by Marty Coleman | Jan 16, 2011 | Christianity - 2011-2013, Sketchbook History Tour |
Two women with headscarves at Barnes and Noble, 2000
Religion, Other and Otherwise
In 2000 I had an argument via letter with Pastor Tom Harrison of Asbury United Methodist Church, in Tulsa, OK. I had been thinking and reading about other religions, and realized that one of the big shortcomings of the church was that they were trying to talk to (and yes, convert) people they didn’t understand or know.
The church was then promoting something they called ‘friendship evangelism’ which meant getting to know the person, befriending them, before attempting to explain what you believe and how or why they might want to consider it themselves. We talked about this in our small group and I put forth the question, what if your neighbor you are trying to befriend is a Buddhist, or a Muslim? Do you get to know what they believe, and understand it, find it’s value, it’s reasons as well as find out what sort of sports their kids like and what sort of novels they read?
There was some discussion about that, some saying yes, some saying no. It was obvious to me that it was important to treat any friend’s religion with respect, not dismissing it by thinking it’s so unimportant that you don’t have to know the basics of it.
Beyond that we were now living in a very interconnected world. Often, in business, some of the congregation were having to travel all over the world, or have to negotiate and do business from home with people of very different cultures and beliefs.
I suggested to my small group leadership that I would like to do a series on other religions. They said maybe I could do a one day presentation, that would probably suffice. I declined the offer since I knew I couldn’t do any of the religions justice in the 10 minutes or so I could dedicate to them in a 1 hour stretch.
I sent a letter to Pastor Harrison with the idea that maybe he could do a series on other religions from the pulpit. Not in detail, but just in general overview, to help people see that the leader of their church was open and willing to understand other groups, religions, cultures, etc. I thought it was needed because I had heard a lot of very ignorant and judgmental opinions put forth in the discussions I had had. I thought he needed to take the lead and guide others to be educated and open, not ignorant and reactionary.
He responded angrily saying it was not his place to talk about other religions, that enough of our culture was talking about them, that he was there to talk about our own religion. That for him to bring up other religions in that way would be tantamount to giving them all equal weight. He told me he worried about my soul and where I might go if I continued to think the way I was thinking.
To say I was stunned was an understatement. While I can certainly understand a Pastor politely declining a sermon series idea for all sort of reasons, I did expect him to be considerate and thoughtful about the idea. Instead he was angry, defensive and abused his power by putting out a spiritual threat.
Due to this and a few other reasons, I decided to leave Asbury and go to another church. Not many months later September 11th happened. The idea of understanding what others believe and why all of a sudden didn’t seem like such a bad idea.
Drawing and story © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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by Marty Coleman | Jan 2, 2011 | Sketchbook History Tour |
In 1998 I took a trip to New York to visit my sister. I went into Manhattan a few times via the Long Island Railroad to visit museums. I drew along the way. Looking back I saw 3 different types of portraits I was creating. I still do the same three types.
Woman on the Long Island Railroad at Christmas
A portrait of what I see: She was looking out the train window pensively. We stopped and there was an outdoor Christmas Tree with a star on top in front of a house right next to the tracks. She never changed her expression. I took note, quickly adding it to the scene before we moved on.
Woman Peering Through Her Only Portal
A portrait with what I imagine: She was also on the Long Island Railroad, this time on my way back to my sister’s house on Long Island. I didn’t get into the drawing long enough to draw a background so instead I started imagining how the light fell on her face and where it could have come from. I imagined a knot hole in a wall and went with that idea.
Woman With Articulation Of What Once Was
A portrait from all imagination: Maybe I saw someone’s eyes, lips or nose in passing and had that in my head, but basically I made the whole portrait up. It’s a caricature of a type that I see once in a while, oversize and undersized everything, dramatic in how extreme the features go together.
Drawings © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 26, 2010 | Sketchbook History Tour |
We started in 1972 (6 months ago) and now are at the 25 year mark in my sketchbook history tour.
Church and Details
We went to Asbury United Methodist Church in Tulsa for many years. I spent many hours drawing in this church. I spent an extra long amount of time on this one after the service where I did the original sketch.
Woman being Enlightened by an Accordion Bug
Who’s to say where we will get our inspiration. Some from world leaders of peace, some from Accordion Bugs.
It’s a fun challenge to make something look like something else. I drew the profile first, then had a very large space to fill. I am not sure if the landscape idea came first, probably it did. But eventually it was an attempt to create a body landscape that wasn’t immediately obvious.
Drawings © 2016 – Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 19, 2010 | Sketchbook History Tour |
A Woman with Rain on Her Shoulder
A portrait of my first wife, K. We were married for 20+ years (1979-2000). She had her moments of being bummed about things and I was visualizing one of those little moments in this drawing.
This was in my very small sketchbook I carried with me at the time. 2″ x 3″ Probably I started to draw this woman and she moved after I had just done her profile. So instead of figuring out the back of her head I just made her into a giant sculpture in a parking lot watching a rocket take off. Made sense at the time!
Wife and Husband with A Block Between Them
I met the woman at church and drew her from behind. I heard her talking about marital issues and I imagined an actual block between her and her husband.
The Bather
I almost never cross hatch using color so this was an interesting exercise for me. I was especially fun because I was trying to work in the water covering part of her.
Drawings © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 12, 2010 | Sketchbook History Tour |
I don’t really have an explanation for these drawings from 1995. I was just goofing off and came up with this series of women dancing in their bathing suits. I like them, they make me laugh. Which one is your most favorite and least favorite? Why?
Drawings © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 5, 2010 | Sketchbook History Tour |
1994 was a big year. It was the year I gave up on a path and started to forge a new one. In May of 1994 we moved from San Jose, California where I was teaching part-time at 3 Community Colleges AND working as a manager at Eulipia Restaurant to Broken Arrow, a suburb of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Here are some last sketchbook drawings I did in California.
A Drawing of a Woman as a Sculpture
A Woman as a 3D Painting Facing off Against Singing Snake
A Teenager Contemplating The Finger of God
In the next weeks I will show some of the images from my time in Tulsa as an artist/animator in my new job. You will see an interesting change but at the same time you will see that I never really change all that much.
Drawings © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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by Marty Coleman | Nov 28, 2010 | Sketchbook History Tour |
I got some markers in 1993. It allowed me a lot more color freedom and I went to town with them.
A Plaid Person Peering
You can see from the background landscape that they haven’t changed much over the decades. I always return to distant hills, ocean and receding paths.
Spotted Bust in Spotted Gallery
The horizontal calmness of that landscape is what I love. It juxtaposes nicely to the usually more emotionally or psychologically intense portraits in the foreground.
A Woman With Hand and Messenger
I lived in California most of my life, on the beach and amid rolling hills that would be green or golden depending on the season. I always come back to them.
See Through Woman
Unfinished Portrait
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by Marty Coleman | Nov 21, 2010 | Sketchbook History Tour |
In 1991 my two oldest daughters were taking ballet lessons. I would sometimes be the one to take them and wait. When I did I would sometimes draw those around me. On this day in 1991 I happened to capture two very interesting mothers while they watched and contemplated.
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| Ballet Mother Watching |
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| Ballet Mother Contemplating |
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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 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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