Source: Page 93 of White Noise Keywords: "Granny," "better," "young," "air"

From: "Cowboy" <msbuckaroo@hotmail.com> Subject: Determination Keeps Artist Going in the Face of Multiple Sclerosis Date: 19 Aug 2005 Newsgroups: alt.support.mult-sclerosis

Two articles about a dear friend -- Cowboy http://www.abqjournal.com/venu e/personalities/382240person08 -19-05.htm Friday, August 19, 2005 Determination Keeps Artist Going in the Face of Multiple Sclerosis By Jim Frost Of the Journal Oliver Lee IV always had a penchant for mischief. His rebellious nature in childhood earned him the nickname Grem, a shortened version of "gremlin," the mythical creature known for its annoying playfulness. Lee also discovered he had natural talent as an artist, which sometimes put him deeper into trouble. "I've always loved to draw," Lee said. "When I was a kid, I couldn't do the schoolwork. I'd rather draw the teacher picking his nose." But his artistic endeavors always took a back seat to his love of being a cowboy. Growing up on the family ranch in Catron County, he learned to rope, break horses and hunt. Active in sports, he won a state track title while a senior at Reserve High School. Lee married and began raising a family in the 1980s, but he never sat still long enough to pursue an art career. Ranching was his way of life. Then he received news that forever changed his outlook. In 1986, the young cowboy learned from doctors that he had multiple sclerosis. To get a better understanding of his condition, he read medical books about MS, but they only made him depressed. He discovered how the neurological disease would slowly take away his mobility, and he soon lost hope of ever living a normal ranching life. "I was really down in the dumps," he said. Hoping to find some empathy, Lee visited his wife's cousin, Gaylan Milligan, who was struggling with his own physical problems. A car accident a month earlier had left Milligan a quadriplegic, although he still had limited use of his hands. Even with a broken neck and restricted to a wheelchair, Milligan took a positive attitude and faced his predicament with unflinching grit. Milligan gave Lee what amounted to "a kick in the butt," he said. "He sure lined me out. Visiting him was the best thing I ever did. He made me realize that you better get your head in order and get it pulled on tight." Back to the drawing board Lee cowboyed up. He continued his ranch work on a limited basis, but he also returned to the drawing table. "I've drawn forever," Lee said. "I'd write letters and draw pictures to go with them and that sort of thing. I just wasn't doing it as a business." He began refining his illustrations, following the example of his uncle, Bob Lee, who had been a well-known western artist. Although his uncle served as an inspiration, the elder Lee never made a good instructor, Grem Lee recalled. Instead, the young artist taught himself, trusting his instinct and abilities. "Formal art training molds you to the teacher's liking and you can't go out on your own," Lee said. "That's why I always liked Charlie Russell. He was his own-made artist." Russell's book "Trails Plowed Under" sparked Lee's interest in creating his own book of cowboy tales, a project he started as a teenager. As his ability to complete ranching duties dwindled, Lee found more time for his writing and illustrations. He managed to sell a few pieces of work, but an unusual series of events led to his first big break. While building a house southwest of Mountainair in the mid-1990s, Lee waited out a snowstorm by reading a copy of "Super Bull" by renowned New Mexico author Max Evans. That weekend, he saw a newspaper article about Evans, and on a trip to Apache Creek later in the day, he got caught up in a bull session with two old cowboys who were discussing their favorite movie, "The Rounders," based on a best-seller by Evans. "All these things are falling just like a rock slide had slid out in front of me, and with Max Evans' name on every rock," Lee recalled. Well-connected Lee immediately wrote a letter to Evans and included an illustration of a bottle of whiskey being pulled from a tree hollow. A few days later, an excited Lee received a call from Evans, who asked if the young artist if he was related to Bob Lee. "I said yes, and Max says he and Uncle Bob drank more whiskey together than would fit in a dirt tank," Lee recalled. "I could have shot Uncle Bob. All this time I wanted to be a writer and illustrator, and he never told me he knew Max Evans." The relationship paid off. Evans kept in touch, and when he made plans to publish a trilogy of his stories, he tapped Lee for the illustrations. "Rounders 3," printed in 1997 by the University of Colorado Press, features 30 pencil drawings by Lee that depict the adventures of Evans' comical characters, Dusty and Wrangler. His association with another writer, Slim Randles, led to his latest venture, illustrating Randles' humor column in New Mexico magazine. "He's very talented," said Walter Lopez, the magazine's managing editor, who has worked with Lee for the past three years. "He's the cream of the crop among illustrators in this state, possibly the region." Lopez pointed out that Lee's drawings show a deep compassion and attention to detail, but he always remains modest about his work. Never losing humor Lee jokes that his gritty sense of humor will someday get Lopez into trouble. However, when Lee goes too far out, his wife, Debbie, reins him in. "But if I can go out on a limb, take it a little farther, make it a little more fun, I do that," Lee said. "But I know I have an editor, too. It's like bouncing off the guardrail, going side to side, just so long as I'm in the middle of the road somewhere. I can't get too far out of bounds or I'll wreck." Although the magazine gig keeps Lee in his studio, it takes away from the time he wants to spend on his book. Now 47 years old, Lee admits that his health also limits the creative process. "My right hand is starting to get somewhat stiffer and it worries me sometimes," Lee said. "But then I look at what my wife's cousin is doing- he's taken up engraving these days- and I suck it up." Although he can't get through his house without the help of crutches and hot summer weather saps his strength, Lee never loses that mischievous gleam in his eye. He will never let his condition keep him from being an outlaw, he said. "If you're not livin' on the edge, you're just takin' up space," he chuckled. Copyright 2005 Albuquerque Journal Friday, August 19, 2005 Artist Captures Capricious Characters From Catron County for a Book By Jim Frost Of the Journal For most of his 47 years, Grem Lee has collected the tales of Catron County ranchers with hopes of spinning their yarns into a well-illustrated book of cowboy lore. His artwork depicts the flavor of the stories, many of which originate with his wife's grandfather, Albert Milligan. Albert and his brother, Ade, found more ways to get into trouble than anyone would think possible, Lee said. One year, the pair spent much of their time pulling stalled vehicles out of a particularly mucky crossing of Apache Creek. Unbeknownst to the hapless motorists, the two had dredged the creek where the road crossed it and allowed the hole to fill with silt. They were conveniently nearby with a mule whenever a car tried to ford the creek. "They had quite a business going until their dad found out about it," Lee recalled. In another episode, the pair saw hope in the fur trade. On their way to school one day, Ade plunked a skunk in the head with his slingshot. Ade and Albert grabbed their bounty by the legs and headed off down the road with their two other brothers in tow. Skunk pelts meant real money in those days, and the boys hoped to make a killing. Unfortunately, they didn't kill anything. The skunk was just dazed, and when it came to, the boys' enterprise took on a potent air of disappointment. "At least they got out of going to school," Lee said. "The teacher sent them home." In another story, Lee recounted how an enterprising ranch wife dealt with her procrastinating husband. The old cowboy was about to head out on a 10-day hunting trip when his wife reminded him about his promise to cut enough firewood for her to use in his absence. "Aw heck, granny," Lee drawled, affecting the voice of the old-timer. "Take a look around ya. There's wood everywhere! You live in the forest, you know." Without another word, he rode off with his hunting party. Ten days later, he returned to find the firewood bin full and his wooden corral missing.

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