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Lifelong Baltimorean Uses Art To Bring Happiness, Thoughtfulness To Others

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- His life was secure with a good job as an architectural engineer, but this lifelong Baltimorean decided to do something else.

Ron Matz has more on a talented and self taught artist who decided to pursue his dream.

Welcome to Marc Cottman's art gallery. From Miles Davis to Sarah Vaughn, it's a world of vibrant colors.

"People always ask me what type of art I do. I do vibrant, conscious art. Something for you to think about. Something for you to laugh about. Something hopefully that makes you smile and think," said Cottman.

You'll think when you see his new piece, "Equality For All."

"The new work is called 'Equality For All.' It's an important piece of work for me because it signifies that the fight for equality is for all of us. Because when the lowest of us, the poorest of us suffers, we all suffer," he said.

New t-shirts feature Marc's artwork. There's bright yellow ones for cyclists."This Is Baltimore" features 25 iconic images--right down to Charm City's crossroads.

"They're positive messages in the piece. There's nothing negative. It's a thought provoking conscious work," he said.

"Let's Go O's" has stadiums old and new. D.C. shows the Oath of Citizenship.

"'This Is Washington' is new. I'm very happy with it, especially the portions with the citizens raising their right hands becoming citizens of the United States. That's important because we can never forget we are a country of immigrants," said Cottman.

Marc Cottman left his job as an architectural engineer in 1999 to pursue his dream.

"In 1999, I was working for the state of Maryland. Then something entered my spirit. I had my own vision and it became so overwhelming for me. I would be up till 2 or 3 in the morning painting. And I said I had to make a decision between this and a job, and this is not going to stop. This is going to get bigger for me. I had no choice. It was a calling," he said.

He's never looked back.

"I have no regrets. There has been a lot of sacrifice. There were a lot of steps to get to where I am now. But I don't regret. Not one moment of it," Cottman said.

Marc Cottman was born and raised in Baltimore. He's a graduate of Poly.

For more information on his work, click here.

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