Calgary Stampede – Western Showcase 2018 / Part 1

       

Rose and I go to the Calgary Stampede every year just to look at the Western Art – which is spectacular. This year it is particularly superb. So much so that I thought I’d try to profile a few Artists and taste of their work. I can’t show everything of course, but I think you’ll be impressed by what you see.

In no particular order:

I also apologize to the Artists if my rendering here diminishes their work in any way.

Shannon Ford 

www.ShannonFord.ca

Shannon Ford, Bachelor of Fine Art (ACAD) / Brief Biography – 2014 / Artist Info:

“A natural born artist and an animal lover since childhood, Shannon Ford was born in Regina Saskatchewan, totally enchanted by the natural world.  She was raised on a farm west of Calgary where she grew up loving Art and knowing horses, cattle and wildlife.

Shannon paints in both her Studios in Alberta, and in BC where she and her sweetheart Denis breed Mangalarga Marchador horses …

Shannon creates in a wide range of topic matter and media, but I confess I love her Western paintings the best.
Marvelous work Shannon!

Into a Canter on a Young Horse available through Gainsborough Galleries, Calgary, Alberta

Mystiques Shariff of the Fairview Arabian Stud, 84 X 72, Acrylic on Canvas with Diamond Dust,
Pipestone, Rainbow Moonstone Cabochons, Mother of Pearl, Available at The Lloyd Gallery

Collected Painting: Gorgeous Grizzly
60 X 40 D. A/C with Azurite, Tanzanite, Sapphires, Peridot, Pipestone

No automatic alt text available.

Darcy Presiloski / Calgary Western Artist

dpresiloski@shaw.ca
www.dpresiloski.com

“Darcy was born in Alberta, Canada and spent her early childhood on a farm west of Granum in southern Alberta.

With Darcy’s farm background it is not surprising that her primary focus is western art. She finds inspiration at brandings, cattle drives, rodeos and sometimes in a field at the side of the highway. She sees the animals, everyday activities and gear of the working cowboy as unique and feels there is a story in every painting …”

Related image

ENOUGH ROPE
Oil on Linen

WOOLY BULLY
Oil on Linen

PAINT
Oil on Linen

Image result for darcy presiloski artist

Wonderful work Darcy. I particularly like your rendering of the saddle and gear!

Andrew Kiss / Award Winning Nature Artist

www.kissfineart.com

Famed for his magnificent landscapes, Andrew also renders spectacular images of flowers.

MORRAINE SUNSET
40 X 60
Oil on canvas

HOLLYHOCK II
Original Oil on Canvas

SHADED STREAM
Giclee on Canvas

Just Beautiful

A few more on the way … 

Tyrone Power Westerns continued … The Mark of Zorro (1940) Part 3 / Zorro Anomalies?

Fernando / Abba

The Mark of Zorro (1940)
Zorro Anomalies?

If I said to you that Zorro never used a gun, but only a Sword (rapier) and his Bullwhip,
would you challenge that?

Probably not.

And if I also said that Zorro only uses his famous black Eye Mask for his disguise,
would you disagree?

Likely not.

BUT …
… in The Mark of Zorro (1940) we see transgressions to both of these modern images of Zorro persona!

Observe:

Zorro pulls a pistol!

Zorro wearing a bandana!

Later Zorro uses a pistol again.

But at least he’s wearing the eye mask.

It seems that Zorro’s image has continuously changed and evolved over the years
– from creator (Johnston McCulley) original vision.

Zorro (Douglas Fairbanks Sr.) apparent master of disguise – silent movie (1920)

Guns? Bandanas? Masks? Bullwhips?

The Mark of Zorro (1920) – Douglas Fairbanks Sr.

“What’s all this nonsense about Zorro using a gun?”
Zorro (Fairbanks) using a gun.

Zorro’s Fighting Legion (1939) Movie Serial Starring Reed Hadley
(below)

Zorro using 2 guns.
Zorro using a machine gun !!!

The Mask of Zorro (1998) Starring Antonio Banderas
(below)

“You call that a gun?”

Zorro’s Dilemma

I also noticed that in the Mark of Zorro (1940) Zorro doesn’t use a bullwhip?

While Reed Hadley in Zorro’s Fighting Legionserial (1939) surely does.

OK … I’m finding I don’t know much about Zorro!!!
But I’m learning quickly.
It’s all good.

Next:

Tyrone Power Westerns continued …
The Mark of Zorro (1940) Part 4

Tyrone Power Westerns continued … The Mark of Zorro (1940) Part 2 The Posters

The Mask of Zorro Soundtrack

The Mark of Zorro (1940)

The Posters

Since it seems The Mark of Zorro (1940) didn’t have any Trailers/Previews (??)
I searched the net like Sherlock – scouring fansites and archives. Finding none.
It looks like they exclusively used Posters instead? *shrug*
And I found over 30 different posters for the Movie!

Yet some were in such bad shape that they escaped any expertise I might possess to recover them. 

I spent 3 days trying to restore all these old posters to their original pristine wonderfulness.
Color was the main issue. Over the years the Posters fade and the former vibrancy of the colors is lost.
Would you make a Zorro poster in dirty, washed-out, dull Reds, for instance?
Nor I! The former Zing and Zest of Zorro had been lost in time …
and befell to me for restore the lost Lustre and Vitality of The Fox!

En Garde !!!


Next:

Tyrone Power Westerns continued …
The Mark of Zorro (1940) Part 3

Tyrone Power Westerns continued … The Mark of Zorro (1940) Part 1

Theme from the Mark of Zorro (1940) by Alfred Newman

The Mark of Zorro (1940)

 Ride With Zorro . . . The Dashing Don Of California’s Most Adventurous Era !
The Jagged Mark of His Sword Struck Terror to Every Heart – But One!

Tyrone Power made 6 Westerns:

And 5 Swashbucklers:

Zorro is unique – categorized as both a Western Hero and a Swashbuckler.
I can think of no other Hero with this distinction.

During the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s Swashbucklers sparred with Westerns for popularity.
In Zorro they found a perfect partnership.

I was unable to locate any Trailer/Preview for The Mark of Zorro (1940).
There must be one somewhere? Maybe not.
I substituted this vignette with the Chordettes singing
the Theme for Disney’s TV version of Zorro.
Not bad.
But I’ll keep looking.

Next:

Tyrone Power Westerns continued …
The Mark of Zorro (1940) Part 2

Zorro Reborn … Trailer

OK … I just found this. I didn’t make it. I’m not promoting it. It doesn’t even look Western.
BUT … it’s supposed to be some new incarnation of Zorro? You be the judge. 

???
I’m not really against something NEW, but I’m not overconfident about this one.
It had better be really well done.

Zorro Rides Again !!!


Zorro Theme / James Horner

The Tangled Trail – A Tale of Western Blogging


livin’ in the West / the bellamy brothers

OK … where did this yarn begin? I think it was when I started to (fearfully) tackle John Wayne.
A daunting project.

Somehow I covered nearly 40 of the Duke’s early films before I got bushwacked.

Somewhere around Rio Bravo, Dean Martin took me for a drink.

In the saloon I met Director Henry Hathaway.

We rode out – looking for the sunset – eventually ran into Tyrone Power.

I haven’t yet discovered any box canyons so I’ll just carry on as able.
Someday I’ll meander my way back to John and complete things.
If I live that long.

Coming up … Tyrone Power as ZORRO !!!
featuring Basil Rathbone !!!

 

 

Canada Day …

O Canada

Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg

There is so much WRONG in this country that I’m almost shuddering to celebrate Canada Day.
Mainly with our corrupt, evil, incompetent, and criminal Socialist governments. 

But it’s still unquestionably one of the best places on this planet to live. 

Eh?

Have a good one. 

 

the kid …

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid / Bob Dylan

Always liked this Larson cartoon.

Always liked Emilio’s crazy kid.

 

4 Days on the Rim / A Photo Essay / Part 7

Nautilaus bar


breathe and life / audiomachine

Nautilaus barTofino, British Columbia
Pacific Rim

Paul McCartney and a chunk of my youth ..

Somebody sent me this video and I found it so joyful I just had to re-post it here.
I hope you’ll enjoy it.

I gotta tell ya … brings a big tear to me eye.

Yankee Valley fun


The Rebel / Johnny Cash

A Fair Hanging: Part 4 …… Damsel / 2018


Damsel Soundtrack / The End / by Octopus Project

It’s hard to have a Fair Hanging when you weren’t at the trial.

Damsel is on the loose -released June 22. But not showing around here!? Seems to have limited distribution. And as of yet I haven’t been able to get hold of it.
My gut feeling is that this will be and entertaining if not traditional Western.

Most reviews say Damsel is fun – and good. Though IMDB’s Review is lukewarm at 5.6 out of ten.

Rotten Tomatoes and viewers love it.

 But, like I’ve said, if you’re going to go by Movie Reviews to decide what you’re going to watch, you’re likely going to see a lot of crap – and miss some good stuff.
Buyer Beware.
Use your gut.

Oregon coast. Nice.

 

Alberta sunset …


flowers of the sea / era

 

Blog World

Howdy Folks …

I finally got hold of a great Tech person at WordPress (who identified himself as Charlie C. Thanks Charlie!). Charlie reinstalled my old WordPress Theme called Bueno – then made some adjustments that enlarge the images. Things are still not perfect because Bueno is an outdated Theme, I don’t believe it’s even offered by WordPress anymore.

At some point I may need to change/update things. But next time I’ll be a lot wiser about it and simply check out at other WordPress Blogs first and see what they are using – until I until I find one that fits my requirements. I might have to pay for that, but that’s OK as long as it works.

In meantime I’m leave things as they are and we’ll get something posted up here.

Onward …


The Horror ! … The Horror !

West Press

OK .. I’ve been trying to fix up my Blog for several days. Sorry about all the Posts you’ve likely been receiving. But things aren’t fixed yet. It’s a big mess actually. A work in progress.

All I wanted to do was enlarge the images on the Blog. That’s all.

I thought that would be better if they were a bit bigger. “Enlarged”.

How hard could that be?

But since I’m almost Technically Illiterate … I kept putting it off.

Eventually …

First I sent a letter to WordPress. “How do I enlarge my images on My Favorite Westerns?”

Response: ‘Please send us more information and an image of your page. Use Snipping Tool to get the image.”

What?! Really!!?? They have my Blog Name and Address. I am their customer. All they have to do is go to the page and LOOK!!!???

(Maybe they don’t know how?)

I decided not to bother with them anymore.

A friend suggested I simply try out different blog Themes until is discover one that works – displays larger images. Good idea says I. Sounded simple enough.

So … I tried a couple … and a couple more … and a few more. And more. Lots. Several. Some of the Themes seem to be corrupted? Or is it just me? The text was all screwed up. Some of my Pages disappeared! The Titles and Text were often wrong. Some overlapped my Banner and Images! … etc. All this went on for a long time. Hours.

Finally found one Theme that seemed to work. ?? But there’s some stuff that isn’t right. The Tags and Categories are in the wrong place. I went to use my usual Page/Post Editor to see if I could fix things. I discovered it was now replaced with the NEW Editor … which I don’t find to be as good – or friendly – as the old one.

ON I trudge.

My blog is still messed up and it will likely take me a few days to figure out how to get things right. Be patient with me. At this point I don’t know if the current Theme will work out.

But the Images are certainly Enlarged now …

 

4 Days on the Rim / A Photo Essay / Part 6

Nautilaus bar

 everdream

Nautilaus barTofino, British Columbia
Pacific Rim

A Fair Hanging: Part 3 …… Gone are the Days / 2018


further on up the road / memphis mae & johnny bluth

Save the last bullet for yourself

Never believe Reviews.
I’ve seen some very bad Movies with high ratings. So have you.
While some damn good Movies get pissed on. Ditto.
Likewise, never judge a Movie by Production values.
Many ‘Big Budget’ Movies are horrific.
While ‘Small Budget’ Movies can be Masterpieces.
Consider the Lilies of the Field …
amen.

IMDB rates Gone are the Days as 4.8/10.
But I figured I’d give it a ‘Fair Hanging’ and make my own judgement.
Verdict: This is one of the best movies I’ve seen this year.
Not just as a Western, but it’s just a really good movie.
I’m giving it an easy 8.
You make your own judgement.

Lesson: Don’t always buy Reviews.

Acting: Lance Henriksen and Tom Berenger are both excellent. Billy Lush and Meg Steedle give outstanding support. Danny Trejo also does a nice job in his small role.

78-year-old Lance Henriksen is perfectly cast as the bygone badman. Lance has a good body of work under his hat and you’ll likely recognize him from Alien 2, Aliens 3, The Right Stuff, Powder, Damien: Omen II, Jagged Edge, Prince of the City, Dog Day Afternoon, … along with several Westerns: Dead Man, The Quick and the Dead (Boo!), Appaloosa (Yay!) and Millenium (TV). He’s a good Actor.

Berenger? I hadn’t seen him a while and I wondered how he’d be? He’s great. He’s done good work in the past (Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Platoon (1986); more recently Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his performance miniseries Hatfields & McCoys (2012) and he’s equally good here.

Image may contain: one or more people and text

So we definitely give credit to Director Mark Landre Gould for his first film. May he make many more.

Gone are the Days is not a conventional Western and it will not be everybody’s cup of whisky. (What is?) BUT I do hope you can appreciate good movie making when you see it.

IMDB says that “The story, and characters
are based loosely on Dante’s Inferno.”
This is good to know. It’s a effective component in the movie.

Fees for the Ferryman

 

Stanley Cup Champs … more than worthy


They are the Champions!

That’s one HELL of a Watermelon!!!

Image result for stanley cup capitals pic

Washington Capitals players celebrate with the Stanley Cup. John Locher / AP Photo

They had paid their dues.

Anybody who thinks the watermelon you steal is tastier than the one you grow – and EARN yourself  – is a damn fool. A sad fool.

It took 44 years of Washington Capitals heartbreak, agony, choking, falling, fruitless failure to make this Stanley Cup the tastiest we’ve seen in a looong time.

And it wasn’t done with talent or skill. That’s a mere part of the what’s needed. It was done with undisputed HEART, intensity, focus and desire. The Caps simply decided they would outwork, out check, out hustle, out skate their opponents. It was grinding, brutal, blood sweat and tears hockey – through 4 Series – on every shift – that won the day.
Some sport spectacles are so spectacular – so special – that they truly do bring you out of your seat. And you’re glad – and envious – for what you have witnessed.  THIS was one of those.

About 30 teams start out every year – their goal is to win this prize The Stanley Cup – often said to be the hardest achievement in Pro Sport.
Only one will prevail. And it will never be handed over easily.
This was one for the ages.

Congratulations to the Washington Capitals. 
and especially that Russian guy, Alexander Ovechkin.

4 Days on the Rim / A Photo Essay / Part 5


remember not to forget / audiomachine

Tofino, British Columbia
Pacific Rim