Picture it: War Memorial Stadium, late November 2010, a trip to the Sugar Bowl on the line, a 4th down play, one coach says to another, "We didn't come to paint," about whether they should go for it on 4th down. The result: Mallett to Adams for a touchdown. Having had the good fortune of being there, I can still see from the north endzone the pass in the air as it fell right into Joe's hands at my end of the stadium. TOUCHDOWN ARKANSAS! Spontaneous joy erupts that you share with about 50,000 other people. What a moment, what a memory! And now I understand that the UofA and the marketing wizards there have gone so far as to copyright the phrase "We didn't come to paint." Hmm. Do what?
They would like to make that phrase iconic, I guess, but I think it falls a few notes short if you ask me. It is no "What You Talking About Willis?" or even "Where's the beef?" (Yeah, I am dating myself here, haha.) The moment was better than the wanna-be catch phrase in this case. John L. Smith, the originator, might not be into the visual arts all that much, for I am sure "paint" was his way of saying "messing around."
I agree with John L. in the context of the game that setting up an easel was not going to get the job done against LSU, nor was punting the ball. But I would like to also say that personally speaking painting is another way I've found to enjoy the Hogs and pass the time until kickoff (just over a week away, can you believe it?). Attached to this post is a painting I did of the 1923 team captain, Sam Coleman, with a 1920s era Razorback running across the field behind him.
I hope to do more current Razorbacks in the future, but I've always liked the look of the 1920s leather helmet players, so that is where I've started.
Google image "Hog art" or "Hog paintings" and you'll find even better examples of the work of other fans who did come to paint and did a very good job of it. There are so many ways to express the craziness of being a Razorback obsessed fan. My father, for example, makes Razorback bird feeders! haha. How about you? Have you incorporated the Hogs into any type of artistic work yourself? Tell us about it in the comment section if you like. Any Porker Picassos out there?