry Miller
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
April 3, 2007 Bonus Blog
More Billy the Kid problems: just found out I forgot to include the big Billy the Kid painting (cover of Arizona Highways) for the Hutton show in Albuquerque. I had 28 paintings set aside for the shippers and forgot about the big boy, which is hanging in Sylvia's office here at True West. Needs to go out ASAP.
Whatever Happened to Marcus Huff?
" We finally grew tired of Phoenix, sold the house and threw every dime into moving into a 102-year old building with enough room for all four kids, three dogs and my book collection. The cost of living here still affords some in the bank, besides what we spent on winter clothing. It got to-45 this winter. Old Westy it is....the building is on the National Register, and frequently originally supplied Butch, Sundance, Calamity, Canton...the usual bunch of Wyoming characters. Pretty nice place to go to sleep at night."
—Marcus Huff, Ten Sleep, Wyoming
Speaking of selling everything and running away somewhere, when we were on the Copper Canyon train trip last December I really fell in love with Cerocuahi, high in the Sierra Madres. It was a little village tucked into a little valley. And as the trip has receded in my memory, this one place has grown fonder and sweeter in my memory. Here are two photos, both taken by Deena, that capture the mood of the place. Horses walked up and down the main street, and a donkey, packed for the mountains, was parked outside the general store. I plan on going back there and exploring those mountains, perhaps on that very donkey.
Well, a guy can dream can't he?
Appointment With Irony
"On March 6, 1836, that fateful day, Davy Crockett woke up and walked from his bunk on the floor of the Alamo up to the observation post on the west wall. William B. Travis and Jim Bowie were up there already. The three gazed at the hordes of Mexicans moving steadily towards them. Davy turned to Bowie with a puzzled look on his face and said, 'Jim are we
pouring concrete today?'"
—Thom Ross
More Billy the Kid problems: just found out I forgot to include the big Billy the Kid painting (cover of Arizona Highways) for the Hutton show in Albuquerque. I had 28 paintings set aside for the shippers and forgot about the big boy, which is hanging in Sylvia's office here at True West. Needs to go out ASAP.
Whatever Happened to Marcus Huff?
" We finally grew tired of Phoenix, sold the house and threw every dime into moving into a 102-year old building with enough room for all four kids, three dogs and my book collection. The cost of living here still affords some in the bank, besides what we spent on winter clothing. It got to-45 this winter. Old Westy it is....the building is on the National Register, and frequently originally supplied Butch, Sundance, Calamity, Canton...the usual bunch of Wyoming characters. Pretty nice place to go to sleep at night."
—Marcus Huff, Ten Sleep, Wyoming
Speaking of selling everything and running away somewhere, when we were on the Copper Canyon train trip last December I really fell in love with Cerocuahi, high in the Sierra Madres. It was a little village tucked into a little valley. And as the trip has receded in my memory, this one place has grown fonder and sweeter in my memory. Here are two photos, both taken by Deena, that capture the mood of the place. Horses walked up and down the main street, and a donkey, packed for the mountains, was parked outside the general store. I plan on going back there and exploring those mountains, perhaps on that very donkey.
Well, a guy can dream can't he?
Appointment With Irony
"On March 6, 1836, that fateful day, Davy Crockett woke up and walked from his bunk on the floor of the Alamo up to the observation post on the west wall. William B. Travis and Jim Bowie were up there already. The three gazed at the hordes of Mexicans moving steadily towards them. Davy turned to Bowie with a puzzled look on his face and said, 'Jim are we
pouring concrete today?'"
—Thom Ross
April 3, 2007
On Sunday, Kathy and I drove into the Beast and picked up Mike and Phyllis Hawkins to go see "Curves of Steel: Streamlined Automobile Design" at the Phoenix Art Museum. Great cars, mostly from the late 1930s. Very artistic and stylish. More so than one might expect and it really illustrates how WWII derailed auto design for decades.
Afterwards we drove over to Taco Villa for lunch. I had the barbacoa special and two Modelo Especials, as did Mike who tried Pepe's Especial and Phyllis had the huevos rancheros and Kath had a bean burro enchilada style. We bought ($60 cash, includes tip).
Poor Buckey Blake. He wanted to do a cool Billy the Kid sculpture that everyone who loves Billy would dig and he had the permission from the mayor of Fort Sumner to put up his art piece on the anniversary of the Kid's death and then. . .
Well, Fort Sumner has a new mayor, and now Buckeye needs to get permission from him and the town council. And, here's the key part, the project deals with Billy the Kid. So? So you are going to draw the weirdest-weirdness you can even fathom, no matter what you do. And, it's Fort Sumner, where everyone has a "unique" concept of what and where Billy actually resides in death, and put the two together and you get comments like this:
"I can't take my kids to the cemetery and see a dead man like that. It's too creepy."
"Why's he wearing a suit? Billy wouldn't be wearing a suit. He'd have on his guns and be wearing cowboy boots."
"This is not something we need in our town. it's disrespectful. Maybe if it was a statue of Billy with a rifle."
I called the new mayor, Juan Chavez, this morning and had a nice talk with him. He's a decent guy, but anytime you've got the Kid, you got problems. The town council is going to vote next Monday on Buckeye's piece being allowed to be installed at all. And resistance is being voiced all over town (see quotes above). I told the mayor that we were excited about the project and were intending to send a film crew to cover it. Cactus Productions out of Cody, Wyoming has already signed on for the shoot. So hopefully, we can carry the day over there. I may even have to call in the big guns, my aunt Jean Linn and her husband Bud who own several farms in the area.
Meanwhile, On The Jesse James Front
Today is the 125th anniversary of the assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford...the event, not the movie (which only seems that old...). Here's a link to an interview Allen Barra conducted with Ted Yeatman and TJ Stiles.
—Mark Boardman
http://www.americanheritage.com/people/articles/web/20070403-jesse-james-wild-west-outlaws-civil-war-younger-brothers.shtml
Onion Headline de Jour
Report: One In Five Women Training To Be Yoga Instructors
"If you do not make yourself happy, no one else can."
—Alan Cohen
On Sunday, Kathy and I drove into the Beast and picked up Mike and Phyllis Hawkins to go see "Curves of Steel: Streamlined Automobile Design" at the Phoenix Art Museum. Great cars, mostly from the late 1930s. Very artistic and stylish. More so than one might expect and it really illustrates how WWII derailed auto design for decades.
Afterwards we drove over to Taco Villa for lunch. I had the barbacoa special and two Modelo Especials, as did Mike who tried Pepe's Especial and Phyllis had the huevos rancheros and Kath had a bean burro enchilada style. We bought ($60 cash, includes tip).
Poor Buckey Blake. He wanted to do a cool Billy the Kid sculpture that everyone who loves Billy would dig and he had the permission from the mayor of Fort Sumner to put up his art piece on the anniversary of the Kid's death and then. . .
Well, Fort Sumner has a new mayor, and now Buckeye needs to get permission from him and the town council. And, here's the key part, the project deals with Billy the Kid. So? So you are going to draw the weirdest-weirdness you can even fathom, no matter what you do. And, it's Fort Sumner, where everyone has a "unique" concept of what and where Billy actually resides in death, and put the two together and you get comments like this:
"I can't take my kids to the cemetery and see a dead man like that. It's too creepy."
"Why's he wearing a suit? Billy wouldn't be wearing a suit. He'd have on his guns and be wearing cowboy boots."
"This is not something we need in our town. it's disrespectful. Maybe if it was a statue of Billy with a rifle."
I called the new mayor, Juan Chavez, this morning and had a nice talk with him. He's a decent guy, but anytime you've got the Kid, you got problems. The town council is going to vote next Monday on Buckeye's piece being allowed to be installed at all. And resistance is being voiced all over town (see quotes above). I told the mayor that we were excited about the project and were intending to send a film crew to cover it. Cactus Productions out of Cody, Wyoming has already signed on for the shoot. So hopefully, we can carry the day over there. I may even have to call in the big guns, my aunt Jean Linn and her husband Bud who own several farms in the area.
Meanwhile, On The Jesse James Front
Today is the 125th anniversary of the assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford...the event, not the movie (which only seems that old...). Here's a link to an interview Allen Barra conducted with Ted Yeatman and TJ Stiles.
—Mark Boardman
http://www.americanheritage.com/people/articles/web/20070403-jesse-james-wild-west-outlaws-civil-war-younger-brothers.shtml
Onion Headline de Jour
Report: One In Five Women Training To Be Yoga Instructors
"If you do not make yourself happy, no one else can."
—Alan Cohen
Monday, April 02, 2007
April 2, 2007
I got Tomas Bell on an April Fool's joke. I had Kathy leave a phone message saying Lute Olson has been fired as Arizona Wildcat basketball coach. He lives in Philly so I knew that even if it was big news around the nation he would never hear it because those eastcoast Bastards never cover anything from out here. Plus, it has been a rumor ever since the Wildcats lost to Purdue in the first round of NCAA tournament. He told his mother, "Dad totally got me."
So I've got that going for me.
Now about that photo of those laughing women in my office. It looks quite perverse, no? Like I called them in and let a mouse loose on the floor, perhaps? Actually, I asked them to come in and look on my computer screen at Dan Harshberger's proposed cover design for the June issue. And as Meghan, Sam, Trish, Carole and Sue gathered around the far end of my desk, I stepped out, grabbed my camera and took the below shot. I think they're laughing at me taking the photo, but whatever the reason it's uplifting to see so many staffers being so happy, and in one place, at the same time! Ha.
Carole needed a house warming gift and asked me to bring in some of my small painting studies. She ended up buying two, and here they are:
The dry lake one you've seen before, but the next one I just did last week and was inspired by a photograph taken by Gil Gustavsen of the Cave Creek Complex Fire. I really liked the dramatic, sparkling ridgeline fire effects and tried to capture the feel of it. Carole is so thrilled with them she asked me to bring in another batch tomorrow.
Onion Headline de Jour
Frances Bean Cobain Enters Prehab
"I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you're going to work here you will be sodomized."
—Jon Steweart, on The Daily Show
I got Tomas Bell on an April Fool's joke. I had Kathy leave a phone message saying Lute Olson has been fired as Arizona Wildcat basketball coach. He lives in Philly so I knew that even if it was big news around the nation he would never hear it because those eastcoast Bastards never cover anything from out here. Plus, it has been a rumor ever since the Wildcats lost to Purdue in the first round of NCAA tournament. He told his mother, "Dad totally got me."
So I've got that going for me.
Now about that photo of those laughing women in my office. It looks quite perverse, no? Like I called them in and let a mouse loose on the floor, perhaps? Actually, I asked them to come in and look on my computer screen at Dan Harshberger's proposed cover design for the June issue. And as Meghan, Sam, Trish, Carole and Sue gathered around the far end of my desk, I stepped out, grabbed my camera and took the below shot. I think they're laughing at me taking the photo, but whatever the reason it's uplifting to see so many staffers being so happy, and in one place, at the same time! Ha.
Carole needed a house warming gift and asked me to bring in some of my small painting studies. She ended up buying two, and here they are:
The dry lake one you've seen before, but the next one I just did last week and was inspired by a photograph taken by Gil Gustavsen of the Cave Creek Complex Fire. I really liked the dramatic, sparkling ridgeline fire effects and tried to capture the feel of it. Carole is so thrilled with them she asked me to bring in another batch tomorrow.
Onion Headline de Jour
Frances Bean Cobain Enters Prehab
"I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you're going to work here you will be sodomized."
—Jon Steweart, on The Daily Show
April 1, 2007
“Bozer sounds like a great name for a new sky piece. Bet they would sell well
on you online store. Is there anywhere I can call up a detailed pic?”
—W.S.
“I tried not to do this but I could not resist. My sincerest apologies
for the following suggestions
• El Buddy Boze
• El T Double U
• El Hatkiller
• El Maniac
• El Chicken Rancher
• El "Grand" O Bucks
“The May issue is excellent, as always. I enjoyed the articles on Billy
and I appreciate you having some space devoted to John Wayne.”
—Hugh Howard
“Why not call the hat crease The Boze? Simple, memorable, and loaded with
accountability.”
—Emma Bull
“You are keeping me up at night with this. the Boze sounds good. The Boze B
is also another option, as well as the B Boze B. Could be a good brand. I like
the B Boze B brand.”
—S. Grant Sergot
“Bozer sounds like a great name for a new sky piece. Bet they would sell well
on you online store. Is there anywhere I can call up a detailed pic?”
—W.S.
“I tried not to do this but I could not resist. My sincerest apologies
for the following suggestions
• El Buddy Boze
• El T Double U
• El Hatkiller
• El Maniac
• El Chicken Rancher
• El "Grand" O Bucks
“The May issue is excellent, as always. I enjoyed the articles on Billy
and I appreciate you having some space devoted to John Wayne.”
—Hugh Howard
“Why not call the hat crease The Boze? Simple, memorable, and loaded with
accountability.”
—Emma Bull
“You are keeping me up at night with this. the Boze sounds good. The Boze B
is also another option, as well as the B Boze B. Could be a good brand. I like
the B Boze B brand.”
—S. Grant Sergot
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