It’s a Puppy! Watercolor on Masa 6″ x 8″

“One of the common ways we block success is by refusing to take action on a project or opportunity until we can see the entire pathway from start to finish. We are afraid to start because the outcome is uncertain. While we plan, think, research, and analyze, the opportunity slips away.

 

Highly successful people take a different approach. They just lean into it—they open themselves to opportunities and become willing to do what it takes to pursue opportunities further, without any expectations. They say “yes” to opportunities, take the first step, and then find out along the way if they want to keep going.”

–Jack Canfield

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

It’s a Puppy!  Watercolor on Masa 6″ x 8″

Okay… I painted this one a while back, but I thought something heartwarming was called for, in light of all the tragedy surrounding us in Oklahoma.  It’s 90 miles away, but still grips every one of us.

What is more fun than a puppy?  Can you smell her breath from here?

The photo is of Cleo, by OldRockChick at WetCanvas.

Jack Canfield

As the beloved originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, Jack Canfield fostered the emergence of inspirational anthologies as a genre – and watched it grow to a billion dollar market. As the driving force behind the development and delivery of more than 123 million books sold through the Chicken Soup for the Soul® franchise (and over 500 million copies in print worldwide), Jack Canfield is uniquely qualified to talk about success.

Behind the empire Time Magazine called the “publishing phenomenon of the decade” is America’s leading expert in creating peak performance for entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, managers, sales professionals, corporate employees, and educators. Over the last 30 years, his compelling message, empowering energy and personable coaching style has helped hundreds of thousands of individuals achieve their dreams.  More…

 

Progress Shot – Commission Pencil Sketch

“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
– St. Francis of Assisi

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Progress Shot – Commission Pencil Sketch

This is a small portion of the commission I am working on now for Jackie & Carl, from the Kansas City show.  Their house is beautiful!  So much of it is hidden by trees and I’m diligently pruning the leaves on some of the trees, so that you can see the house.  Yesterday morning, I was working in their yard.  I was putting some of the plants back in the flowerbed that had died, and sprucing up some to give them blooms.  All with a pencil.  No dirt under my fingernails.  Oh, and I also rehung the chair swing that had broken.  It’s all fixed now.

At my house, I planted a cactus a friend gave us.  That’s about the only plant I don’t kill. 

About St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology in Catholicism, was born Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone into a wealthy Italian merchant family in 1181. As a youth, he was known for carousing. After a series of illnesses, one of which occurred while a prisoner of war, he had a spiritual awakening. God came to him in a vision and told him to build up his crumbling church. Taking the dream literally, he began rebuilding a local chapel. He took a vow of poverty and began traveling, preaching, and working to help the sick and the poor. A group formed around him, becoming the Franciscan order. He died in 1226.

Frolicking Horse Outline

“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!

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

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

“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

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

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

“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″

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

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

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

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

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

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

“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

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

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

“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

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

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″

“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

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

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.