The Art & Poetry of Mary Coleman

Today I worked on the torso and arm of the boy. It took a lot longer than I anticipated so I only got a little bit done. The hand was really hard and most of the time was spent trying to get that looking right. Now I’m thinking it will take two more days to finish. The head one day and the rest of the torso and the other arm another day.

I really like off-white colors. Tones that are really light, but have a bit of pigment to them. Titan green is one of my favorites and I use that for the background of all my PPE works. I also like titan bluff. If you use them, the highlights on a figure that are white really stand out. One of my teachers in art school criticized me using just white and black for paintings and encouraged me to try different lighter tones besides titanium white. She wanted me to experiment with warmer and cooler tones to affect the mood of a painting. I’ve taken that advice to heart and since then have discovered all sorts of lighter colors besides the old titanium white.

It was when I was 3 years old. I was moving house with my parents and siblings and on moving day the little girl next door came to say goodbye. She gave me a My Little Pony as a parting gift. Now you have to understand that we were both very poor and My Little Pony was expensive. We barely had a few between us both and she was willing to give this precious possession to me for keeping knowing that she’d never see it again. That kindness stuck with me and I remember it to this day. I still have the toy sitting on my bookshelf as I’ve kept it all these years as a reminder that people can be really kind at heart, even from a young age.

I ran 2 miles on my own today. My friend had some catching up to do at work and couldn’t come over. I listened to Mansfield park and went around the surrounding neighborhood. It was a slow run, about a 10’48” pace, but I did the thing on my own. It was previously hard to motivate myself to run by myself, but I’m getting used to it again and it’s easier now.

The daily poem

To-do-list

1. Water plants, brush dog’s teeth, get jogging clothes on
2. Run 2 miles
3. Dressed/shower
4. Breakfast (eating window closes)
5. Paint torso
6. Meditate
7. Doctor’s appointment
8. Write a poem
9. Read 2 chapters of my book
10. Take dog on a walk weather permitting
11. Cook dinner (eating window closes)