by Marty Coleman | Nov 18, 2013 | Travel Napkins |
Linda and I went down to Texas this weekend to visit Caitlin and go to the Baylor/Texas Tech game. We stayed at a Courtyard by Marriott and, as usual, I got up early and went downstairs to have breakfast and do some drawing and reading.
I was the only one in the restaurant at first and the woman who helped me was standing alone at the counter after I got my food. She was working on a clipboard, then was at the cash register. I caught her standing still, contemplating some numbers, and took advantage to get a quick sketch of her. She was wearing a Dez Bryant Dallas Cowboys shirt on as the hotel was doing a fall football theme.
One of the other restaurant workers happened to see me doing the drawing and told the woman, Karen, about it. She thought it was pretty cool and graciously allowed me to take her photo with the unfinished drawing. We had a good discussion about eyebrows.
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Drawing by Marty Coleman
Model – Karen of Courtyard
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 15, 2013 | Illustrated Short Stories, Travel Napkins |
Gotta love some time to just relax and draw while on a road trip.
A Rainy Day at a Starbucks in Dallas, Texas
It is raining.
I suspect frizz is the worry for one woman and so she puts her hair in a bun. A woman’s face is barely showing, her hair covering almost all of it as she looks down at her phone. I think perhaps she compensates by showing a lot of cleavage. A woman in a green shirt doesn’t know I am drawing her as she reads People magazine. The DART glides by. The couple touch each other as they talk. I suspect they will break up soon.
One of them is my wife.
The End
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Drawing and story by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 13, 2013 | Illustrated Short Stories, Marty Coleman, Travel Napkins |
‘At First’ – A Short, Short Story
Was she the one being counseled or was she the counselor? I couldn’t tell at first.
Were the children hers, or the other woman’s, or maybe they belonged to the man, or all three. I couldn’t tell at first.
At first I thought she would sit still long enough for me to draw her.
At first she didn’t notice me.
Marty Coleman – 9/13/13
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 5, 2013 | Darien - 2013, Travel Napkins |
The Flight Home
I spent 9 days on the east coast, going to my HS reunion, visiting my sister, an artist friend and my daughter Rebekah and my first Grandbaby, Vivian. But alas, I eventually had to head back to Tulsa. I was excited to see Linda again, it had been a long trip, but I was very sad to say goodbye to Rebekah and Vin. I spent the hours on my flight home drawing.
The Executive
I got into a conversation with the woman across the aisle as we both sat down but I was on the window seat and when my row partner sat on the aisle, the conversation pretty much stopped. Later the woman on the aisle was trying to sleep and wasn’t having a very easy time of it so I traded places with her so she could lean her head against the interior of the plane. By that time the woman across the aisle, Catherine, was reading so I picked up my sketchbook and started to draw her. I captured her face first, then her hands as quickly as I could since I know they were the most likely part of her to change at any moment, which they did. She brought out her laptop and at that point I started drawing the background.
The entire cabin was dark and the light from her screen lit her face in a beautiful way. I wish I had taken a photo so I could remember the lighting pattern now. We started talking again after a while and I found out she was coming to Tulsa for just one day for work. She was an executive with a large software developer and had a series of meetings starting early the next morning. She was tired after a while and laid her head back to sleep.
This is the drawing before I painted and colored it.
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The Flight Attendant
After my aisle mate started napping I noticed the flight attendant sitting in the jump seat straight ahead. She was in the dark, with one single overhead light above her, and some light from the galley on her left. She was looking right at me so I mouthed the words, ‘I am drawing you.’ and she responded with a smile and a thumbs up.
She sat still for almost the entire time I was drawing. There wasn’t anything going on in the cabin, almost everyone was asleep or at least had their eyes closed. She could have easily changed her arm position, crossed her legs differently or adjusted her clothing or hair, but she did none of that. She just sat still and looked straight ahead. Once in a while she would look at me and I would mouth the words for wherever I was at, ‘I am drawing your legs now.’ or “I finished your dress.” I knew she couldn’t hear me since I was actually making no audible sound, but it was obvious she knew what it was I was saying. She sat that way for probably 20-25 minutes, long enough for me to get a thorough line drawing done.
She had to explain her stillness to her fellow flight attendant at one point, and the other flight attendant came over to see how the drawing was progressing. She thought it looked pretty good and gave Jessica the thumbs up. That made her smile. It was very cool and otherworldly to do the drawing almost in complete darkness, almost like a special bond formed between us as a result. I showed her the line drawing after and she was very happy with it. She introduced herself as Jess and we exchanged contact info so I could get the finished drawing to her. Here is the line drawing before I painted and colored it.
And with that we landed, the lights came up and I was able to be greeted by my lovely wife at the airport. It was a wonderful journey meeting old friends, new family, and strangers who became friends.
I love traveling into the past and finding the present.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Aug 26, 2013 | Dallas, Travel Napkins |
Drawing at Church
I went to visit my daughter Caitlin this weekend. She lives in Dallas and attends Watermark Church. I went to the early service with her then decided to hang out out in the big spacious lounge/lobby area for about 2 hours (instead of trying to find a coffee shop nearby) while she helped lead a 7th grade girls group. I spent my time drawing.
The Deep Conversation
The Conversation
The first drawing was in my sketchbook. I was in the outdoor patio area and noticed three people having a pretty intense conversation. It seemed like they might be there a while so I thought I might be able to get a good drawing out of it.
The woman on the right was the object of the conversation. It was obvious the other two were discussing some issues with her. What about, I didn’t know. While I drew, her 2 young children, one a barely walking toddler and the other perhaps a 3 year old, were getting curious about me and my drawing. The baby came over and offered me a cheese cracker. I took it and thanked her. She took an interest in my back pack so I showed her the snap clasp that held the flap closed. She watched with delight as I snapped it open and closed.
Soon the 3 year old came over and wanted to try his hand at the clasp. He handed me a sponge dinosaur so he would be hands free. He quickly took the dinosaur back, ripped his head off, then gave it back to me. The young boy snapped the clasp again and again while the little girl looked on, either at me, the clasp or her crackers.
The trio in conversation looked over to be sure the kids were ok, and I reassured them they weren’t bothering me. Meanwhile another child, perhaps 6 years old, started hovering. I could tell what she was doing so I turned and told her it was ok for her to watch me draw. She liked that and stood a respectful distance and watched. After I finished the line drawing I showed it to the little hovering girl and she quietly said she thought it was good. I appreciated that.
By that time the conversation was winding down. The woman on the right came over to retrieve her toddler and I showed her the drawing. She liked it quite a bit and I gave her my card so she could email me and get a copy of it.
I hope whatever life events she is going through, that she got help and support from the other two. I got the feeling she was dealing with whatever it is pretty well. I wish her the very best.
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Jamie and Jill
I had another hour to wait at that point so I went inside to get out of the heat, and perhaps find some other people to draw. There are TV screens in the big lounge area showing the service and a number of people were sitting and watching. I knew that probably gave me at least 45 minutes of drawing time so I settled in and started drawing 2 woman sitting at a tall table.
This time I decided to use a napkin I had with my coffee.
The church has a very wide array of styles among those in attendance. T-shirts, jeans, shorts, sandals, and tank tops were in abundance. These two women were were dressed classier than most, combining high heels and casual tops together really well. I was lucky in that they sat still for almost the entire time, with only the changing of which leg crossed which messing me up a bit.
I showed the drawing when I was done and the sermon was over. They were a bit wary of me, just some random guy drawing them. But I gave them my card anyway, just in case they want to see the final drawing. They expressed enthusiasm once they saw the card and said they were looking forward to sharing it among their friends. They are Jamie and Jill.
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The Lobby
Then church let out, the middle school kids got out, the elementary school kids were picked up and it was a zoo.
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I love drawing people and getting to know them as I do. There is something about the slow, methodical visual investigation of line, color, shading, activity, expression, that allows me access to who they are in a way photography doesn’t. I love photography, but I like drawing as well.
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Drawings and photograph by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Jul 8, 2013 | Travel Napkins |
Early Morning Practice
As is my practice when traveling, I try to get out early to a coffee shop of some sort to draw, read, or write before the rest of my family is up and about. On the day after Independence Day I walked over to a local Starbucks for my venti size Cafe Mocha. This woman was deep into her work and I, thinking she would likely be there for a while and I could get a good drawing in, sat down at the table next to her. I couldn’t see her face because of her hair hanging down and that added a technical element to the drawing challenge I liked.
How I make my Drawing Decisions
The only real movement she made was to lean forward closer to the laptop screen or further back. I drew her hair, hoodie and body first, leaving her face and it’s angle until I was sure I could get it right. The hoodie actually had a couple stripes down the arms but I didn’t like the idea of breaking up the lines with more lines so I didn’t include them. Her skirt was a print with very light and delicate flowers. I know I could get the colors right even if I couldn’t get the flowers in detail so I went with dots of colors.
She had on a ankle bracelet that I wanted to include but I didn’t really like where it fell on her leg, feeling it looks a bit too much like a sock top or a tattoo. I really liked her little container of watermelon and made sure to include that. She had a book on top of it which I thought might make it harder to recognize as a container if I added the book on top but I did it anyway, just another challenge. I finally committed to drawing her profile at a certain angle behind the hair. I felt like I got it right though the neck line from the chin probably could have been just a tad bit farther to the left.
I tried a number of different markers for shading, experimenting with layering a slightly darker shade of whatever color I had used. That worked somewhat but it wasn’t really dark enough so I eventually used my go-to color for shading, Prismacolor Celadon Green.
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Reference and Record
I took a photo just in case I didn’t have a chance to finish the drawing and wanted some later reference.
Reference Photo
I usually like to show the drawings I do of strangers to them if possible. She started folding paper into little rectangles and tearing them apart. She then proceeded to make what looked like spelling test cards. I noticed she had a couple big words on her screen and I got the impression she might be studying English, perhaps not speaking it at all. I wasn’t sure if I should approach her or not because of that but I decided I would.
Esther at Starbucks
It turned out she spoke English perfectly and was happy to see the drawing. I gave her my card and told her to email me so I could send her a copy of it. I also told her to come to the blog in a few days and I would have it up for all to enjoy. Let’s hope she does. Esther, if you do, leave a comment, ok?
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Drawing, photos and story by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 6, 2013 | Travel, Travel Napkins |
Continuing with some napkins and iPhone photos from my working vacation in the Caribbean. I have had limited access to the Internet and very little time, sorry for the delay! Full stories will be coming when I return home, but in the meanwhile here are some images from day two. We are in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI at this point.
Breakfast view, day two
A bronze sculpture of a female pirate, Anne Bonny. We figure she is exposing her breast so her adversaries would know she is a woman. Or at least so the tourists 300 years later would.
This was a tough decision, which way to sit!
How can you go wrong with Mr. Wonderful Taxi?
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 2, 2013 | Travel, Travel Napkins |
We are currently on a working vacation in the Caribbean. When I get home you will see full travel posts with finished napkins and photos from my ‘real’ camera. But for now, here are a few from my iPhone to whet your appetite, ok?
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by Marty Coleman | May 20, 2013 | Travel Napkins |
When I travel I draw and photograph a number of things that don’t make it into a travel blog post. In most cases it’s not that the drawing or photo is bad, but it just didn’t fit in with the flow of the story I was telling. Then again, sometimes the drawing or photo just sucks.
Here are some images that didn’t make it into my prior posts from my recent weekend foray to Arkansas where I attended to Social Fabric Conference. I posted 3 days worth of images while I was there but these took a little while longer to get together.
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Annette McCormick
Lunch Break
I wandered into the Collective Bias Salon during a break and caught a few people taking their break as well. Annette, whom I had met the day before, said something about how I should draw people right then so I took her up on it and drew her eating a sandwich. I know it’s not proper etiquette to photograph someone eating but does the same rule apply to drawing? I choose to believe that rule does not exist.
There is a photo of her in my SoFabCon- Day 1 post, but I took another one on that same bus that I think is pretty cool as well.
Annette in Profile
Later I saw this photo in the SoFab blog of me showing something to Annette during the conference. You can follow her on twitter.
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Danielle Smith
Danielle’s Boots
When it’s May in Arkansas you would think sandals and open-toed shoes would be the uniform for women. But when it’s 35 degrees and it’s Danielle, it’s going to be boots. She likes her boots and this snake skin pair were pretty darn cool.
Danielle is sort of like a movie star in the blogging world. So, here I am getting my picture taken with a movie star. She also happens to be one of the most amazingly positive, genuinely friendly and loving people you could ever hope to meet.
Danielle and Elizabeth
Here is she mugging for the camera with Elizabeth Mascali, one of her panelist cohorts. Dawn Sandomeno, Elizabeth’s biz partner is taking the pic.
You can find her at daniellesmithtv.com and at extraordinarymommy.com
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Lana Flowers
I met Lana on the first day of the conference. She is originally from Oklahoma and now lives in Arkansas. She interviewed me for her blog the day after the conference. We met at a new museum called 21c. I drew her on a black napkin, something I had never done before.
I thought I would see how a set of metallic markers I had at home would work on it.
Here is the result. Very much like a woodcut relief print I think.
We walked around the museum and I got this shot of her about to sneeze. I think it’s pretty cool.
You can see the other napkin drawing and photo I took of her in the SoFabCon – Day 3/4 blog entry.
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Natalie Aydelott
Like I mentioned in the day 1 blog, I met Natalie on Thursday night at the opening cocktail party. I also met a cool guy named Taylor Sigler. He was also helpful throughout the weekend.
Taylor Sigler and Natalie Aydelott
I ran into her Friday, working away on her phone, making things happen at the conference.
Natalie Working
Then on Saturday night at the big 80s bowling party (bus ride excitement below),
I saw Natalie again, ready to strike!
Natalie Bowling
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Random
I drew, but did not meet, these two women at the cocktail party.
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By the way, I am now an official part of Social Fabric, the blogger/Social Media community element of Collective Bias. We are currently looking for Millennial Bloggers (ages 18-24) so if you are one or know of one who is, let me know and I will get them connected.
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Drawings and photos by Marty Coleman, who didn’t bowl but wished he had.
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by Marty Coleman | May 7, 2013 | Bentonville, Arkansas, Travel Napkins |
On the third day of SoFabCon my true love gave to me….
A pep talk.
I was feeling that occasional feeling we all get when we go to a conference. You feel connected and known, then you feel anonymous and invisible. You feel everyone wants to sit with you, then you feel people wouldn’t want to sit with you if it was the last seat in the breakout session. Of course, neither is true, but the emotional range is there nonetheless.
The pep talk from Linda back home worked and I started by becoming Iron Man.
Iron Man Irons
The first thing we did was ‘Awkward Stretching’. I am not sure if that is something they just made up, or a post-planking trend around the globe, but creaky old me likes and needs any kind of stretching so I was happy to do it.
Awkward Stretching
The first session was a panel that included the 5 women pictured below as well as the imposing presence of the shadow. The shadow is actually Jasmine, who was the conference head honcho. She made it all work behind the scenes, as this photo shows. You will see more of her at the end.
Melissa Garcia, Dawn Sandomeno, Danielle Smith, Elizabeth Mascali & Andrea Deckard
After lunch I saw a gathering at one table. Dan Morris, who had led a very helpful session on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) the day before, was holding court, doing a hands on demo of various software that he uses to make sure his words, ads, and placements are set up as best they can be. He has a very dry sense of humor combined with a sharp wit and immense expertise. I hate him.
King Morris Holds Court
Ok, I don’t really hate him. But I should because if it weren’t for him I would be showing you a napkin drawing I did of the women in the panel I mentioned above. Instead I will show you this photo of a dumpster.
The Perils of Drawing on Napkins
Why am I looking at a dumpster you ask? Because that is where the drawing is. I was so enamored of Dan’s impromptu little how-to session that I put the drawn napkin down on an adjacent table and forgot about it. I remembered it about 10 minutes after I left the ballroom but when I came back it was gone. I asked a waiter if he had seen it and he said yes, they all had, and had thrown it away. Oops. I asked if he could lead me back to the trash can just in case. He brought me through the bowels of the catering facility, all the way to the loading dock, where I was shown the napkin’s likely final resting place. He also brought out a rolling trashcan and said it might be in it and I was free to dig through it, he would even get me gloves. I looked at the pile of food and waste and wet and thought it highly unlikely a napkin would survive. I let it die a noble death and did my best to get on with life.
Marla and Me (isn’t that a book title?)
When I was speaking at Blog World in LA back in 2011 I made plans to connect with this woman, Marla Schulman. We were going to meet up at the back of this huge auditorium but we never did find each other. Fast forward 2 years and while checking my twitter feed I see that Cheryl Lawson from back in Tulsa is tweeting, wondering why Marla and I are both at the conference and she is not. I then realize I need to finally meet Marla! She had a great session on how to be a video rock star (which I need if I am going to take over the world) that I sat in on. Afterwards I introduced myself and we took a photo to send back to Cheryl to make her even more jealous. I think it worked. I am also posting it because I look really skinny in the photo (comparatively), having lost 22 lbs since January.
Jasmine Banks, the Roller Derby Queen
I am a speaker. I know what it takes to prepare a good speech, especially when it is combined with a visual presentation. It takes a LOT of prep. Actually, not knowing much about the conference I had emailed Ted Rubin a few months earlier asking if they were accepting proposals for presentations. He said the slate was already set so I let it go. I did however make sure I had a number of my presentations on my iPad, just in case I found once I got there that a speaker had to cancel. Always be prepared, right? So, when I heard in the morning that the final Keynote speaker wasn’t going to be able to attend due to travel problems my mind started racing. Maybe I could do it, who knows!
Jasmine said something about her doing part of the session but just in case I found Jasmine right after and said, ‘If you need a speaker I can…’ and before I finished the sentences she said, ‘Thanks, but we have it on lockdown!’. I let it go as quickly as I had held onto it and waited like the rest of the attendees to see what was going to happen.
What happened was an AMAZING final keynote by Jasmine Banks. It had purpose, energy, logic, emotion, power, humor and a kick-ass visual presentation as well. I would imagine the presentation would have easily taken weeks to prepare, but I got the feeling she had gotten it together in 24-48 hours. She exposed her soul and her life, telling a compelling story and weaving lessons for all within it. It was an impressive accomplishment in every way.
Crazy Sock Contest
Melissa Garcia, Michelle Marine and Nicole Brady, the 80s Go Kart Gang
We ended the conference with a 80s Bowling Party that included a crazy sock contest and go karts. The woman in the Mets Jersey kicked everyone’s butt. She has a Porche or a Viper or some such speed demon car in real life, and it showed.
Michelle Marine and me
At every conference, if I am lucky, I find a pal. Someone who I look for to sit next to, to hang out with and compare notes. At this conference it was Michelle Marine. She was kind enough to make room for me in one of the early sessions, moving her stuff off of one of the few remaining chairs so I could sit close enough to not have to use binoculars. She has a cool blog about homesteading in Iowa, raising her family and doing everything as naturally as possible. It was great to know that there are all types in the world of brand/blog relationships, that no one type of shopper, consumer, brand influencer and blogger was expected. Authentic real voices of all stripes are what’s needed and that is what is what was pursued and investigated at this conference. I left impressed.
And a napkin, finally.
Lana Flowers at 21c
The next morning I had a breakfast of champions then headed off for an interview with Lana Flowers at the very cool and modern 21c hotel and museum in Bentonville. She is a news writer living and working and Arkansas who used to live in Tulsa. She enjoyed seeing my napkin drawings and wanted to know the story behind them. We took some time to check out the amazing art as well.
In the 21c Art Museum
Finally I headed home, across Arkansas into Oklahoma. Beautiful puffy clouds and dappled sunlight kept me awake. Loud music and open windows helped.
Homeward Bound
I also spent many hours on Sunday at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. I will post about that visit separately from my SoFabCon adventure.
SoFabCon – Day 1
SoFabCon – Day 2
SoFabCon – Day 3 & 4
SoFabCon – New Friends
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People I mentioned and their blogs/websites
Conference Site & Hosts
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