This painting was inspired by a wonderful documentary series currently streaming on Netflix: "Wyatt Earp and the Cowboy War".  It tells the story of a lawless and murderous group of stagecoach robbers and all-round evil doers who called themselves The Cowboys.  They had started their criminal enterprise as cattle rustlers and then graduated to every variety of crime on offer in the Old West.  I was particularly interested in the women who lived in the gritty towns, ranches and encampments of that time.  The streets weren't paved, and everything was dirty and dusty.  Imagine having to navigate your daily chores in long skirts and cinched in a corset.  I have tried to portray the young woman in my painting taking a moment to quietly contemplate what has led her to be in this dusty city.  Was it love?  A quest for riches?  A chance to escape a bad marriage? A new opportunity in the booming western US to earn some money to keep body and soul together?  Does she regret her choices?  Is she thinking about catching the train back to her family in the East?  And the big question: is that a Smith and Wesson model 1869 American .44 caliber single action revolver tucked into the back of her skirt?!?