“I Could Do That ! “
I recently posted a meme that read “my teacher thought I was smarter than I was, so I was.”
I am not very competitive, by nature. Growing up, I was the tallest kid in the entire grade school, and really never had to prove myself on the playground. In sports, I was always pretty good – especially at basket ball and swimming, yet I never felt even the slightest urge to “try out” for a high school team … although I really did think those team letter jackets were cool! Even now, when playing family board or yard games, I don’t care that much if I win or lose. But even as a youngster, when I would see artwork that I liked, my “inner (artist) child” would say, “I could do that!” Since my earliest days in grade school, and later in college, I always wanted to try to conquer every single art medium.
I was 14 years old the first time I ever saw a Sharpie Marker. Before the Sharpie Marker, felt-tip pens were a metal tube stuffed with some kind of fiber. You had to un-cap the tube and add the ink; the tip was a fuzzy, rounded ball that was useless for artwork. Soon, though, Magic Marker produced a line of artist-quality markers. I produced some pretty good artwork with those markers and loved the smell of the, presumably toxic back-in-the-50’s, ink.
“WHO SAID THAT ?!”
Around 1980, I went to an art products show and visited the Pantone Marker Exhibit, complete with artwork samples, and the rep standing among a small crowd, marveling at what could now be done with felt-tipped markers. I am not typically braggadocios or outspoken, but all of a sudden I heard myself say to the Pantone rep, “my artwork is a lot better than this stuff”. I immediately thought “WHO SAID THAT?” The rep responded by saying “I’m here till 6pm – bring me some samples.” I quickly drove home, all the while wondering why I spoke up like that, and grabbed some artwork, and was back within the hour. Long story short, a few weeks later a UPS truck delivered every product Pantone Marker made and they used my artwork as product samples. I knew at that moment that I had died and gone to felt marker heaven.
A few weeks ago I was jurying the City of Livonia Art Show and that is when I saw two paintings by Durwood Coffey. Upon viewing these paintings, that same inner (artist) child tried to say “I could do that”, but oddly enough, this time that little brat added “I wonder … if I could do that?” Durwood’s mastery of his medium was so impressive that even my inner (artist) child was questioning my own abilities. But, what exactly is Durwood’s medium?
I have juried awesome pastels and colored pencil art that I first thought were oil paintings, water colors, and graphite that looked like photos. And, along comes Mr. Coffey and, at this writing I can only say that I “think” his medium is acrylic paint. His work is so flat and rich in color; so realistic and polished, yet so wonderfully illustrative that I really don’t care what the medium is … I just love the work!
Here is a selection from his Biography …
Following in the footsteps of such childhood heros as Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, and Norman Rockwell, Durwood Coffey learned the art of illustration and practiced this visual skill for over 30 years in the corporate world. His clients came from across the country representing such firms as Detroit Edison, Anheuser-Busch, General Motors, SeaWorld, Capital Cities and Marvel Comics. It was in this commercial visual training ground where projects ranging from spot illustration in periodicals to the creation of major series of paintings for corporate boardrooms were made. This business environment is where Durwood kept his artistic vision and skills honed for a day in which he could unleash them upon the personal subjects of his choice.
After his birth in 1951, in just a few short years Durwood would pick up pencil and paper and begin to draw. Influenced by his artistic family, especially by his father and an older brother who were both enamored by the practice of drawing, Durwood found his natural attraction and enjoyment in the creation of images from the animal world. Throughout his school years, he found his true passion and always excelled in art classes. Immediately after high school graduation, Durwood enlisted in the United States Marine Corps where he had the job title of Combat Artist. After serving his term of duty, he attended college where he majored in Fine Art and Illustration.
Living and working under the urban Detroit smokestacks of the automotive capital of the world, where the practice and need for wildlife art is not in high demand, Durwood found raising a family and being a provider to be a challenge for those with artistic talent. His success depended on his ability to produce artwork in a wide variety of subject matter, ranging from cars, trucks, architecture, cartoons, portraits and landscapes. Many of these works won him awards and recognition among his peers in the field of illustration. In time, Durwood felt it was important to return to painting the subjects he most enjoyed as a child, the images that never left his creative imagination. The world of the animal kingdom and its habitat soon came back to life on canvas and paper. With the freedom to explore the vast variety of wildlife subjects that exist in the world, and reference them through his personal artistic expression, a collection of insects, fish and animals took form and await the eyes of the world for consummation.
So, if your “inner (artist) child” doesn’t exactly yell out to you, “I could do that!”, at least when viewing some impressive piece of artwork, allow it to whisper, “I wonder if I could do that!” And then go do it!
