A Cowboy's Lot [Tex Griswold]

[Fire Monkey]

I promised there would be more Tex, well, this time I took up the suggestion of a Goth Cowboy poem and wrote one and then did a video of Tex presenting the poem, so first I give you the poem and then the video of it.

---

Amidst the sea of cattle noise the dead leaves rustle on the ground
Like my thoughts - they are scarcely heard
The setting sun spreads blood red fire that baths the country all around
The scene is broken by the cry of one lone bird

The darkness comes a velvet shroud, the cattle restless in the night
Where unseen predators will roam
And cold like death's own icy hand forces cattle together tight
As frost begins to form and make itself at home

This is the lot a cowboy draws, to stand alone within a crowd
Of frightened cattle in the night
And there beneath the icy sky, against the universe unbowed,
In my RV with no TV - I kill the light

---

[Brigid Briton]

Well, Tim, you have outdone yourself this time. Tex is so weird. His facial expressions and deadpan delivery of the denouement nothing short of genius.

You are a very funny man!

One wonders what happened to the TV. Poor Tex was roughing it, indeed.

[Fire Monkey]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it - I have to say that I enjoy creating these, though it does rather take a lot of time. ;D

[Bhavanidevi]

Good one Tim! I really enjoyed that - especially the lifting eye brows.

[Neal Allen (snowtracks)]

Hey Tim! You're going to have to start charging admission fees. The poetry is good and apart from the humour, it reflects some really deep emotional issues. Then there is the lighting. I'm blown away by the way the sky changes colour to suit the mood of the words. Well done sir. This is top notch stuff.

[diannet]

Oh so glad to see Tex back, and in such good form... so very deep and love the eyebrows and that tilt of the head...he's just getting better and better. A great goth cowboy poem too. I'm just wondering when the t-shirts will go on sale. ;D

[Fire Monkey]

Now why is it that I can hear Mac Davis singing "It's Hard to be Humble" [grin]

I'm glad people liked the poem - it was an interesting challenge to try and write something that fit both goth and cowboy AND fit the dry humour of Tex and still was actually a good poem. I'm also glad that people like the eyebrows and all, I was concerned at first that I might be over doing it but I guess I have managed to keep it within acceptable limits since so many people [both here and on Face Book] say they like the eyebrows.

The lighting took a bit of though Neal, but it's nice to know it was worth the effort. I think that's really the hardest thing in doing these is not knowing while I work on them if it is going to turn out the way I want or not since it takes so much time. This one was a bit over 120 hours of work so you can imagine I was a bit anxious when it was half done wondering if all the work was going to be worth it or not so hearing that people liked the little details is really nice.

I'm working on something different right now so it will be a while I think before the next Tex, but be assured there will be more of him. In fact I have a friend half designed for him - a new comer to town, just in from the coast and feeling a bit out of place - he's going to be a hippie because I figured I could definitely do something with a goth cowboy making friends with a hippie from the coast. So you'll have to wait a bit, but now you know I have more planned

I shall try to post some other poetry [not goth cowboy ] in the mean time and to comment on other people's poetry The project I am working on at the moment is rather huge so it is taking up a lot of time so I'm not sure how frequently I'll be posting in the next while but I shall not abandon you or this site.

[hazelmsmith]

I do love Tex - the poem is great - you are so clever with him. What a nice thing to see in this first visit back in what seems forever.

[Brigid Briton]

Hi Tim. I agree with Hazel and miss Tex! It seems like forever since anyone has visited the forum with any regularity.

Hope all is well with you. What happened after Tex rode off into the sunset?

[Brigid Briton]

For all you newbies, who may not have met Tex Griswold's creepy (but loveable) Goth Cowboy, Tex Griswold, here's an introduction for you! For our veteran members, who may have missed it or forgotten (how could you?), this is for you too.

Tim, have you done any more work on Tex lately? Yippeee kai yay and all that!

[Cory Raymond]

Hi FM,

Well, I'm either going to have nightmares over this guy, or else decide that I want to marry him. This was really entertaining, in a scary way. I hope you'll do some more of these when you get the time. I know that it must have taken a long time to get the voice coordinated with the animation, and so forth. You are a patient (and multi-talented) guy!

CR

[Reilley]

Wow, Tim you really are a multifaceted guy!

Great character, great presentation, and great poetry, very impressive all the way around.

[Brigid Briton]

Aww, Tim, I just noticed your new avatar! Nice seeing you "in person". Would that be a sweet silvery- blue bird in the stuffed monkey's lap?

[Fire Monkey]

Cory: Thanks, it does take a lot of time to do one of these which is one reason I don't do more of them. It takes between 600 to 700 hours to do an animation of this length - that's after I write the script for it of course. I do, however enjoy doing it and it's nice to know that people enjoy it.

Reilley: Thanks, it was lots of fun writing the poem - a challenging idea to try and make it both Goth and Coyboy at the same time

[Fire Monkey]

A question from Brigid: Aww, Tim, I just noticed your new avatar! Nice seeing you "in person". Would that be a sweet silvery- blue bird in the stuffed monkey's lap?

Brigit: Glad you like it. The picture of me is one Deb took a little while ago and yes, the bird represents Deb. This seems as good a time as any to let the people who know Deb and I in on the news that Deb, SweetSilverBird, and I are now engaged and planning to get married on September 17th this year. That's the reason I changed my avatar - the monkey holding the bird have sat for years in Deb's place as a symbol of our connection but since we were not a couple I used just the close up of the monkey's face for my avatar but now it was ok to take a new picture to show the rest. As for including a picture of me, well, Deb thought it would be nice to have a picture of me included and that was one she really liked.

[Brigid Briton]

It's too bad the forum doesn't have a LOVE button in addition to the "LIKE" button, because that's what I'd give the post immediately preceding this one!

[Reilley]

Wow, Tim and Deb, that is AWESOME news! I am so very happy for you both. May you be as happy in your lives together as humanly possible. 

[SweetSilverBird]

Thank you Reilley. We are very suited to each other. Poets, artists, very much into music. It's a happy match!

[Fire Monkey]

As Deb says, thanks - we are well suited to each other and having known each other for so many years we know what to expect. We've been through both good times and bad together already and are ready for what the future holds.