Long-time Hawaii Island resident Cindy Coats has been named official artist for the 2012 Ironman World Championship. Her limited edition giclee prints will be available for purchase at the Official Ironman Store in the Courtyard by Marriott King Kamehameha Beach Hotel in Kailua-Kona beginning Sunday, October 7. The original will be on display at the Cindy Coats Gallery on Ali’i Drive (located directly across from the pier) through Monday, October 15.
![Ironman Art 2013](https://damontucker.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/ironman-art-2013.jpg?w=468)
Art by Cindy Coats
“I’m surrounded by beauty and inspiration here on Hawaii Island,” Coats, an 16-year resident of Holualoa, says. “And when I moved the gallery to its current location, creating an Ironman-themed piece each year was really a no-brainer – we’re located nearly directly on the triathlon’s start and finish line! You can’t help but be inspired by all the people you meet…athletes, family and friends. Everyone has a different reason for being here. It’s awe inspiring.”
Coats has created a commemorative Ironman-themed original every year since 2009 and last year was commissioned by Ironman World Championship to create an official Ironman World Championship 2012 painting incorporating the iconic Ironman logo.
“Of course I was thrilled and humbled with the offer,” Coats says. She will be at the King Kamehameha Beach Hotel Ironman Store at various times throughout the event signing copies of the giclee prints that resulted from that request.
![Cindy Coats](https://damontucker.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/cindy-coats.jpg?w=468&h=327)
Cindy Coats
Her tradition of creating a somewhat whimsical and fun piece for the endurance race continues this year with her original entitled “Tri-Dogs”. That original piece, the limited edition and open edition prints are on display and available for purchase now at the gallery with prices starting at $35 for an open edition 11×14 print.
Coats, a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, relocated to Hawaii Island in 1996 with her husband Barry.
She says she’s loved drawing her entire life, but it was a movie that inspired her to pursue a career in art. “I was 10-years-old when my Mother took me to see the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine”. Walking out of that movie, I turned to my Mom and said, ‘That’s it, I’m going to be an artist!’ ”
“I’m blessed to have such an interesting career and this is an exciting new chapter, following commissions from corporations, including Pepsi, and artists such as Elton John, U2, Santana and Sting,” Coats says.
For more information, contact Coats at 808 640-2115 or email: cindylcoats@hotmail.com.
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