by Marty Coleman | Jan 29, 2012 | Art, Artists I Love, Edward Hopper |
Weekend 3 of my remembrance and sharing of the artists who have influenced me over the decades. This week, Edward Hopper.
Edward Hopper – Woman in the Sun
Edward Hopper got my attention while I was still in High School. What grabbed me was first and foremost his incredible compositional skills. If you have ever heard me talk on my own work you know that in spite of me always having some emotional or psychological content in my work, while I am actually doing it I am overwhelmingly concerned with the visual composition of the piece. Without composition, content is diminished in my eyes.
Edward Hopper – Woman in the Sun – sketchbook record
I found this while looking for images for this post. I love the idea that he made a drawn and written record of his paintings, including who he sold the piece to. I wish I could get $15,000 for one of mine! Any takers?
Edward Hopper – Western Motel
Check out my napkins and often times you will see people inside with simple windows showing a distant landscape. Hopper frequently did the same thing and I always loved the emotional and psychological power it had in his images. Speaking of composition, note how every single item and element in this painting has its compositional as well as its story telling purpose.
Edward Hopper – New York Office
Another visual idea Hopper plays with often is the street or path disappearing into and behind the main subject of the piece. The juxtaposition of the brightly lit woman in the office, elegant and colorful, with the dark foreboding side street going who knows where is a powerful symbolic idea. Its the hint of a secret, the hint of all not being exactly as it seems, that there is something darker, scarier, going on, that I find so powerful. And once again, this idea would never have the power it does if Hopper didn’t know how to compose the image to perfection.
Edward Hopper – Chop Suey
I will admit, my main fascination with this image, besides the incredible composition, is the woman in green. Whenever I have looked at this painting over the years I am taken to that moment in time, wondering who she is and what she is all about. By the way, note the woman with the red hat and brightly lit profile on the far left. Why do you think he included her?
Edward Hopper – Night Shadows – Etching
Of course, with his focus on the power of composition you know he would find a way to use black and white. His etchings are as amazing as his paintings.
Edward Hopper – Room by the Sea
And finally, one usually does not see Hopper categorized as a metaphysical or spiritual artist. But I think of him that way, with his sparse lonely individuals lost in thought and his isolated buildings and homes placed in unlikely environments. This one is probably my favorite when it comes to that idea. It is not about a room by the sea, it’s about you taking a step into the unknown. I love this piece because, for me, it’s about courage – the single most important characteristic one needs to lead a creative life.
To see more of the ‘Artists I Love’ series use the drop down menu at the top of the page.
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by Marty Coleman | Jan 27, 2012 | Dogs vs Cats - 2012, Samuel Butler |
It’s the final day of Dog and Cat week. Enjoy it, it’s what you were meant to do!
That doesn’t mean you feel joy all the time. It simply means you pursue joy and happiness. Don’t be fooled into thinking it’s selfishness. Do it right and you will end up helping your family, friends, co-workers, and complete strangers be happier and have more joy as well.
Drawing by Marty Coleman, who once went to a real bullfight in France.
Quote by Samuel Butler. It might be THIS Samuel Butler or maybe it’s THIS Samuel Butler. If you figure it out, let me know, ok?
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by Marty Coleman | Jan 26, 2012 | Dogs vs Cats - 2012 |
If I have not erred, it’s day 4 of Dog and Cat Week at the NDD!
Cats, Dogs, and Humans by NapkinDad
So true, so true. Why is it that humans are the only animal that errs, or even knows it?
Drawing by Marty Coleman, a lover of forgiveness and purring.
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by Marty Coleman | Jan 25, 2012 | Dogs vs Cats - 2012, Mary Bly |
Dog gone it if it ain’t day #3 of Dog and Cat week at the NDD!
I open the door for the dogs and Wiggle Dog comes in at a full gallop, even if I just let her out. Stubby Dog comes pretty close behind, unless it’s particularly nice out, in which case she put on her cat persona and looks at me with that ‘aren’t you going to come out and play?’ look. Normal Cat meanwhile wants to come in. I know she wants to come in because she is whining at the window telling me so. I know she will trail behind the dogs, but what I haven’t quite gotten used to is the fact that I need to put my winter coat on because she will take SO LONG to get to the door that I get a little bit of frostbite otherwise.
She also happens to be the only one of our four legged roommates who has been almost arrested for breaking and entering. She scared the bejesus out of a neighbor once by going in through their doggy door and rubbing up against her leg while she stood at the sink washing dishes. To say she freaked was an understatement. I got her off serving time by my charm and a well-timed bribe to the cat police. She still owes me.
© 2025 by Marty Coleman, who once painted his picket fence to match his dalmatian, Oreo.
Oreo and her fence
Quote by Mary Bly, 1962 – not dead yet, American author under the pen name Eloisa James
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by Marty Coleman | Jan 24, 2012 | Anonymous, Dogs vs Cats - 2012 |
Dog and cat week continues at the NDD.
And humans try to be both, that’s why we like both dogs and cats, right? Which one do you like more, dogs or cats?
Drawing and questions by Marty Coleman, who was a golden retriever in a past life.
Quote by someone who won’t admit it.
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by Marty Coleman | Jan 23, 2012 | Dogs vs Cats - 2012, Quote Authors |
It’s ‘Dogs and Cats’ Week at the NDD!
When I would come home to visit my parents from college or from whatever far off place I happened to be living my mother would go crazy wild with joy to see me. She would cry, she would hug, she would be loud and happy. That’s how dogs are.
I once went back to visit my home town of San Diego. While I was there I went to visit a family friend I had not seen in probably 20 years. His greeting to me was a mild handshake and a ‘hey, how are ya?’ as if he had seen me the day before. That’s how cats are.
Drawing and reminiscence by Marty Coleman, a dog for sure.
Quote by Dereke Bruce, maybe a chef, maybe a former vet, I am not sure.
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by Marty Coleman | Jan 22, 2012 | Art, Artists I Love, Henri Matisse |
I am continuing on with a series about the artists I love and who have influenced me in some way. Last week it was Rembrandt, this week it’s Henri Matisse.
Henri Matisse, 1869-1954, has been one of my main influences among modern artists in the use of color and in line drawing.
Le Danse with Nasturtiums – Oil on canvas – Matisse
I first saw Matisse’s work in NYC at the Museum of Modern Art when I was a young teenager, probably around 13 or 14. I loved the color and compositions. I bought a poster of this image above and had it in my room for the rest of my teen years.
Harmony in Red – Oil on canvas – Matisse
This is another painting that affected me greatly. I absolutely fell in love with the idea that the patterns could be equal in importance to the spatial depiction. yes, it’s a room, but it is flat and beautifully patterned as well. The composition is so perfect, I can’t imagine anything being changed in it. I love this piece.
The Piano Lesson – Oil on canvas – Matisse
Yet another fantastic image that combines the idea of space with the flatness of pattern, color, composition and contrast. You can see he is slowly moving away from a realistic depiction of space.
Pink Nude – Oil on canvas – Matisse
As Matisse aged he moved into a period where his emphasis was almost purely on color, shape and composition. He always had joy and brightness in his work but as he simplified he let those elements come out to an even greater extent.
from ‘Themes et variations’ – Henri Matisse
from ‘Themes et variations’ – Henri Matisse
Portrait – Line Drawing – Matisse
In my opinion, there is no greater minimalist draftsman then Matisse. His ability to express form and feeling in the fewest of lines is unequaled. I have spent most of my life as an artist drawing in sketchbooks. I have more than 30 of them now. If you look up ‘sketchbook history tour’ in the series drop down menu on the right you will be able to see a selection of that work over many years. My best drawings in those sketchbooks are the ones that are closest to the ideal of simplicity of line that Matisse taught me.
Matisse drawing while confined to his bed.
As Matisse neared the end of his life he was confined to both a wheelchair and to a bed at various times. In spite of that he continued to work, creating some of his greatest masterpieces by using the long extension for his drawing tool and with the use of cut outs. His simplification of beauty was complete and he left us as powerfully creative as when he started almost 70 years before.
Matisse working on a Cut Out while confined to a wheelchair
Tristel – Matisse Cut Out
I took my daughters to Europe in 2003 and made a stop at the Matisse Museum in Nice, France. I picked out this piece along with 2 others from that era and bought reproductions of them. When I got home I had them framed and they are great reminders of both his genius and a fantastic family adventure.
__________________
Fall/Winter 2016
Summer 2014
Winter 2012/2013
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by Marty Coleman | Jan 20, 2012 | Anonymous, Laws of Attraction - 2012 |
It’s day #3 of Laws of Attraction Week at the NDD. I might have to spill over into next week, but not sure yet!
Is this true? Discuss.
Drawing and question by Marty Coleman, who likes blue eyeshadow (but not on himself).
Quote by Anonymous, who does not like blue eyeshadow.
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by Marty Coleman | Jan 19, 2012 | Anonymous, Laws of Attraction - 2012 |
Laws of Attraction week continues at the NDD
Have you ever tried to fall in love? It’s sort of like trying to enjoy the taste of food you don’t like. It’s possible you could end up liking it, that is true. Obviously from childhood to adulthood we like things that at first we really hated. Just watch a kid take a taste of wine or beer or eat a bite of brussel sprouts. It’s not very likely they will have a happy face. But given enough time they might come to enjoy it. Will they come to love the taste? Perhaps. Will the come to be IN LOVE with that substance? Probably not. Probably the substance they are going to have the deepest affection for is the stuff they loved as a small child, from the beginning. That is why comfort food is called comfort food, because we are so in love with that great feeling of security and comfort we find in that food from our childhood.
Love can be the same way. I once saw a report on arranged marriages and how statistically they have an equal or better chance of lasting than a typical western ‘fall in love, romantic’ marriage. Why is that? A lot of reasons beyond being in love, obviously. But the report did interview a number of long term married couples who started in arranged marriages. Their comments could be reduced to this; ‘marriage first, love later’. Western inclinations lean towards the opposite; ‘love first, marriage later’. But how many of our western marriage actually keep that ‘in love’ feeling alive after so many years? Doesn’t the marriage have to rely on something more than that feeling, which may or may not always be there?
So, in my head while you can’t, and shouldn’t, force love, you can build love. You can, over time, find things about the other person that cause you to fall ‘in love’ with them again and again, but in new ways you could not have anticipated because life and what happens to us is unexpected. The key is to always be open and available for that to happen at any moment now or into the future. It might be an event, it might be a change in your heart, who knows. But it can happen, and if you are paying attention, it might happen sooner than you think.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, a lover not a fighter.
Quote by anonymous
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by Marty Coleman | Jan 17, 2012 | Laws of Attraction - 2012 |
I was attracted to this topic, so today is day #1 of ‘Laws of Attraction Week’ at the NDD!
I had a conversation yesterday about attraction with an online friend in Norway. I had responded to an FB posting about attraction that a mutual friend of ours (also in Norway) had posted. The thread of the conversation revolved around the question, When do you have control over your attraction? Sometimes it seemed to me that your attraction was visceral, immediate and you had very little control over it, at least at first. Her point was that it was actually something you did control since it was YOU who was feeling whatever it was you were feeling. I didn’t agree that just because it was me meant I had control since the initial response is primarily unconscious. We started using the word ‘choice’ instead and that changed things a bit. You can’t really control what you are not conscious of, but you do, through repetition and familiarity, make choices about things even when you aren’t fully conscious you are making them.
What are your thoughts about attraction and how it comes about? Is it primarily unconscious at first? What sort of control or choices do you have available to you?
Drawing, commentary and quote (adapted from an anonymous one) by Marty Coleman, who chose to post this today.
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