Arizona Boot and Spur
Pen & Ink on Antique Map
The Art of Dan Abernathy
 
Arizona was admitted to the Union on Feb. 14, 1912, as the 48th state. Arizona and cowboys go hand in hand. Arizona has a rich history of cowboy culture dating back to the 1800s. The legendary town of Tombstone is one of the most notorious cowboy towns in history.
 
Just as Arizona and cowboys go hand in hand, so do cowboys and cowboy boots. Mexican vaqueros probably developed cowboy boots from the Spanish riding boots and the American cowboy adopted them from Mexico. Military boots designed for cavalry riders also had an influence.
 
The cowboy boot with the tall leather shaft provides protection and a barrier to reduce rubbing and friction while in the saddle, as well as to protect your legs from scrapes from bushes, sticks, cacti, and other hazards. The angled heel sits securely in the bottom of the stirrup in order to prevent slippage.
 
Cowboy boots symbolize the Wild West, freedom and self-sufficiency, the sense of endless horizons open to explore that was the promise of the frontier.
 
I have combined antique maps with my version of stippling and some colored pencils highlighting into my own creative perspectives. The background for this drawing of Cowboy Boots 7 Spurs is on an original map of Arizona, published in 1883 for a Rand McNally Atlas. It measures 14 X 20 inches and is framed with patinaed copper to a 21 X 30.