by Marty Coleman | Nov 15, 2010 | Aleksander Fredro, Stupidity - 2001-2011 |
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People believe stupid things. Why is that?
- People kill themselves so they can meet up with a UFO behind a comet.
- People send money to a Kenyan who has $50 million bucks to give them.
- People believe Hitler and the final solution will lead to a thousand year reign of peace.
- People think anti-aging creams really work.
- People believe the world will end in 2012.
- People believe that a tortilla with an image of a face on it has spiritual powers.
- People send money to religious leaders who will pray over a cloth swatch and send it to them.
What other stupid things do people believe, and why? Leave a comment!
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Aleksander Fredro, 1793-1876, Polish writer
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by Marty Coleman | Nov 14, 2010 | Sketchbook History Tour |
The 1990 sketchbook isn’t as good as the one from 1989 for some reason, not sure why. But there are some interesting images.
Nude with Much to Contemplate
I had started to make a habit of drawing over some earlier odd or incomplete sketches with nudes from the drawing class I was teaching. I was doing it in part to teach them about finding value in your work. If you don’t like a piece, you can either destroy or improve it. Most people think they have to improve it by continuing in the same direction as they have been going. But another idea is to transform the first image by superimposing a completely different image on top and seeing what happens. That is what I did here.
Here are some others from that same sketchbook.
The Woman with Big Curl
Connie at Kaiser Hospital, Santa Clara, Ca
Woman Watching Spiritual Birds Watching a UFO
Drawings © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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by Marty Coleman | Nov 12, 2010 | Leonardo Da Vinci, Simplicity - 2009-2014 |
Yes, it is.
Drawing by me, quote by Mr. Da Vinci
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by Marty Coleman | Nov 7, 2010 | Sketchbook History Tour |
I like my 1989 sketchbook. There are a lot of these sorts of fine detailed portraits as well as my usual bizarre assortment of oddly populated cartoon images.
These are all done with a simple ball point pen. If you are ever tempted to draw in ink it’s a great way to go about it. You can get very faint lines or very heavy ones. You can layer easily. And best of all, you can always find a ball point pen wherever you are!
Judy Sugg, Santa Clara, California
Janet Arsenault, Santa Clara, California
Kristine Hayes, Santa Clara, California
Drawings © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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by Marty Coleman | Nov 5, 2010 | Art, Oscar Wilde, Photography |
I should take a pic of day #5 of ‘Photography Week’ at The Napkin Dad Daily
In photography or any other medium an artist is the one who is not trying to copy. They have in their head a vision, an idea, a concept, an attitude that compels them to create something out of it all. Something that is not just a news record of a person or event or place.
If they don’t have anything in their head when they start the process they know how to find it. They find it by being curious and fearless, by going places not easily arrived at, looking at things not easily seen, asking questions not easily asked.
What they come up with may start with the scene or person in front of them but it goes well beyond that to include who they are as well.
Quote by Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900, Irish writer and raconteur
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by Marty Coleman | Nov 4, 2010 | Ansel Adams, Photography |
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I am making this day #4 of ‘Photography Week’ at the Napkin Dad Daily
There has been a debate within the photography world ever since the advent of the digital camera and software such as Photoshop that can be used to work on photographs.
The debate is between ‘purists’ those who believe what comes straight out of the camera is the final product and any manipulation of it after the fact is a no no. If one does manipulate the image, then it is an indication of them being an inferior photographer since they should have been able to get it right while taking the photo. This is true for cropping, color, tonal range, hue & saturation and most any other element within the photo.
The other side has the ‘manipulators’. They believe that there is nothing wrong with working on an image in a software program. Any and all things that can be done to a photo is allowed, all that matters is what does it look like in the end. The method by which that end result is achieved isn’t important. The photographer that settles for a boring photograph out of a principle that says it has to stay in it’s ‘natural’ state is missing the point of image making.
So, I can guess you probably realize that I fall on the side of the manipulators. I have good company, by the way. The author of this quote is THE single most famous photographer, EVER. He was a master of the utmost degree. He is so popular that he has become a cliche. And to be honest I disliked his work for many years for that exact reason. All I saw were the cliche, famous images that were so over publicized as to have no visual value to me at all. I thought of him as the easy listening photographer. Boring.
Then I saw two exhibits of his work and read up on him and his efforts over many years. I was utterly and completely blown away by his range of images, his work ethic, his philosophical progression and his character. In my investigation I realized that this person who so many saw as the premier example of ‘the purist’ was actually the master manipulator.
He worked in film, not digital, but his manipulations were no less extensive. His ability to bring out the essence of a scene came not just from his taking the photo at the right time and knowing his technique, but in working within the darkroom, dodging; burning, picking the right developer, the right paper, the right temperature, the right timing.
I am glad to have Ansel Adams beside me in the manipulator camp.
Here are a few of his less well known images.
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| The Tetons and The Snake River – 1942 |
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| Freeway Interchange – 1967 |
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| Sand Cove – 1944 |
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by Marty Coleman | Nov 3, 2010 | Dorothea Lange, Photography |
I don’t have a photographic memory, but I think this is day #3 of ‘Photography Week’ at the Napkin Dad Daily
One thing I have always tried to teach my students, whether formally when I was a college instructor, or informally in my photo group, is that your eye is the deciding factor in whether you are going to make great images, NOT your technical ability. You have to be able to look beyond the obvious and see what else is available.
Maybe it’s shape, texture, content, patterns, color, emotion. But what you first see is not always what is most important. Perhaps what is next to that main element is actually more important. Maybe the combination of those things will give you the image you want. Maybe the empty space in between the elements are what really tell the best story in that scene.
Taking the most obvious picture will usually yield the most obvious response. The most obvious response usually dissipates very quickly, leaving the viewer feeling a bit cheated. The image becomes like propaganda, the simplest message delivered in the simplest way possible. And unless you are trying to pound someone with a message, it also becomes the most boring way as well.
Here are some of my more interesting landscape photos.
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| Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, Texas |
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| Arrow and Indian |
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| Four Circles |
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| Four Shadows / One Wall |
Drawing and photographs by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Dorethea Lange, 1895-1965, American photographer
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by Marty Coleman | Nov 2, 2010 | Paul Strand, Photography |
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It’s unexpectedly day #2 of ‘Photography Week’ at The Napkin Dad Daily
I love taking portraits. But it’s very hard for me to do studio work. The lack of background, the lighting, it all lessens the ability to get to the heart of someone. I know there is a place for those types of portraits and I do them, even have a studio to do so, but I prefer natural light, natural environment portraits. I can get into who a person is much easier that way.
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| Sun |
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| Rust |
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| Open |
Drawing and Photographs by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Paul Strand, 1890-1976, American photographer and filmmaker.
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by Marty Coleman | Nov 1, 2010 | Cindy Sherman, Photography |
I help run a photo group here in Tulsa. We had our annual Halloween Cemetery shoot this weekend and I gave a presentation the week before about how to get the most out of this sort of shoot. Beyond the technical styles we went over the most important thing was focusing the participants on the idea of telling a story with their images.
This are a few I took during our outing.
A day late but Happy Halloween!
Drawing and Photographs by Marty Coleman
Quote by Cindy Sherman, 2954-not dead yet, American artist
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 31, 2010 | Sketchbook History Tour |
Welcome to 1988. We are still living in San Jose, California. All three of our kids are born and growing. I have started to draw a fantasy series in my sketchbook of various creatures in the act of worshipping other bizarre creatures.
Bet you didn’t know there was a God of People with their Thumbs on Wrong, did you? If you are an artist like me who sometimes forgets which ways thumbs go on hands, having Glurg around is very helpful. Makes me feel less guilty.
People find the help they need. Saint Mesh helps things run smoothly
Beware if the God you worship looks a lot like you.
Drawing © 2016 Marty Coleman | Napkindad.com
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