Plane People

Plane People

I’ve been scanning my sketchbooks this year and recently scanned one from 2000-2002. There were a number of drawings of people on planes or about to get on one. Planes and waiting rooms are wonderful places to people draw and I always make sure I have my sketchbook with me when I travel for that exact reason.

In some cases I met these people, found out their name and a small portion of their story. Some knew I was drawing them, like Jess the flight attendant. She was sitting staring down the aisle late at night and it was kind of hard to miss me drawing since I was the probably the only person with a light on in the cabin. Other times I am observing, taking in not just the face but the whole environment, like in ‘A Passenger’s Story’, which really more my story of what is happening all around her rather than what she is thinking. And then again I am often just imagining what someone might be thinking based on just a brief conversation like in ‘Cate Wishing’ or on nothing at all, like in ‘I Hope He’s Nice’.

Click on any image to start a slide show. Let me know what you think, do you have a favorite?

Gallery

 

10 apARTment buildings

These images weren’t first created with apartment buildings in mind. It was after they were done that I started to see personalities and interactions, conflict and companionship, connections and structure and found the tie-in to close living. Click any image to see the slide show.

Typically when I am creating a design on my ipad I start with a line or a shape and let it tell me what the next line or shape should be. I eventually discern a pattern and will build on it until I am happy. It sounds funny but I know I am done with a piece, on paper, canvas or screen, when I feel happy. By that I mean it feels like it is what it is supposed to be. There is no time frame for this, it can take minutes or it can take  years. My digital work doesn’t usually take very long but I do have drawings and paintings from the ’80s and ’90s that I have taken out of a drawer and started to work on again, finally finishing them 30 to 40 years later.

There is no time limit on creativity.


© 2024 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com All rights reserved

 

The Napkin’ is 16 Years Old Today

 

‘The Napkin’ is 16 Years Old Today

16 years ago today I posted the first napkin to my new blog ‘The Napkin Dad Daily’. In December of 2023, A few months ago, I posted a newly drawn napkin.

And 25 Years AGO…

The first one I ever drew was in 1998. That makes 25 years of drawing on napkins and being the Napkin Dad. Not a bad streak if you ask me.

Self-deception

I guess that’s why they call it ‘wishful thinking’, right?

How do your wishes and desires influence what you think is real?

drawing © 2024 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com

“Nothing is easier than self-deception. For what each person wishes, that he also believes to be true.”
Demosthenes

The Sad Women

The Sad Women

“I can promise you that women working together – linked, informed and educated – can bring peace and prosperity to this forsaken planet.” – Isabel Allende

When I think about the Middle East recently I keep thinking about how powerless so many women must feel as they watch their world being destroyed. They have their differing opinions and beliefs but I believe their pain makes them much more alike than their religion and background make them different. Because of that I am confident of the same thing Allende is. I don’t know the solution to all these issues. But I believe the women of the region are more likely to find the answers than the men are. I can think of no better place and time than here and now to have women in charge instead of men.

a drawing of 2 women side by side. The left side women is dressed in a blue short sleeve shirt and light blue jeans. Her midriff is showing. She has on a star of David necklace. She has long brown hair. and a very sad expression on her face. The right side woman has a hijab head and full length abaya. She is also in dark and light blue. Her expression is also very sad. Behind both of them is fire, rubble and a river of blood below their feet.

The Sad Women, pen and ink on paper, 2024


 

The Influencer Mermaid

The Influencer Mermaid

This is the first napkin I have drawn in at least 2 years, since the live streaming app Periscope closed down. I am not sure why I started it, probably just because the napkin was handy and I felt like doodling a bit. It turned into a new addition to a long running series I have of mermaids. There are links to the rest below the drawing.


An influencer mermaid with orange hair and a green fin talking about how she travels the ocean to give her viewers great bargains.

© 2023 Marty Coleman / napkindad.com


Here are the other mermaids

  1. The Virgin Mermaid
  2. The Night of Mermaids 
  3. The Modest Mermaid
  4. The Arctic Mermaid
  5. The Lake Mermaid
  6. The River Mermaid
  7. The Fearful Mermaid
  8. The Influencer Mermaid