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Jim Darilek, the second art director of this magazine, was a lasting influence in defining Texas Monthly’s distinctive early look. During his years here, from 1975 to 1983, he designed stories of all types, but his covers made the most lasting impression. Colorful, full of swagger, and deeply invested in the Texas myth, they exploited larger-than-life images of cattle drives, oil-field roughnecks, fat-cat millionaires, the Texas Rangers, Aggies, cheerleaders, good-for-nothing politicians, and the occasional bowl of chili. For all that, he was equally adept at creating lovely, quiet images: a lonely stretch of Texas beach, a glimpse of Big Bend, a single wildflower enlarged to show every detail. Despite his skill in exploiting Texas’s rowdy cowboy ways, Jim himself was urbane. He was tall, thin, and…

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