Texas Silhouette. (original) (raw)

Being instantly recognized isn't the same as being easy to draw.

At one time it was said that two of the most recognized shapes in the world were the old 6.5 oz. Coke bottles and the Texas outline.

	Vacant building outside of Rowena, Texas Runnels County TE Photo, August 2001

Texas is shaped on one side by the Gulf of Mexico, on three sides by rivers and the four remaining sides are shaped by straight-arrow surveyors. The result is a highly irregular, but pleasing, shape.

Other than Florida and Oklahoma (two other states with panhandles) state outlines just don't measure up to Texas. Of course there are "mutant" states like two-piece Michigan or Maryland with it's three-mile narrowness; but Texas is the only state we know of whose shape is frequently incorporated into tombstone design. Try doing that with Hawaii.

Of course, Texas wouldn't be in the (physical) shape it's in if long-ago legislators hadn't cut loose parts of what is now Colorado and Oklahoma. For once, Texas legislators knew what they were doing.

Texans truly love the outline of Texas - and so do Arkansans, Oklahomans, New Mexicans, Old Mexicans, and Louisianans. They all sleep better knowing that Texas is content and isn't about to take any (more) of their territory.

Known for it's informality, Texas has graciously allowed sign painters some artistic license when it comes to painting representations of the state. While there are currently no silhouette responsibility laws; there are clearly a lot of signs that could be considered a crime against the state.

In this corner of Texas Escapes we feature some of the more, let us say, "creative" representations of the Texas silhouette.

	Silhouette in green. Wise County TE Photo, February, 2004

Like children's drawings, state outlines can be amusing and entertaining. While the artists probably wanted to do a better job, hand and eye coordination is a rare gift.

Some signs were drawn from reputable geography books, while others seem to have been drawn from a distant fifth-grade memory. It's safe to say they were all drawn with love - and of course, that's what counts.

	10% Off Ledbetter, Texas Fayette County TE Photo, November 2004

	Texas as Arrowhead Liberty, Texas Liberty County TE Photo, September, 2004

	Nice job. Somewhere in Grimes County TE Photo, May, 2003

	The Red River Straightened. Near Raymondville, Willacy County TE Photo, June, 2003

	"Occupied Louisiana", Tomball, Texas Harris County TE Photo, September, 2004

	FreeformPinehurst, Texas Montgomery County TE Photo, September 2004