Beth Parker's Art Blog

Frolicking Horse Outline

Beth Parker — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:43:56 +0000

“We’re forever in a learning curve. That’s life and part of the human condition. Learn enough to get something started and then go for it. Put it out there and see what happens. The most successful people learn as they go, and when something doesn’t go as planned, they quickly find the lesson, regroup, and move forward. You’ll be hard-pressed to find an inventor, entrepreneur, or CEO who knew exactly how it was all going to come together before starting their company or a paradigm-shifting project or invention.

The need for perfection can turn into paralysis if you don’t accept that stepping into the unknown is a part of the process. The pure potential of your life or any project exists in the unknown. If you can shift your mindset to accept this truth, you can transform fear into anticipatory excitement! (or at least from dread to trepidation).”

–Terri Cole

Wow! That’s good advice! I need to make that my mantra!

Frolicking Horse Outline

I am starting my second commission from the Kansas City show, so this horse will have to stay naked for a while. The photo reference was from SkattyKat at WetCanvas. If you know Bethville, you know that it’s doubtful he’ll be brown, laying on some dull green grass. Stay tuned.

Terri Cole is a licensed psychotherapist, transformation coach, and an expert at turning fear into freedom. Sign up for Terri’s weekly Tune Up Tips and follow her on Twitter. Here is her “about” info.

This quote came from PositivelyPositive.com

Cows in Sunset – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor

Beth Parker — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:22:42 +0000

“The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under it’s roof.”

–Barbara Kingsolver

Cows in Sunset – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor

Isn’t this one fun? The photo reference was by SkattyKat at WetCanvas. The cows were in a fenced area in bright daylight, but not in Bethville! And as you may have guessed…. they were not blue. **giggle**

I’m getting ready to start another commission. It’s a beautiful home in the Kansas City area. Sneak peeks will be coming soon.

Barbara Kingsolver was born in 1955, and grew up in rural Kentucky. She earned degrees in biology from DePauw University and the University of Arizona, and has worked as a freelance writer and author since 1985. At various times in her adult life she has lived in England, France, and the Canary Islands, and has worked in Europe, Africa, Asia, Mexico, and South America. She spent two decades in Tucson, Arizona, before moving to southwestern Virginia where she currently resides.

Her books, in order of publication, are: The Bean Trees (1988), Homeland (1989), Holding the Line: Women in the Great Arizona Mine Strike (1989), Animal Dreams (1990), Another America (1992), Pigs in Heaven (1993), High Tide in Tucson (1995), The Poisonwood Bible (1998), Prodigal Summer (2000), Small Wonder (2002), Last Stand: America’s Virgin Lands, with photographer Annie Griffiths Belt (2002), Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (2007), The Lacuna (2009), and Flight Behavior (available Nov. 6, 2012). She served as editor for Best American Short Stories 2001. Her books have been translated into more than two dozen languages, and have been adopted into the core literature curriculum in high schools and colleges throughout the nation. She has contributed to more than fifty literary anthologies, and her reviews and articles have appeared in most major U.S. newspapers and magazines. Click here to view complete bibliography.

Hunter & Gage at Newborn & Three and a Half

Beth Parker — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:02:11 +0000

“Everything can be taken from a man but … the last of the human freedoms - to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
–Viktor Frankl

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Hunter & Gage at Newborn & Three and a Half

Don’t you just love baby feet? Here is the painted version of my great nephews’ feet.

Viktor Emil Frankl (March 26, 1905 – September 2, 1997) was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist. He was the founder of Logotherapy and Existential Analysis, the “Third Viennese School” of psychotherapy. His book, Man’s Search for Meaning, chronicled his experiences as a concentration camp inmate and describes his psychotherapeutic method of finding a reason to live. Frankl’s own survival, and his insights into what allows human beings to survive the most intolerable and inhumane conditions, have inspired people worldwide for decades. Finding his “will to meaning” gave Frankl the power to overcome the horrors of the death camp, and his writings express the key component of true human nature: Love.

Commission finished – Ellen’s House 8″ x 10″

Beth Parker — Tue, 14 May 2013 12:46:19 +0000

“Within us all there are wells of thought and dynamos of energy which are not suspected until emergencies arise.”
– Thomas J. Watson

Commission finished – Ellen’s House 8″ x 10″

I had so much fun doing this house. The windows and shutters were my favorite part. I haven’t heard from Ellen yet. I hope she likes it.

About Thomas J. Watson

American businessman Thomas J. Watson built IBM into a Fortune 500 company. He was born in rural New York in 1874. He sold sewing machines, musical instruments, and cash registers before becoming president of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording company, which merged with IBM in 1924. His paternalistic business style was a model for later Japanese management, and his motto, “THINK,” became his company’s slogan. Under his leadership, IBM funded the first computers. He died in 1956.

Future – Hunter & Gage

Beth Parker — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:08:57 +0000

“If we wait for the moment when everything is ready, we shall never begin.”
– Ivan Turgenev

Future – Hunter & Gage

Hunter is a newborn and Gage is three and a half. They are my great nephews. These are their little feet. The word for Illustration Friday this week is “future” and I can’t think of anything more perfect than these two little boys.

I am going to paint it, so this also a future painting.

About Ivan Turgenev

Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev, celebrated for his dark, realistic novels about Russian life, is best known for the novel Fathers and Sons, about the conflicting ideologies between generations. He was born in 1818 to a wealthy Russian family. He and his brother were raised by an abusive mother who was rumored to have smothered one of her serfs. He rose to fame with A Sportsman’s Sketches, which may have influenced the Tsar to free the serfs. He died in France in 1883.

Laundry Day – Watercolor on Masa

Beth Parker — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:56:30 +0000

“The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”
– Lady Dorothy Nevill

Laundry Day – Watercolor on Masa

I did this little 3″ x 7″ Painting last spring. The photographer was Lisilk at WetCanvas. I like the dog.

About Lady Dorothy Nevill

Lady Dorothy Nevill, the noted British gardener, was one of the most celebrated society hostesses of her day; her salons attracted leading writers, artists, and statesmen. She was born Dorothy Walpole in 1826 in England. She married a wealthy cousin with a 23-acre estate, where she pursued her interest in plants. She built 13 greenhouses and carried on an extensive correspondence with Charles Darwin. Her memoir, Leaves From the Note-Books of Lady Dorothy Nevill, was published in 1906. She died in 1913.

Keetah – A Rainbow Colored Cat in a Hat

Beth Parker — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:33:29 +0000

“Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or by the handle.”
– James Russell Lowell

Keetah – A Rainbow Colored Cat in a Hat

This is Keetah, Sharrm’s (from WetCanvas) cat. It’s another old one, while I work on my commission. Have a great day!

About James Russell Lowell

James Russell Lowell, the sometimes romantic, often ironic American poet, was also a diplomat, serving as ambassador to Spain and, later, Britain. He was born in 1819 in Massachusetts and became known as a New England poet. His satire The Bigelow Papers was his best-known work. While a professor at Harvard, he wrote critical studies of Dante, Shakespeare, and Chaucer, among others, and also served as the founding editor of the influential magazine The Atlantic Monthly. He died in 1891.

Ellen’s House in Ink – 8″ x 10″

Beth Parker — Wed, 08 May 2013 12:55:16 +0000

“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.”
– Harvey Fierstein

Ellen’s House in Ink – 8″ x 10″

This is the first of four commissions I got from the show in Kansas City. I went to Ellen’s to take the photos. Her house is so beautiful and in a great neighborhood. The neighbors were visiting and walking and pushing their kids in Ellen’s tire swing. It was a real Mayberry feel. This stage of the painting has been approved and I’m on to paint in the morning. Yay!

About Harvey Fierstein

Harvey Fierstein, the raspy-voiced American actor, playwright, and gay activist, is best known for his semiautobiographical play, Torch Song Trilogy, which garnered Tony Awards for writing and acting. He was born in Brooklyn in 1954. His onstage debut as a female impersonator at age 16 led to a role in a 1971 Andy Warhol play. He adapted the French show La Cage aux Folles into a Broadway musical and, later, the movie The Birdcage. He has appeared in such varied movies as Independence Day and Mrs. Doubtfire.

I know I saw that rooster here somewhere…

Beth Parker — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:17:38 +0000

“Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.”
– Muhammad Ali

I know I saw that rooster here somewhere…

This is an older painting, but I always liked it. The reference photo came from Sharrm at WetCanvas. I am working on a commission, so no new paintings for a bit.

I have a 13 mile drive to work, on country roads. This morning, a car passed me and about 10 other cars, some in a no passing zone through Longtown. They were sure in a hurry! I imagined all kinds of scenarios that required them taking so many foolish chances to get into Eufaula faster. The part that made me laugh right out loud… they turned into the McDonalds drive thru line with about 15 cars ahead of them.

Have a very nice day!

About Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali, the American boxing legend known for his saucy rhyming boasts as much as his quick fists, was a three-time heavyweight champion. He was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville in 1942. His bike was stolen when he was 12, and a cop suggested he take up boxing. Though he became known as the greatest fighter of the twentieth century, with 56 wins and only five defeats, the sport took its toll in pugilism-induced Parkinson’s disease. Since retiring from boxing, Ali has dedicated himself to civic and humanitarian issues. He was called on to negotiate the release of hostages in Iraq in 1991, and in 2005 he was awarded with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Tribute to Another Time – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor

Beth Parker — Mon, 06 May 2013 13:40:26 +0000

“Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.“
–Joseph Addison

Tribute to Another Time – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor

Sunday, I had a little time to paint. (yay!) I was waiting for approval (of the pencil sketch) on the commission I’m working on and the hubby didn’t feel good, so he was napping. The word for Illustration Friday this week is “Tribute”, so I thought this old truck fit the bill. I painted it from a photo by Lisilk at WetCanvas.

…. and I made chili.

Joseph Addison (May 1, 1672 – June 17, 1719) was an English politician and writer. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend, Richard Steele, with whom he founded The Spectator magazine. Along with Steele, Addison would contribute the majority of the content for three of the most influential periodicals of the eighteenth century: The Tatler, The Spectator, and The Freeholder, all of which set standards for literary taste and literary criticism that would endure throughout the remainder of the century. Addison was also an accomplished poet and playwright, and his tragedy, Cato, would become one of the most popular plays of the eighteenth century English stage. More…