by Marty Coleman | Oct 3, 2010 | Sketchbook History Tour |
I used to take public transportation often. I loved drawing while on a bus, subway or train. There is something liberating about knowing you can’t control the line, you just have to create within the parameters of a jostling, bumpy series of movements. It’s a great exercise in gesture drawing for one, but it’s also great for allowing for the happy mistake again and again.
This was actually a woman I saw on the train. She had the headband and she had the strong angular look. I didn’t draw her while looking at her, she was just someone I saw passing, but I remembered the look and had her in mind as I made up this drawing. Why I added the tie and the mini-story, I have no idea, but it made sense at the time!
Here is another from that same train ride.
Drawings © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 26, 2010 | Sketchbook History Tour |
While in the MFA program at San Jose State University ( I had left Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan after one year without an MFA) I started doing large scale photorealist drawings of people and objects that also included large expanses of grass.
At the same time I got into word play with the word ‘draw’ and its variations. This sketch combined those elements into what I thought was a pretty funny image.
Here are some other drawn things from that same sketchbook.
Drawings © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 25, 2010 | Free Will - 2010, Thomas Fuller |
Day #5 of ‘Free Will’ week at The Napkin Dad Daily
We all desire to do great things. But we can all get carried away by the desire and then find we lack the capability or resources to do that which we are so excited about.
When I first moved to Tulsa I worked in a small start up company making educational software (CD-Roms) for children. But to get the job I had to start at the bottom. The very bottom. I scanned hundreds of line drawings for animations. That is all I did. I would clean them up in the computer and off they would go to the animator. I was virtually unskilled labor at that point.
But I also had 20 years experience as an artist, 9 years experience as an art teacher and 14 years experience as a restaurant manager in a high stress, high volume restaurant. I had moved to Tulsa to take this job, taking a pay cut with the hopes that it would lead to a great opportunity in this new field.
I also had no fear. So, when the question was asked at a staff meeting who might like to learn the animation software (Macromedia Director) to help out I wanted to jump up and say ME! But the lead illustrator, senior to me by a long shot, had the first pick to do it. But he was used to drawing by hand and just wanted to keep doing that and working a bit in Photoshop. He said it would be a hassle to learn.
When he said no, I said yes.
Within a year and a half the animator, the art director, and the producer all either left the company or were let go. Guess who moved up into each of those positions? I did. And, more importantly, I succeeded in those positions. And it all started with me saying yes.
The lead illustrator, a negative bully, quit and went back to home construction, blaming our management for him not being able to go anywhere with his career.
So, my point is that the above quote, while true, is never to be used as an excuse. If you have the desire then of course you need to be honest about your capabilities. But not having full capabilities doesn’t mean you have NO capabilities. Your power is greater than you think and is most likely able to back up your will, if you will let it.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Thomas Fuller, 1608-1661, English churchman, historian and writer
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 23, 2010 | Arthur Schopenhauer, Free Will - 2010, Kim Baker, Thomas Shahan |
Day #4 of ‘Free Will’ week at The Napkin Dad Daily
Wow, what a dilemma this quote brings up. Does it mean we are not personally responsible since we can’t determine what we ‘will’? Does it mean we are destined by our genes, our DNA and parents, our heritage from centuries and millennia long past? What is in our control if that be the case?
The quote made me think about the photo lecture I was in charge of last night. We had a guest lecturer for our photo group. She is a landscape photographer here in Oklahoma, Kim Baker. What we got out of her lecture was one thing: Passion. She is passionate about the rivers of Oklahoma. She traipses through the most incredibly difficult terrain to camp out the night before, often by herself, so she can get up at 4-5 AM and capture the light, mist, dew, and atmosphere around the river before and as the sun rises. She ‘wills’ to do those things.
Two months before that lecture we had another guest, this one was into macro photography. He was photographing flies, insects and spiders of Oklahoma. Some have never been photographed in detail, ever. He is getting famous for his ability to capture them. To do so he has to do much the same as Kim. He goes out in the middle of nowhere and sits still in the dirt or brush or trees. He waits. Sometimes for hours. He has one successful photo out of perhaps 100 taken usually. He does it because he has one thing: Passion.
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| © 2010 Thomas Shahan |
The will is strong when there is passion behind it. Why we have the will is an interesting question. But it is basically about science or God or whatever else you can intellectually think about. But why we have it is not as important as if we exploit it. Do you ACT on that passion or do you just wish about it?
If you want to contribute to the world, you must ACT on your passion, not just think about it.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860, German philosopher
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 22, 2010 | Free Will - 2010, Jawaharlal Nehru |
Day #3 of ‘Free Will’ week at The Napkin Dad Daily
Here is the interesting part. What about when you KNOW the cards you are being dealt? They are showing face up. Think about your school, spouse, job, house, car, city, clothing, hair style and more. You know and see all those things up front. You pick them with the most information you can have. You pick them of your own free will. And then? And then, you have to pick another card, and get rid of one or two. Then you have to combine them with other players’ cards. Then you have to fold and start over. Then you get a straight flush only to find out you aren’t playing a game where flushes mean anything.
Life is like a game of cards. Multiple games with many different rules. Playing isn’t easy, winning isn’t easy. But not playing, not taking the card, not making a decision is worse than playing and losing.
Play.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Jawaharlal Nehru, 1889-1964, Indian Statesman (Prime Minister 1947-1964)
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| Jawaharlal Nehru in a Nehru jacket |
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 21, 2010 | Art, Free Will - 2010, Willem de Kooning |
Day #2 of Free Will week at The Napkin Dad Daily
I taught college level drawing for 9 years back in the 80s and 90s. My first question to my students was this: What is the job description of an artist?
I always got a number of interesting answers, and I didn’t consider any of them wrong. But I had my own answer as well. It is this: To do whatever they want to do.
It sounds like I am being flippant, but I am completely serious about it. An artist is the one entity in the human world whose sole job it is to do whatever they want to do. It is what being an artist is all about. My contribution to the world is just that. The society I am in has asked the artists that inhabit it to be free. It’s asked me to give them my vision, not someone else’s. I have been ‘hired’ by the world to express whatever it is I feel like expressing. If I take on the job of artist, then that is my job description.
By the way, I am not talking about commercial artists who are hired to fulfill someone else’s vision. That is a completely legitimate thing and I often do that. I am talking about ‘fine’ artists whose is not hired by others, but does something then may or may not find a person willing to show it, buy it, publicize it, etc. All that comes after not before the creation in other words.
If this were a quote I made up I would have used the word ‘commanded’ instead of ‘forced’ but you get the idea.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Willem de Kooning, 1904-1997, Dutch born American painter, (one of the leaders of the Abstract Expressionist style)
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| Willem de Kooning – 1949, untitled |
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 20, 2010 | Free Will - 2010 |
I think I will have a ‘Free Will’ week here at the Napkin Dad Daily. That is of course unless fate intervenes.
I believe in free will.
I believe in fate.
I believe in controlling my own destiny.
I believe in universal forces beyond my control.
I believe I have the power to choose.
I believe I am sometimes powerless to choose.
I believe mistakes are just that.
I believe mistakes are meant to be.
In other words, I believe both are true. What about you, what do you believe about free will?
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Hal Lee Luyah
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 19, 2010 | Sketchbook History Tour |
See, even back in 1982 I was drawing in church!
In 1982, after we moved to San Jose from a year in Michigan, Kathy and I found out about this little church in San Jose called ‘Bread of Life’. There had to be no more than 50 people max that attended. As a result we became fast friends with many of the group.
Here is an example of what a finished sketchbook drawing of the time looked like.
Here is an example of a faster drawing that if I had kept going would end up similar in style to the guitar drawing above.
The woman drawn here, Nita, and her husband Michael (not the guy playing guitar above) became our best friends for many many years during our stay in San Jose, even after we moved on from that church.
Drawings by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 17, 2010 | Road Trip, Seattle Road Trip, William Cowper |
Whether it is lack of knowledge or lack of character we are all dunces in some way. But get yourself out the door (or be sent by someone else) and you will be a better dunce. And if there is one thing I bet we can all agree on, the world needs a better quality of dunces.
I am a better dunce after my grand road trip adventure with my daughter to Seattle. Here are a few reasons why:
Meeting new people: A wonderfully engaging woman, Robin, in a little teeny coffee shack in the middle of Montana. She talked with Chelsea all about Seattle and all the fun opportunities there, the connections she has, the music, art, etc. It got Chelsea excited. It got Robin excited. She was animated on the high plains and it was great.
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| Bozeman Barista |
Old Friends: When we lived in San Jose from 1981-1994 we were good friends with the Savages. They had 2 daughters about the ages of our daughters and they were all great friends. They now live in Spokane and we stayed the night at their home. Being with them brought back wonderfully fun memories, including watching a video of their daughter’s 6th birthday party with all my daughters and me in it. It was a lot of fun.
More than those memories though was the present day experience of being with 2 of the most incredibly wonderful people you would ever want to meet. Martha, talkative and funny, understanding and kind. A better bed and breakfast hostess there has never been. Bob, quiet and stoic, insightful and probing. He is animated when the right topic comes along but always retains an thoughtful way of engaging in conversation. He was a fantastic tour guide to the amazing city of Spokane for us.
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| The Savage family in Spokane, Washington |
Their older daughter, Elizabeth, came to dinner and what an amazing thing to see childhood friends of my daughter all grown up. She has her parent’s great qualities in her. Their younger daughter, Sharon, one of Chelsea’s closest childhood friends live in, of all places, Seattle. So, right there bonus score for Chelsea and her hopes of connecting to people in Washington.
All this makes me want to get back out on the road again soon because I always want to be a better dunce!
Drawing, photos and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by William Cowper, 1731-1800, English poet
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 16, 2010 | Road Trip, Seattle Road Trip, Travel |
Time to pack it in! After 5 days on a road trip to Seattle, 2 days there and 3 more in San Diego I am looking forward to home.
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| The Baby and the Plane of Smiles |
Sometimes you hear horror stories about babies on planes. But this one, in the waiting area and on the plane, just made people smile. Sweet, funny, calm, and not crying. What more could one ask for!
I am a friendly guy, I like to engage in conversation and like meeting new people. I know some people don’t like doing that on planes and I respect that when I sit next to someone who obviously isn’t into it. But this time around the person I met added a nice full-circle ending to my trip.
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| D Seeing the Road Ahead |
D noticed me drawing and that got us in a conversation about art, college, majors, etc. She is a biology major and wants to be a doctor. She just moved to the west coast, first time away from home. 4 months ago she married her childhood sweetheart, a Marine, stationed at Camp Pendleton in San Diego county. Talk about a radical, crazy new phase of life! Although the situation isn’t exactly the same, I started out driving with my daughter to her new home on the west coast where she is going to be building a new life with a new beau. It will be her first time living completely apart geographically from family and friends. Now I am ending my journey talking to a stranger on a plane who is living a similar story. I love that.
I parted ways with her in Houston where she was headed and I was continuing on to Tulsa. I felt good about her chances for a happy life just as I did when I left Chelsea in Seattle the week before.
Now on to Tulsa where I expect to see my wife at the gate waiting for me. Not at the baggage claim, but at the actual gate, like in the old days. How can that be you ask? Because, ironies of ironies, my wife is about to go on a business trip to Houston and is taking the exact same plane I am arriving on! So, I am getting off, kissing her hello, kissing her goodbye and driving home to a household of animals. Not the optimal homecoming but it’s even worse for Linda since she has been the one home working all the while I have been traipsing around the country.
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| Hello Goodbye |
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate and love her for that. She works really hard in a really stressful job. She travels more than she likes and for her to have to leave as I arrive does not make her a happy camper. But it was fun to have her at the gate, no doubt!
Marty
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