50 years ago I graduated from High School. Do you know what that means? No, not that I am old, which I am not (I know this to be true because everyone tells me I look so young I could be celebrating my 49th, not my 50th…)
It means I recently attended my 50th High School Reunion (Darien High School in Darien, Connecticut.) I moved there at the beginning of Jr. High and moved away after High School, living in the town for only 6 of my 68 years. But what a 6 year span it was. My identity was forged in those years and I left with the vision and intention to become a practicing artist, which I did. So did many others in my class. We had a strong art department in our school and many of us went on to have vocations and avocations in the arts. Many others didn’t go into art immediately but had their talent and practice come out later in life. Either way, there was and is a lot of creative activity.
The result of that was the planning committee including an art exhibition and opening as part of the weekend. There are a lot of fantastic pieces so if you are near Darien, Connecticut go check the show out at the Darien Public Library. It’s up until mid-September, 2023. I sent in a suite of 9 napkin drawings as my contribution. Here they are. They are for sale at $200.00 a piece, framed. They are approximately 6″ x 6″ so they fit perfect in small areas. Contact me at marty@martycoleman.com if you are interested.
Click on any image to see a slide show of them all.
I recently ran the Cowtown Half Marathon in Fort Worth, Texas and took the opportunity while there to visit one of my favorite museums, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. I’ve been a number of times before while visiting my niece who attends TCU nearby but this time I made sure to take pictures of some of my favorite pieces in the collection.
The Carter is one of 3 museums in the same location. The others are the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and the Kimbell Art Museum, both of which are incredible in their own right, both architecturally and because of the permanent collections and temporary exhibitions.
No offense to Fort Worth’s more attention-getting cousin, but Dallas doesn’t have anything on Fort Worth when it comes to museums. Don’t get me wrong, I love the DMA, but these three museums are really special.
Chimney and Water Tower, Charles Demuth
Two Herons 1948-50, William Lester, Oil on Masonite
Finally, after many years of not being able to get out and draw live i’ve started to sketch in person again. These are from the winter of 2022-2023 in various locales; in a waiting room, at a pharmacy, at a coffee shop, in church and on a train. Sometimes I talk to the person, sometimes I don’t. It all depends on the circumstances and proximity.
These are done with a Copic brand pen and Copic brand color markers.
‘A lion roars when they want, not when they are told’
Kara Goucher
A few days ago I saw a post by Kara Goucher the former professional runner and now TV analyst. She was talking about her mantra as she was growing up, which was,
“Be patient little lion, there will be plenty of time to roar.”
She went on to describe how much it helped her through many setbacks, how it was her mantra of patience as things in her running career and her personal life didn’t always go as expected. It served her well and she eventually became an olympian, world champion and elite competitor for decades. In addition she’s been a fierce advocate for a clean sport in running, with rigorous drug protocols to prevent cheating. She goes on to encourage others in her essay that if they are in a season requiring patience to remember there will be a time for them to roar. She’s someone to admire.
What Is a Roar, Anyway?
Her quote made me think about lions and when they roar so I came up with this companion quote to hers.
“A Lion roars when they want, not when they are told.”
Kara did all sorts of things when she was supposed to. She followed training plans that laid out what she was supposed to do and when. She planned specific races on specific dates where she wanted to accomplish specific things. So didn’t she roar when she was told, either by her coach, program, schedule, race? No, because that wasn’t the roar. That was the hunting for food, the protection of territory, the building of her fitness and stamina. It was all the things lions (and people) do quietly without attention and without glory in pursuit of a goal.
The Roar Moment
The roar happened when she wanted something and she chose that moment to go after it. She chose that time to express the roar that was inside her all along. The roar that she had been practicing and honing for months and years. She chose it to let it out and show the world she was the lion she had trained to be.
Roaring doesn’t guarantee success. A lion can roar and still not catch their prey. What the roar does is signal the world you are ready to fight for what you want. Whether it’s a race, a career jump, a big relationship move or something else. Your roar is your statement that you want something and you are going to go for it.
Are you ready to roar? Find your moment, the moment of your choosing, and roar away little lion!
These are available for purchase as NFTs (nonfungible tokens) or as prints. Message me on instagram or FB (thenapkindad) or email me @ marty@martycoleman.com
Annie finished reading her daily scripture and was contemplating its meaning when the phone rang. She decided, based on her morning study, that she was not going to answer the phone. The phone call was from the National Academy of Poodle Excellence and they were going to offer her a job as Executive Vice President. This wasn’t the first time she hadn’t answered a call from this number so they eventually gave up on her. They offered the job to Sid, a poodle in Oklahoma, who took it and eventually reached world-wide fame as the CEO of NAPE. Annie meanwhile continued her studies and was never the wiser because she didn’t watch the news.
Here are 10 drawings I’ve done over the Winter and Spring of 2021. Let me know your favorites!
‘The Tik Tok Dancer’
Ink on Paper
2021
She practiced her TikTok dance in the mirror in the room with her favorite dog and painting on a Sunday instead of going to Temple.
‘The Sunbathers’
Ink on Paper
2021
“I Like to Sleep in the Sun.” “Me Too.”
‘The Overdramatic Musician’
Ink on Paper
2021
The story is told of the time when the melodramatic musician overreacted to the famous painting of Mt. Vesuvius and burst an embolism and died right at that spot and made it even more famous!
‘Spiraling’
Ink on Paper
2021
‘American Allegiance’
Ink on Paper
2021
‘The Whiner’
Ink on Paper
2021
“Whoa (yes, I know it’s spelled wrong) is me why me who am i why cant i when will this how will i ever what will how will i be?”
“OMG, why did I get such a whiner for a mom? Damn, that means I am going to be the grown up from day one. UGH!”
This idea caught me by surprise. I had never really thought about how the contemplation of eternity or the afterlife is a form of leisure. I think it is a pretty broad definition of the word leisure though since there are people who are employed and working hard to think on these things. Nonetheless, it isn’t the primary creative purview of people laboring to survive at an existential level. It’s for those who have the time to contemplate it, right?
Interesting secondary thoughts
is this true of all aspects of religion, not just the afterlife?
