18
Wednesday, June 3, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Film will capture life and legacy of buckaroo artist
By Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
<I learned to draw as soon
as I could hold a pencil,= Len
Babb The Nugget last year.
<My father taught me how
to paint a horse when I was
about six or seven.=
Len Babb9s life as a
Western artist and buckaroo
will be turned into a docu-
mentary film 4 at the hands
of a crew of Sisters artists.
Sisters writer Craig Rullman
conceived of the project,
which carries the working
title, <Running Iron: The Len
Babb Story.= Rullman will
write and direct; Sam Pyke of
Hill Shadow Pictures will film
the piece, which will have a
soundtrack created by Mike
Biggers and Jim Cornelius.
Rullman and Pyke headed
down to the Murphy Ranch in
Paisley to begin filming last
weekend. They are initially
working on a trailer that will
act as a vehicle to raise funds
to complete the project.
<I9m trying to put out a
culturally significant docu-
mentary film that reflects the
life of a big-outfit cowboy
who9s also an accomplished
artist,= Rullman said.
Rullman worked for sev-
eral years as a buckaroo on
big horseback outfits in north-
ern Nevada, and he feels a
strong connection with Babb
and his art.
<(Babb is) just a good man,
whose life is very quiet, very
calm and very productive
on a lot of fronts,= Rullman
said. <I think it has value,
especially in an era that is so
partisan, so divided. Len9s
work transcends all of that.=
He believes that Babb9s story
<fits beautifully in the tradi-
tion of Teddy Blue Abbott and
Charley Russell.=
Sisters has played host to
several of Babb9s one-man
art shows, organized by his
nephew Lance Richardson
and his wife Rebecca, who
own and operate Richardson
Log Homes in Sisters.
Rebecca Richardson told
The Nugget that she and the
whole family are very excited
about the project.
<Craig is a gift to Len in so
many ways,= she said.
The two men have a strong
camaraderie and share a pas-
sion for the landscape and the
buckaroo life.
<There9s nobody I9ve ever
known that would be more
perfect for doing this for and
about (Len),= Richardson
said. <I just think he9s the per-
fect man for the job 4 and
I think he9ll take so much
pleasure out of it, too, which
makes it even more special&.
The season of Len9s life is
also timing-perfect for a proj-
ect such as this.=
Rullman and his team are
actively raising funds for the
project. A GoFundMe cam-
paign can be accessed at
https://www.gofundme.com/f/
len-babb-movie-project.
<I had a guy come and
stick a check on my truck
window, which was kinda
cool,= Rullman said.
The Richardsons are pro-
viding a Len Babb print
for donors of $100 and are
working on a special reward
for contributions of $500 or
more. (Direct donations to
Figure 8 Films may also be
dropped off at The Nugget.)
<You can9t make a movie
of any quality on the cheap,=
Rullman acknowledged.
Quality is what he9s after.
<I want to debut this thing
at the Western Folklife Center
in Elko, Nevada,= he said.
<That9s its true home.=
The film will feature
Austin-based photogra-
pher John Langmore, who
produced the book <Open
Range: America9s Big-Outfit
Cowboy= (Twin Palms
Publishers 2018); Sisters
author and Western Heritage
Wrangler Award-winner Larry
Len Peterson; and five-time
PRCA World Champion steer
wrestler Luke Branquinho.
<It9s always guys like Len
that rodeo cowboys tip their
hat (to),= Rullman noted.
Rullman first met Babb
when he was asked to inter-
view him for a story in The
Nugget.
<I really wanted to go meet
him,= Rullman recalled. <It
was a big honor to meet him.
And it just so happened that
we really hit it off.=
Rullman9s artistic ven-
tures have generally centered
around the written word,
although he has always had
an interest in photography.
He decided that he wanted
to tell Babb9s story in film
because the art and landscape
lend themselves to a visual
medium. And he wants as
many people as possible to
meet Len Babb.
<I think it presents an
opportunity to reach a wider
audience,= he said. <More
people are watching films
than reading books.=
Rullman is excited to bring
a diverse array of Sisters-
based talent together to fulfill
the vision.
<I like pulling things
together and building teams,=
he said.
The key member of the
team is Pyke. The cinema-
tographer and producer grew
up in Sisters and has built
an impressive portfolio
IMAGE COURTESY LEN BABB
Len Babb’s art evokes the classic era of the American Cowboy in the late
19th and early 20th centuries.
of outdoor films through Rullman said.
his company Hill Shadow
Filming will take place on
Pictures (www.hillshadowpic- the ranches where Len Babb
tures.com).
continues to work on horse-
<Having a guy with that back even into his 70s, and in
kind of background and expe- the spaces where he displays
rience is just irreplaceable,= his Western art.
Congratulations
Sisters Rodeo on your
80th Anniversary!
220 S. Pine St., Ste. 102 | 541-548-9180
PAULINA SPRINGS
BOOKS IS PROUD
TO SUPPORT
SISTERS RODEO
541-549-0866
252 W. Hood Ave.
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
Len Babb and Craig Rullman at one of Babb’s art exhibitions in Sisters.
PaulinaSpringsBooks.com
We bring your dream into reality
Creating handcrafted log homes for 20 years
Using full-length, large-diameter logs, we partner with our
clients to make their vision reality.
We off er custom-built, hand-crafted full-scribe joinery
or chink-style construction.
Log home maintenance and restoration,
inspections and advisory services
541-728-8787 | RichardsonLogHomes.com
CCB#207650 Licensed | Bonded | Insured
AND CONGRATULATE
THEM ON EIGHTY
AMAZING YEARS!