by Marty Coleman | Jun 29, 2024 | Christianity - 2011-2013, Sketchbook History Tour |
Bible People, Part One
As anyone who has followed me for any time knows, I draw in church. I Became a Christian in 1976 and I think the earliest drawing I have from church is probably from about 1979. I continue to this day 45 years later.
This selection is from a bible that was given to me by a Pastor friend back in 1997. I drew in it from 1997 to1998. I didn’t draw over actual scriptural text, only over the opinion pages or blank areas. I liked having the text show through, sometimes because it helped inform the image and sometimes because it was a non sequitur to the image. Either way it adds interest to the image.
Part One is of people I have drawn with thoughts they may be thinking. Sometimes the thoughts may have stemmed from whatever the pastor was preaching about but often times it was just my imagination of what someone is thinking, unrelated to anything else.
Let me know if you have a favorite or if an image brings up some interesting thoughts of your own.
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 19, 2024 | Sketchbook History Tour |
Los Angeles Drawings, 2024
My wife and I went on vacation last week. We had airline vouchers we had to use by mid-June but we procrastinated deciding where to go because we couldn’t agree on a place. Finally it was getting down to it and we were talking about various place in California. Both places in California that we discussed had relatives we would either stay with or visit and as much as we love them we wanted this to be a ‘just us’ escape. Finally Linda said, How about LA? I said, sounds great! I was raised there so going back is always fun so off we went.
Each morning I got up early and walked a few blocks to Caffe Luxxe, a cool little spot on Montana Ave in Santa Monica near the ocean. I would get myself a Cafe Mocha and sit down to draw in my large sketchbook. It was fun because the same crowd was there most mornings and I got to know them and the staff. There were a lot of people in puffy coats and leggings!
When we left we sat at the departure gate for quite a while so I brought out my small sketchbook and did some quick drawings of those around me. During the flight I ink painted one of the drawings and gave her a thought that I saw reflected in her look.
I haven’t decided if I will paint the three cafe drawings but if I do I will edit this post and include those versions as well.
Click on a drawing to see it full size and scroll to see the rest.
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by Marty Coleman | May 19, 2024 | Sketchbook History Tour |
Back People
I draw in church and often it’s the back of the person in front of me. I have also drawn the backs of people in auditoriums, airline terminals, meeting rooms, waiting rooms and coffee houses. But it’s in church that I will most likely find the person facing away. In these cases I take advantage of the challenge. The challenge of drawing hair (never an easy thing), but even more so, of drawing personality without a face. That is hard. And the definition of success in that endeavor is different than if I have a full set of facial features to clue you into what the person is feeling or thinking.
I think of it as the difference between music with lyrics (facial features) to tell you what it’s about and instrumental music (no facial features) where you aren’t told something explicitly, but indirectly. In that case the music becomes much more individual, with interpretations not helped or impeded by word definitions. Having said that I don’t always obey the rule. I may not show a face but I sometimes I have thought bubbles that tell what the person is thinking.
Color Drawings
Black and White Drawings
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by Marty Coleman | May 1, 2024 | Sketchbook History Tour |
Talking People
While most of the drawings I do in public are of just one person there are plenty of times when I am able to draw more than one. I usually won’t attempt this unless I feel I have ample time to compose a more complex image and I have some assurance they will stay in place long enough. As with any live drawing, sometimes it works out, some times it doesn’t. There are many drawings I have of multiple people but in most they are all just sitting, not necessarily engaging with each other. It often is just 2 separate portraits that happen to be on the same page. But that isn’t the case with people who are talking to one another.
It’s a delicate process to create an image where it appears people are actually talking to one another. Obviously there is the task of drawing the mouth so it looks like it’s saying something but that isn’t always essential. Finding a non-verbal gesture that may indicate something, like a question, an exclamation or an attitude, can sometimes be even better than a mouth being open.
This selection of 10 goes all the way back to 1987. At that time I worked at Eulipia Restaurant in San Jose, California. I would often bring my sketchbook in my backpack because after work we would often decompress by sitting around the bar. Having my sketchbook with me meant I could draw while we relaxed. At that time I was drawing with a simple ball point pen, my only requirement being that it be black ink instead of blue.
The rest of these drawings were done with a Copic ink pen first then painted with Copic ink markers and in some cases Montana Acrylic paint markers.
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by Marty Coleman | Apr 18, 2024 | Sketchbook History Tour |
Phone People
Some of the best models are those who are engrossed in something. And nothing engrosses 21st century humans like their phones. I take my sketchbook almost everywhere because if nothing else, I can guarantee that I will find someone on their phone. I don’t often ask permission in this situation since they are absorbed in something. But whenever possible I will show them the drawing afterwards and connect with them so they can see it when it is finished.
Someone on their phone is also a perfect opportunity to create a story by adding in thought or word bubbles. These I make up completely and don’t have anything to do with the real person. It’s just an idea I had based on the drawing and what I imagined they could be thinking about.
These drawings are from Sketchbooks starting around 2010 or so, when the iphone made extended phone usage much more prevalent.
Do you have a favorite? Which one is it?
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by Marty Coleman | Apr 4, 2024 | Sketchbook History Tour |
Coffee People
I have been continuing to scan my sketchbooks. Each sketchbook has a unique focus due to its own properties of size, paper quality, etc. It also has to do with what I was doing at the time. This sketchbook has a lot of live drawings of people in public settings. I was spending time in coffee houses because I was live streaming regularly on the Periscope app and this was a fun and interesting way to engage my audience. The camera would be pointed at me and my drawing so I could talk while they saw my drawing appear. I would sometimes end the video with me going over the meet the subject of my drawing and introduce them as well.
These are a selection from my 2015-2017 sketchbook.
© 2024 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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by Marty Coleman | Feb 26, 2024 | Sketchbook History Tour, Travel |
Plane People
I’ve been scanning my sketchbooks this year and recently scanned one from 2000-2002. There were a number of drawings of people on planes or about to get on one. Planes and waiting rooms are wonderful places to people draw and I always make sure I have my sketchbook with me when I travel for that exact reason.
In some cases I met these people, found out their name and a small portion of their story. Some knew I was drawing them, like Jess the flight attendant. She was sitting staring down the aisle late at night and it was kind of hard to miss me drawing since I was the probably the only person with a light on in the cabin. Other times I am observing, taking in not just the face but the whole environment, like in ‘A Passenger’s Story’, which really more my story of what is happening all around her rather than what she is thinking. And then again I am often just imagining what someone might be thinking based on just a brief conversation like in ‘Cate Wishing’ or on nothing at all, like in ‘I Hope He’s Nice’.
Click on any image to start a slide show. Let me know what you think, do you have a favorite?
Gallery
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by Marty Coleman | Jan 3, 2024 | Sketchbook History Tour |
The Sad Women
“I can promise you that women working together – linked, informed and educated – can bring peace and prosperity to this forsaken planet.” – Isabel Allende
When I think about the Middle East recently I keep thinking about how powerless so many women must feel as they watch their world being destroyed. They have their differing opinions and beliefs but I believe their pain makes them much more alike than their religion and background make them different. Because of that I am confident of the same thing Allende is. I don’t know the solution to all these issues. But I believe the women of the region are more likely to find the answers than the men are. I can think of no better place and time than here and now to have women in charge instead of men.
The Sad Women, pen and ink on paper, 2024
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by Marty Coleman | Nov 27, 2023 | I Draw in Church, Sketchbook History Tour |
Amplified People
As many of you know, I draw in church. When I lived in Tulsa the person I drew at church most often was the pianist. We sat in just the right location to get a good view of her so she was a ready subject. When we moved to Texas and found a church the orchestra was behind a low wall so I didn’t have a good view of them. However, I did have a good view of the singers who led the worship. Next thing you know I was drawing a lot of people with microphones. Most of the time I would actually not draw them while they were standing up in front. I would look at them while they sang, memorize certain things about how they stood, held the microphone, what they wore, etc. Then while the sermon was being preached I would start the drawing with that person in mind. I didn’t worry about being accurate, it was just a place to start on the page.
‘The Mottled Woman’, ink on paper, 2022
Sometimes I think of something the person is saying or thinking, other times I don’t.
‘The Colors and the Grays’, ink on paper, 2023
Singing Apples, Thinking Oranges
At the Edge
The one thing that occurs to me again and again, especially in Christian circles, is how different what we say is from what we think.
‘The Sea Angel’, ink on paper, 2022
Some people are able to rise above. Not many, but some.
‘Cathie Hill Singing’, ink on paper, 2023
My sister-in-law singing at her outdoor church in Colorado.
‘Eve with Singing Snake’, ink on paper, 2022
What if the snake had listened to Eve instead of the other way around?
‘The Singer and the Pain’, ink on paper, 2022
The thing is, people say things often because they believe it convinces others of who they are. But if you are around someone long enough their actions say who they are not their words and no one is fooled.
‘Interview with a Meteorite’, ink on paper, 2023
The drawing attention to disasters all around the world, the big crazy ones, is often a tool by which we hide our own disasters from ourselves and others.
‘Halo of Guilt’, ink on paper, 2023
Being a saint is as much a curse as it is a blessing. You know you did barely anything to deserve the accolade and yet you can’t escape it. BTW, I do not know this from first hand experience.
‘The Show’, ink on paper, 2023
The voice speaks but it is the hand that proves who you are.
‘The Hallucination’, ink on paper, 2023
Sometimes it doesn’t have to make any sense.
‘Interviewing Emptiness’, ink on paper, 2023
Not everyone has something of value to say.
‘On the Scene’, ink on paper, 2022
There is always a camera.
‘Many Las’, ink on paper, 2022
So many ways to sing something so simple.
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 13, 2023 | Series, Sketchbook History Tour |
I recently finished a sketchbook. It’s a weird thing to finish a sketchbook. I always feel like a relationship is ending. The feel, paper, size, look are all unique. How it takes ink, how I hold it, how it fits as I go somewhere is different with each sketchbook. Some allow me to draw inconspicuously while others are too big to hide. Some say ‘hippie natural’ while others say ‘serious conformist artist’.
But most importantly, what I draw in it is different based on all those things. Some lend themselves to drawing live while others tend to move me to draw purely imaginative images. It isn’t exclusive, I draw live and imaginatively in every sketchbook but there is an inclination depending on the book.
Here are some from a sketchbook that lent itself to a lot of imaginative drawing. I chose recent paintings that include polka dots or other type of recurring pattern on the clothing. I often do this so as to give definition to a form or to define a something as in front of or behind something else. They also include a lot of people holding microphones. That is because I often start the drawing in church, lightly memorizing the person on stage during the singing, then drawing a version of that person once the sermon starts.
Enjoy and let me know what you think. Do you have a favorite?
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