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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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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