Beth Parker's Art Blog

Same Car Next Year

Beth Parker — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:55:13 +0000

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.”
– Plutarch

Yeah!!!

Same Car Next Year – 2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor ATC

I painted this from a reference photo by Susan (surob) at WetCanvas. Here is what she said about the photo…

“I title this “Same Car Next Year”. It is difficult to dispose of things, especially large things in Japan so this is one way of sprucing up your junk car. We visited 2 years in a row. Same car, just different flowers.”

Of course, I had to add the flowerdy wall and the colorful graphics on what was a plain yellow, down and out car. he he he

About Plutarch

Plutarch, the Greek historian who penned more than 46 anecdote-laced biographies of famous Greek and Roman figures in his Parallel Lives series of books, was more interested in exploring the influence of character on a man’s personal destiny than in writing dry histories. He was born in Greece during Roman rule, most likely in the year 46. He traveled extensively through the Roman Empire, finally returning home to become a priest of Apollo at the Oracle of Delphi. He died in the year 120.

It’s interesting to me that in 2012, we are quoting something said before the year 120.

The Quilted Dog ATC

Beth Parker — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:22:01 +0000

“Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.”
– Samuel Ullman

This has been one of my favorite quotes for ages. Being an enthusiastic woman with her share of wrinkles…. it just makes me feel good!

The Quilted Dog – 2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor & Sharpie ATC

It’s been a while since I have painted one of my quilted critters. This was fun and it’s tiny. After working on brown and white signs a lot lately, it was way fun to play with color yesterday. I did five little ATCs to share with you this week.

The reference photo by Susan (surob) at WetCanvas was of a black dog.

Samuel Ullman

For years, Samuel Ullman (1840-1924) and his prose poem “Youth” have been known and admired by the Japanese. However, both the man and his work are largely unknown in the United States, even in Birmingham where he spent the last forty years of his life in service to the community.

The Samuel Ullman Museum was created to advance Ullman’s vision by examining his civic, educational, and religious ideas and endeavors. The museum is a facility of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and exists through the efforts and contributions of citizens and corporations in Japan and the United States. The Samuel Ullman Museum provides visitors with an opportunity to explore the life of the poet and to be inspired by his work

“YOUTH”

Samuel Ullman

Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.

Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite, for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.

Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of what’s next, and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young.

When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at twenty, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at eighty.

LOVE it!!

Another Sneak Peek at Bethville III

Beth Parker — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:05:30 +0000

“Once the ‘what’ is decided, the ‘how’ always follows. We must not make the ‘how’ an excuse for not facing and accepting the ‘what.’”
– Pearl S. Buck

Another Sneak Peek at Bethville III – Watercolor

The proofs I did for these paintings are in watercolor. The big ones will be in acrylic. I have yet to brave a large watercolor. I have never painted a full sheet. One of these days I’ll give it a go.

Today is the 12th day that I have worked at the sign shop without a day off. After tomorrow, I’m going to force myself to take a rest. I’m going to paint on Sunday!

About Pearl S. Buck

Prolific American author Pearl S. Buck is best known for her 1931 novel, The Good Earth, which depicted peasant life in China; the book, published by the John Day Company, won the Pulitzer Prize. She was born in West Virginia in 1892, but her missionary parents raised her in China. She and her first husband lived in China until 1934, when they had to flee the political strife. She later divorced and married John Day’s publisher, Richard Walsh, in 1935. In 1938, she became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature. By the time of her death in 1973, she had published over 70 books, including collections of stories, poetry, and children’s literature.

Sneak Peek – Bethville III – Crop 1

Beth Parker — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:32:06 +0000

“He who cannot change the very fabric of his thought will never be able to change reality.”
– Anwar al-Sadat

Sneak Peek – Bethville III – Crop 1

I worked Saturday and Sunday, so I didn’t get to play with my paint, so today and tomorrow, you get another couple peeks at proofs for my new Bethville series. I can’t wait to get more done on these. I was going to paint them for my house, but I just got accepted into a new gallery that is opening in March and I really need to work on inventory for them. The hubby doesn’t know this yet, so I may have to pull them from his steely grip.

About Anwar al-Sadat

Egyptian president Anwar al-Sadat won the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize in conjunction with Israeli prime minister Menachim Begin for the Camp David Accords. He was born in Egypt in 1918. He participated in the 1952 coup to oust the corrupt King Farouk and became president in 1970. He led Egypt into the Yom Kippur War to reclaim part of the Sinai Peninsula. When that failed, he took the risky diplomatic path, opening the door to détente. He was assassinated in 1981 by Muslim extremists.

Lovely Old Pencil Truck

Beth Parker — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:59:26 +0000

“We’ll never make perfect decisions, and wanting to make the perfect choice keeps us paralyzed.”
– Leo Babuata

Lovely Old Pencil Truck – 3″ x 5″ Watercolor & Sharpie

This truck was an old pencil truck, parked at the Derwent Pencil Museum. Painted across the truck was “Cumberland Pencil Co., Ltd”. Rather than paint the lettering on it, I added flowers. I do enough of that in my day job. Another fun one!

Leo Babuata

Zen Habits is about finding simplicity in the daily chaos of our lives. It’s about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, find happiness.

It also happens to be one of the Top 25 blogs and Top 50 websites in the world, with about 230,000 readers, and is uncopyrighted. Zen Habits features one or two powerful articles a week on: simplicity, health & fitness, motivation and inspiration, frugality, family life, happiness, goals, getting great things done, and living in the moment.

My name is Leo Babauta, and I’m the creator and writer here. I’m married with six kids, I live in San Francisco (just moved here from Guam), I’m a writer and a runner and a vegan. Read more: My Story.

Invisible Owl

Beth Parker — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:36:31 +0000

“Trust your hunches. They’re usually based on facts filed away just below the conscious level.”
– Dr. Joyce Brothers

Invisible Owl – 3″ x 5″ Watercolor

In the photo reference by Lin (oldrockchick) at WetCanvas, there was a baby owl front & center. I was more intrigued by the people and buildings in the background, so that’s what I painted. The owl was white with slight gold accents and waaaaay beyond my capabilities. So…. I practiced my body language painting. It was fun. It does kinda look like these people are trying to find that owl that everybody was talking about.

About Dr. Joyce Brothers

The popular American psychologist and advice columnist Joyce Brothers first found fame by winning The $64,000 Question game show. She was born in 1928. Her influence, through a daily newspaper column, radio and TV shows, and more than ten best-selling self-help books, has made her one of the ten most admired women in America, according to a number of polls. After her husband died in 1989, she wrote her most personal book, Widowed, delving into her own grief. She lives in New York.

Watercolor Bottles

Beth Parker — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:43:10 +0000

“I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do! That is character.”
– Theodore Roosevelt

Watercolor Bottles – 4″ x 6″ (no Sharpie)

I had a great time doing this painting (and without a sharpie. he he) It is done from a reference photo by Lin (oldrockchick) at WetCanvas.

About Theodore Roosevelt

Known both for his larger-than-life personality and his many achievements, Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest US president at age 42. He was born in 1858 in New York. He led the Rough Riders, a motley volunteer cavalry, to victory in the battle of San Juan Hill. As the “Trust Buster” president, he instigated some 40 lawsuits to break up monopolies. An ardent conservationist, he put 230 million acres under federal protection. The Panama Canal was begun under Roosevelt. He died in 1919.

You Made Me Smile

Beth Parker — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:38:31 +0000

“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, but only saps today of its strength.”
– A. J. Cronin

Boy… isn’t that the truth!

You Made Me Smile – 3″ x 5″ Watercolor & Sharpie

I painted this for my friend, Donna Pearce, who is retiring from her job as the editor of our local newspaper, The Indian Journal, at the end of the month. We had a surprise party for her last night at the VFW and this was the card in her gift bag from me. Donna is a very wonderful person. She works so hard and never complains. She has generously given her valuable time to the community, wherever she was needed. We served on the Eufaula Area Arts Council board together. Donna sings, writes, paints, and smiles all the time. I am proud to call her my friend and I will miss her constant presence all over town. Enjoy your retirement, Donna!

This card was painted from a reference photo by Lin (oldrockchick) at WetCanvas.

About A. J. Cronin

Archibald Joseph Cronin, the Scottish novelist who wrote as A. J. Cronin, had a full career as a doctor before turning to fiction. He was born in 1896, worked as a Royal Navy surgeon during World War I, and later was appointed Medical Inspector of Mines in Wales. Some of his most famous books are The Citadel, The Keys of the Kingdom, and Pocketful of Rye. His works were known to reflect both his religious beliefs as a Roman Catholic and his medical training. He died in 1981.

The Blue Horse Watercolor

Beth Parker — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:40:10 +0000

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Blue Horse – 3″ x 5″ Watercolor

Lin (oldrockchick) hosted the WDE at WetCanvas last weekend. She posted a challenge, to paint one of her reference is monochrome. This was my response and I had a great time doing it. Here is what Lin had to say about this wonderful horse reference…

“Max the one-eyed shire horse. One of a rare breed of heavy horses bred at Eglwswrw Shire Horse Farm in Pembrokeshire,Wales. Max lost an eye when he got a thorn in it and it got infected and sadly he had to retire when they couldn’t save it. He was still pulling the visitor trailor round the farm field 2 years ago when we went but they were arranging to retire him as soon as his friend Jackson the ex-drey horse was trained to pull it more slowly. He is a people lover.”

Emerson believed in individualism, non-conformity, and the need for harmony between man and nature. He was a proponent of abolition, and spoke out about the cruel treatment of Native Americans. Influenced by the Eastern philosophy of unity and a divine whole, emphasizing God Immanent, to be found in everyone and everything, Emerson sowed the seeds of the American Transcendentalist movement. He realised the importance of the spiritual inner self over the material external self through studying Kantianism, Confucianism, Neo-Platonism, Romanticism, and dialectical metaphysics and reading the works of Saint Augustine, Sir Francis Bacon, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and William Shakespeare among many others. During his lifetime and since Emerson has had a profound influence on some of the 19th and 20th century’s most prominent figures in the arts, religion, education, and politics.

More information can be found at http://www.online-literature.com/emerson/

Wikipedia: romanticism definition: ”’often capitalized”’. →

Red Tulips

Beth Parker — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:54:06 +0000

“I could not, at any age, be content to take my place in a corner by the fireside and simply look on.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt

That quote reminds me of my late mother-in-law. When her husband died, we brought her down to the lake for a few days. After about a day, she said “I cannot sit here and look at this lake one more minute. Take me back to the city.” She was a hoot! Absolutely a city girl.

Red Tulips – 5″ x 7″ Inktense Pencils

My hubby went outside with the chainsaw to cut a few trees. I didn’t want to take my eyes off him for long with that tool because he is not exactly steady on his feet. I sat at the window and did this little painting while I was watching him work. Hey… it was cold out there.

Eleanor Roosevelt

“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”

Eleanor Roosevelt