San Antonio-born Lone Star Beer is celebrating Texas Independence Day, March 2, with a merchandise collaboration and mural featuring hometown artist Matt Tumlinson’s renditions of the beer’s Cosmic Cowboy-era mascot, the humble armadillo.
Throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s, the brewery used a now-iconic illustration of an armadillo on advertising collateral that was, well, pretty much inescapable in bars and honky tonks.
Now, the brand is reviving its use of Texas’ official small state mammal — the longhorn is the official large state mammal, by the way — and will feature the critter on a selection of wearable merchandise, including a T-shirt, hat and bandana.
“The goal here was to celebrate Texas with a fun nod to our brand’s heritage. From merch and murals, our friendly mascot is popping up in multiple forms for y’alls enjoyment,” Lone Star Senior Brand Manager Daniel Crawford said in a release.
For the Lone Star project, Tumlinson — a multifaceted artist who dabbles in print, graphics, illustration, paintings and mural work — took inspiration from the classic Lone Star armadillo. The resulting merch, produced in Texas, is available online.
As part of the promotion, Lone Star also partnered with the San Antonio Street Art Initiative — an artist-run nonprofit charity that focuses on education in career development and mural art programming — to create a Tumlinson mural that boasts his interpretation of Texas Pride inspired by vintage Lone Star memorabilia.
The mural will be available for viewing starting on March 2 at 620 E. Dewey Place, caddy-corner from Urban Art Island near the St. Mary’s Strip.
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This article appears in Feb 9-22, 2022.
