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.

 

Lucy, the The Cat is Trying to take a nap! Shhhhhh….

“The be-all and end-all of life should not be to get rich, but to enrich the world.”
– Bertie Charles Forbes

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Lucy, the The Cat is Trying to take a nap!  Shhhhhh….

Okay, time for another cat.  This one is from the archives, also.  It’s Lucy and the photo of the cat in a plain old box came from Crispur at WetCanvas.  The embellishment came from….. you got it…. Bethville!

About Bertie Charles Forbes

 

Bertie Charles Forbes, known as B.C. Forbes, is remembered as the founder of the long-running Forbes magazine, aimed at investors. He was born on May 14, 1880 in Scotland. He worked as a reporter for a Dundee newspaper until 1901, when he moved to South Africa and founded a newspaper there; but he stayed just three years before moving to the United States, where he became a financial editor and columnist. His sons Bruce and Malcolm succeeded him as editors-in-chief of Forbes. He died on May 6, 1954.

Colorful Kitty – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor Postcard

“Hope is the feeling you have that the feeling you have isn’t permanent.”
– Jean Kerr

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

I did this little painting last May, from a photo by Lotsofmoggies at WetCanvas.   I’m working on another Eufaula painting, but it won’t be done for a while, so I hope you don’t mind the older work.

I’m getting a bit of a late start this morning because my darling hubby took me to breakfast. 

About Jean Kerr

Comedic American author Jean Kerr is known for her wry take on married life in the suburbs in such books as How I Got to Be Perfect and Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, which was turned into both a movie and a TV series. She was born in Pennsylvania on July 10, 1922. She often collaborated on plays with her husband, drama critic Walter Kerr. She also wrote a number of plays by herself, including the extremely successful Mary, Mary, which ran for nearly 1,600 performances. She died on January 5, 2003.

It’s Proof that I am a Little Weird

“Make voyages! — Attempt them! — there’s nothing else…”
– Tennessee Williams

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Proof that I am a Little Weird – Acrylic on Canvas

It’s a cat in Bethville!  Oh My!   This is a little diversion, since I’m sure you’re a little tired of Kansas City paintings.  Do I see life a little differently from normal people?  You bet! 

About Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams was the pen name of Thomas Lanier Williams, the multiple-award-winning Southern Gothic playwright best known for his plays Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie. He was born on March 26, 1911 in Mississippi, where he had a difficult childhood with an abusive father, a smothering mother, and a schizophrenic sister. His emotionally honest plays often feature sensitive souls who don’t fit into a confining culture. He spent most of his adult life in New York City. He died on February 25, 1983.

 

Whiskers for Illustration Friday

“What I think about surrounds me. What I allow to be entertained in my mind becomes a reality. If I think negatively, I will attract negativity in my life. On the other hand, if I concentrate on developing positive thoughts, I will attract positive people and events to my life. My potential will be increased.

 I cannot control what thoughts come into my mind, but I can control my perception and reaction to them.”

–Anonymous – from the book Help for Helpers, Daily Meditations for Counselors

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Whiskers for Illustration Friday – Watercolor

Whiskers is the word of the week at Illustration Friday.  I spent the weekend working on commissions, so my whiskers kitty was painted a while ago.  It is all watercolor and sprinkled with folly. 

That anonymous person has put into words what I live by.  I just love that!!

Black Cats are Haunted by Halloween

“Were the diver to think on the jaws of the shark, he would never lay hands on the precious pearl.”
– Saadi

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Black Cats are Haunted by Halloween – 6″ x 6″ Watercolor & Ink

Haunt is the word of the week on Illustration Friday.    If you see a black cat over the next few days, give them a friendly pat or hug.   This is a scary time of year for them.    Their owners hide them inside  to keep them safe from all the pranksters that are out and about after dark on Halloween.   So… I thought I’d paint some happy looking black cats. 

I have an alarm clock that automatically changes for daylight savings.  The problem is the clock is 15 years old, so it changes when daylight savings used to be.  The moral of that story is… I got an extra hour of sleep today.  I was an hour late for work, but since I work by myself, I’m the only one who noticed.  he he

About Saadi

Saadi was a Persian moralist poet best known for Gulistan (The Rose Garden), which combines prose and verse, and Bustan (The Fruit Garden), which includes histories, anecdotes, and fables. He was born in 1184 and lived in Shiraz in what is now Iran. For 30 years, he traveled throughout the Middle East, including Turkey, Egypt, and Arabia. One of his most famous poems adorns the entrance to the Hall of Nations at the UN building in New York. He died when he was 107 years old.

 

Jasper is Trying to Tell Us Something

“The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect andbeginning the work of becoming yourself.”
–Anna Quindlen

Jasper is Trying to Tell Us Something – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Ink

Mlou Jhu posted this photo on WetCanvas.  Actually, it was 2 photos… one of Jasper and one of the koi.  I merged them.     I may do a caption contest on Facebook.   Stay tuned.

Anna Quindlen is the author of five previous bestselling novels (Rise and Shine, Blessings, Object Lessons, One True Thing, Black and Blue), and seven nonfiction books (A Short Guide to a Happy Life, Good Dog. Stay., Being Perfect, Loud & Clear, Living Out Loud, Thinking Out Loud, and How Reading Changed My Life). Her New York Times column “Public and Private” won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992. From 2000-2009, She wrote the “Last Word” column for Newsweek.  More….

A Pile of Kittens …. Awwwwwww

“Let us always be open to the miracle of the second chance.”
–Reverend David Stier

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

A Pile of Kittens

I finished painting the McIntosh County Courthouse this morning, but I figured you had to be tired of looking at buildings.  So… for a nice change of pace, here is a pile of kittens. 

Have a great weekend!

There were too many David Stiers on the internet to know which one said this, but I can tell you where it came from.  I found it in my little book:  “Believing In Myself – Daily Meditations for Healing and Building Self-Esteem” by Earnie Larsen & Carol Hegarty.

 

They Look So Innocent When They Sleep

“I have always believed that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.”
– Hermann Hesse

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

They Look So Innocent When They Sleep
Quickie  4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Sharpie

This is a 15 minute quickie that I did this morning of Lin’s (Old Rock Chick at WetCanvas’) cat, Dave.  I have painted Dave so many times over the last 5 years.  I didn’t have much time this morning, but I couldn’t pass up his innocence. 

Have a safe and fun Labor Day weekend!

About Hermann Hesse

Hermann Hesse, the Pulitzer Prize–winning German writer, became extremely popular in the 1960′s and 1970′s for his deeply spiritual novels spiked with Eastern philosophy. He is best known for the novels Siddhartha, The Glass Bead Game, and Steppenwolf. He was born in 1877 in Germany and immigrated to Switzerland in 1912. Hesse was exposed to Eastern thought from childhood: His grandfather taught Indian studies, and his mother had been born in India. He won the Noble Prize in Literature in 1946. He died in 1962.

Green Eyed Cat

“Happiness is different from pleasure. Happiness has something to do with struggling and enduring and accomplishing.”
– George Sheehan

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Green Eyed Cat – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Ink

Happiness also has to do with things that just feel silly for no reason…. like this cat. 

I painted it from a photo by Surob at WetCanvas.  I think the cat’s name is pumpkin.  I like all the white I left in it for a change of pace.

About George Sheehan

American doctor George Sheehan changed course midway through his life. He was born in Brooklyn in 1918 to a cardiologist father and grew up to follow in his footsteps. At age 45, bored with his life, he began reading philosophy and took up running. Within five years he ran a 4:47 mile, the fastest ever clocked by a 50 year old. He started a weekly column and became medical editor for Runner’s World. He wrote eight books. Bill Clinton dubbed him the philosopher-king of running. He died in 1993.