The American Journey #1

by | Jun 29, 2015 | Independence Day, The American Journey, Travel | 0 comments

travel2_2015_sm

 

Periscope’s Influence

I have started to Periscope myself drawing my napkins and sketchbook drawings. This one ended with a really cool revelation that I want to tell you about.

I drew the quote and the tree with the snake first. It was to be about travel since I had just gotten back from our London/Paris adventure. One of the people watching suggested I have the quote go around in a circle and I adapted that idea to have the first half go across the top and down the side. But then I decided to make the second have a more traditional bubble so it would be easier to read.

My Thought Process

I came back 2 days later and, while scoping, talked about how to illustrate the quote.  I thought of what would symbolize ‘the end’ and the idea of a hammock, the ultimate resting spot, would be cool to bracket the bottom.  I have an actual hammock in my backyard so I decided to draw in stripes as mine has, plus they would help create the bottom curve holding the image in. The hammock would be empty since the quote is about the journey is what matters in the end, not the end, right? 

I decided to draw someone walking, perhaps just having gotten up from the hammock. She was naked at first. I drew the path up to a mountain and then was a bit stuck. What was going to happen behind her? The idea came to me that maybe the path could be never ending, leading off behind her to perhaps the same place she will find going forward.

Breaking out of a Pattern

Right about then someone said maybe the middle area between the path could be a body of water. One of the things I like about Periscoping is that people through out their ideas and it sort of breaks me out of my typical drawing response. I have the type of water I draw, the type of mountains, of people etc. So it’s fun when someone suggests something that makes me view the possibilities a bit different. So, that is what I did, I drew the middle area being a body of water, like a bay or lagoon. 

All this was done before any coloring took place (except the tree and snake on the side).

Conscious Choices, Unconscious Results

Once I had the stripes on the hammock the idea came to me to make it a rainbow. This wasn’t hard to come up with since the marriage equality ruling had just come down from the Supreme Court the day before.  

Then I had to decide whether to keep the walker naked or not. It really made no sense given the quote and the image so I drew in shoes, shorts and a top.  I wanted her to pop so I made her shorts red.  I had a lot of green and blue in the background so I was trying to figure out the top, considering purple. But in the end I thought a darker blue would still stand out and colored it in.

Then I had to decide what color to make the walker.  I put the drawing up for the periscopers to see and when I did that, and was able to see it on the screen it hit me. The walker was red, white and blue.  And what is coming up this week? 4th of July. At that moment the whole drawing changed. It wasn’t just a walker journeying.  It was an American. And it was the American journey into and beyond Marriage equality. 

Good Art is More than the Artist Intends

I had no intention AT ALL for it to be about that. None of my choices were consciously leading to that. But I went with the unconscious flow, my creative choice flow and it came out to be something I believe in but didn’t intend. 

I love that about art.

You can find me on Periscope daily. I am @thenapkindad there and on twitter.

 

Quote by Earnest Hemingway, 1899-1961, American author

Drawing and commentary © 2015 Marty Coleman / napkindad.com

 

Independence Day, 2014

by | Jul 4, 2014 | Independence Day | 0 comments

 

This is what I celebrate when I celebrate the 4th of July here in America.

 

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Worth Celebrating!

If you live in the US and aren’t sure this is worth celebrating, if you are cynical, sarcastic or simply filled with anger about this or that aspect of American life (and trust me, I understand there is plenty to be angry about) then take a moment and consider how much more angry or cynical or sarcastic or DEAD you would be if you lived in a different country and weren’t the right religion or the right gender or had the right sexual orientation or were in the wrong political party or read the wrong book or were the wrong nationality or had the wrong color skin or were in the wrong tribe or didn’t have the right amount of money or were born into the wrong family or…. You get my drift.

Worth Celebrating?

BUT, what if one of those things were true AND you lived in the USA?  It happens here too.  Just ask a gay person or a disabled person or a woman or a person on welfare or an overweight person or a communist or an atheist or a Muslim or even a Christian in certain circles, or an African American or….you get my drift again.  What then?

Yes, Worth Celebrating

What then is we are an imperfect country. That isn’t said as an excuse.  It’s said to state the baseline truth.  The further truth is, though we are an imperfect country, we are one dedicated to becoming better. We do make progress, we do arch in the right direction, arch towards justice and equality. It may not look it if you are in the wrong group because progress can be slow, and it can even back up at times. But it is happening.

That is why I am always proud to be part of the American fabric. This commitment to becoming better, more liberal and accurate in our understanding of rights and justice, is not an accident. It was deliberately set forth at our beginning and it’s continued to develop successfully for well over 200 years now. That’s worth celebrating.

___________________

Drawing and Commentary by Marty Coleman

Quote By George Washington, 1732-1799, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, General of the Revolutionary Army, President of the Constitutional Convention, First President of the United States

___________________

Patriotism Self Test

by | Jul 4, 2013 | Independence Day | 0 comments

Here is my self-test of patriotism.  These statements are how I know I am living up to the ideals of our founders.

  1. When I understand that America is not only for people like me. 
  2. When I understand that I am free to judge on the content of character, but not the color of skin or the gender of the body or the inclinations of love and attraction or the ability to do what others can do,  or one’s upbringing or station in life. 
  3. When I understand that each individual has the inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, whether I like their versions of those things or not. 
  4. When I understand we have a right to be free and pursue our dreams but NOT at the expense and destruction of our towns, coastlines, rivers, oceans, land, air or people. 
  5. When I understand we have an absolute right to protect ourselves from those who wish or do us harm, or whose actions unknowingly cause us harm, from outside or inside our country, from individuals or corporations. 
  6. When I understand with gratefulness and humility that many people, now and in the past, have found it necessary to do something they hate doing, namely killing other people, and in turn sometimes getting killed and wounded themselves, to protect these rights and to protect me. 
  7. When I understand that hating another country or another people will not now, or ever, create a safe environment for me and mine. 
  8. When I understand that civil discourse and transitions among people and governing authorities who disagree is essential and positive, leading to good governance and progress. 
  9. When I understand and stand up for true religious freedom, knowing that my religion (or lack of) is not the religion of the country, no matter how large and powerful it is, and no matter how many believe as I do. 
  10. When I understand that America is me and what I do with my life.

That is my test for myself.

____________________

_____________________

She Bought a Hat to Celebrate the 4th – A Short, Short Story

by | Jul 3, 2013 | Illustrated Short Stories, Independence Day | 0 comments

fourth of july hat

A Short Short Story

Chapter 1

Her parents were communists who died before she came from Russia. She came to America when she was 23 because she found a husband on an internet dating site. He was bad and hit her once. She had learned boxing in Russia and beat the snot out of him. Then she left him.

Chapter 2

She worked hard, went to school, saved her money. She worked as an eyebrow model while she was in school, then as a railroad worker while she traveled the country, and then a psychiatrist in Boise. That year she became a US citizen, bought a cute little hat and went to celebrate the 4th.

Chapter 3

Someone took a photo of her that day and she had it put in a beautiful yellow frame she brought from Russia that had belonged to her grandmother.

The End

_________________

Drawing and story by Marty Coleman

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She Poured It In Texas

by | Jul 5, 2012 | Independence Day, Road Trip, Texas, Travel, Travel Napkins | 0 comments

On the road, deep in the heart of Texas!

She poured it in Texas.

I was awarded a 2 night stay at the Gaylord Texan resort from Steinbrecher and Associates for a story I wrote about the ‘aha moment’ in my life from being the Napkin Dad. Linda, Caitlin and I are here now over Independence Day and enjoying ourselves immensely.

The drawing was done after breakfast. I stayed down at the restaurant while Linda went upstairs to shower. The waitress was kind and thoughtful and I liked that her tag said she was from Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

I will post something longer when I get home but had to get at least one ‘Travelin’ Napkin’ in while I was here!

Here is the drawing after I got home and was able to work on it a bit.

She poured it in Texas

Here is the story of our time at the Gaylord, in four parts.

Part Zero (the napkin)

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Patriotism Test

by | Jul 4, 2011 | Independence Day | 0 comments

I posted this drawing and this self-test of patriotism last year.

What would you add?

Mediocre in this instance means average, NOT sub-par.
Here is my self-test of patriotism.  These statements are how I know I am living up to the ideals of our founders.
  1. When I understand that America is not only for people like me. 
  2. When I understand that I am free to judge on the content of character, but not the color of skin or the gender of the body or the inclinations of love and attraction or the ability to do what others can do,  or one’s upbringing or station in life. 
  3. When I understand that each individual has the inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, whether I like their versions of those things or not. 
  4. When I understand we have a right to be free and pursue our dreams but NOT at the expense and destruction of our towns, coastlines, rivers, oceans, land, air or people. 
  5. When I understand we have an absolute right to protect ourselves from those who wish or do us harm, or whose actions unknowingly cause us harm, from outside or inside our country, from individuals or corporations. 
  6. When I understand with gratefulness and humility that many people, now and in the past, have found it necessary to do something they hate doing, namely killing other people, and in turn sometimes getting killed and wounded themselves, to protect these rights and to protect me. 
  7. When I understand that hating another country or another people will not now, or ever, create a safe environment for me and mine. 
  8. When I understand that civil discourse and transitions among people and governing authorities who disagree is essential and positive, leading to good governance and progress. 
  9. When I understand and stand up for true religious freedom, knowing that my religion (or lack of) is not the religion of the country, no matter how large and powerful it is, and no matter how many believe as I do. 
  10. When I understand that America is me and what I do with my life.

That is my test for myself.

 

What would you add to it?

 

What Makes A Nation Great – updated 2018

by | Jul 4, 2010 | American, Independence Day, Jose Ortega y Gasset, USA | 2 comments

Today we celebrate the birth of the United States of America 234 years ago.  

 

Who likes the idea of being mediocre?  Not me.  But I do like the idea that the millions and millions of average people are the deciding factor in whether a nation is great.  Yes, it’s wonderful to have fantastic leaders and great managers and genius artists and fabulous engineers who lead the way.  But most of us don’t live in a world surrounded by fame and greatness every day. We live in our neighborhoods with average folk.  Who they are, who you are, that is what defines America.

You can read my post from yesterday on how I test myself to see if I am living up to what I consider to be American standards.  

What makes a nation great mug

Drawing and commentary © Marty Coleman

“What makes a nation great is not primarily its great men, but the stature of its innumerable mediocre ones.” – Jose Ortega y Gasset, 1883-1955, Spanish author and philosopher

My Patriotism Test – updated 2018

by | Jul 3, 2010 | American, Independence Day | 0 comments

I love my country.  In most cases I probably love your country too.  But I love my country because the ideals it was founded on.  Those ideals are not well protected and maintained if you only rise up and believe them once a year on the 4th of July.  They are nourished when you do it every day.

Here is my self-test of patriotism.  These statements are how I know I am living up to the ideals of our founders.

  1. When I understand that America is not only for people like me.
  2. When I understand that I am free to judge on the content of character, but not the color of skin or the gender of the body or the inclinations of love and attraction or the ability to do what others can do,  or one’s upbringing or station in life.
  3. When I understand that each individual has the inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, whether I like their versions of those things or not.
  4. When I understand we have a right to be free and pursue our dreams but NOT at the expense and destruction of our towns, coastlines, rivers, oceans, land or people.
  5. When I understand we have an absolute right to protect ourselves from those who wish or do us harm, both from outside our country and our corporations, and from inside.
  6. When I understand with gratefulness and humility that many people, now and in the past, have found it necessary to do something they hate doing, namely killing other people, and in turn sometimes getting killed and wounded themselves, to protect these rights and to protect me.
  7. When I understand that hating another country or another people will not now, or ever, create a safe environment for me and mine.
  8. When I understand that civil discourse and transitions among people and governing authorities who disagree is essential and positive, leading to good governance and progress.
  9. When I understand and stand up for true religious freedom, knowing that my religion (or lack of) is not the religion of the country, no matter how large and powerful it is, and no matter how many believe as I do.
  10. When I understand that America is me and what I do with my life.

That is my test.  
What would you add to it?

Drawing and commentary © Marty Coleman

“Patriotism is not the short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.” – Adlai Stevenson, 1900-1965, Governor of Illinois, Ambassador to the UN, Presidential candidate 1952 & 1956.