Another Sneak Peek at Underpainting

“I searched through rebellion, drugs, diet, mysticism, religion, intellectualism, and much more, only to find that truth is basically simple and feels good, clear and right.”
– Armando “Chick” Corea

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Another Sneak Peek at Underpainting

Sorry this is so blurry.  It does give a little glimpse into how I add color. I have to remember where color moves from one canvas to the next.  Each canvas has it’s own composition, but all three together are really FUN!

I was kinda hoping it would rain all weekend, so I could paint, but I imagine the boat will get it’s 2012 maiden cruise.  The last two summers were so hot that we barely used it.  Since we have 80’s in March, it may be that way again this summer.  But, while we are hanging out on the lake, soaking up rays, I’ll be writing my artist bio.  I have to do it for the gallery and I’m not very good at talking about myself.  Wish me luck!  🙂

About Armando “Chick” Corea

Armando “Chick” Corea, the American jazz pianist best known for his composition “Spain,” epitomizes experimentation in jazz, incorporating sounds from classical, rock, and flamenco traditions. He was born in 1941 in Massachusetts. Son of a jazz trumpeter, he began playing piano at age four. He dropped out of Julliard to learn by doing. He played on the seminal Miles Davis Bitches Brew recording, and formed his own jazz fusion group in the early 1970’s. He founded his own record label in 1992.

Little Bit of Underpainting

“I have learned, as a rule of thumb, never to ask whether you can do something. Say, instead, that you are doing it. Then fasten your seat belt. The most remarkable things follow.”
– Julia Cameron

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Little Bit of Underpainting

I have been getting up before 5:00 am to go paint in the studio before work.  I’m slowly adding color.  These colors you see are still part of the underpainting, because there will be many layers of color and glazing.  Maybe it’ll give you an idea how these paintings develop.   It’s slow, but fun!   🙂

About Julia Cameron

American author Julia Cameron has become an icon in the creative community for her best-selling self-help book, The Artist’s Way, which guides people through a series of simple but profound exercises to awaken their creativity. She grew up in Chicago and has been writing seriously since age 18. In addition to her 28 books, she has written plays, screenplays, and songs. She was married to film director Martin Scorsese and has one daughter. She currently lives in New York.

Underpainting my new Triptych – Three 12″ x 24″ Gallery Wrapped Canvases

“Habits of thinking need not be forever. One of the most significant findings in psychology in the last twenty years is that individuals can choose the way they think,”
–Martin Seligman

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Underpainting my new Triptych – Three 12″ x 24″ Gallery Wrapped Canvases

After I draw the chalk lines, I lay down an underpainting, using Golden Fluid Acrylics.  I paint right up to, but not over, all the chalk lines.  After the entire underpainting is dry, I wipe all the chalk lines off with a damp cloth.  That gives me the black outlines.  This stage is a little tedious, but it’s really fun to watch it develop.  🙂

Yesterday, I took 12 paintings over to Our Favorite Place, Eufaula’s new gallery.  It is so exciting!  They are planning a soft opening on April 9th.  No party or anything, just yet.  I think she wants to work all the bugs out first.  The owner of the gallery, Karen Weldin, doesn’t know anything about owning a gallery and she is not an artist.  She has pulled together an awesome committee of artists and people experienced with running a gallery, to help her put her dream in motion.  She bought the building last year and knew it was meant for something special.  (She’s right!)  The 100 year old building has been undergoing a complete restoration, bringing it back to it’s former glory.  There are some photos on their website and I’ll take more when all the art is hung.

Authentic Happiness is the homepage of Dr. Martin Seligman, Director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania and founder of positive psychology, a branch of psychology which focuses on the empirical study of such things as positive emotions, strengths-based character, and healthy institutions.

This website has more than 2 million users from around the world, and you are welcome to use all of the resources available here for free.  The best place to start is by learning more about the latest theory and initiatives in positive psychology, by taking one of our well-being questionnaires, or by checking out recent presentations and selected media.

Chalk Line Beginnings

“When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.”
– Peter Marshall

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Chalk Line Beginnings – Three 12″ x 24″ Gallery Wrapped Canvas

When my computer was down all last week, I took time to start a group of acrylic paintings I should have started a long time ago.  I wanted to have them ready for the new gallery opening, but I doubt I’m going to make it.  I’ll show you some progress shots this week.  This is the stage where I draw the beginnings onto my black gessoed canvases.

I actually went in to the studio and painted a little on them at 5:00 this morning, before getting ready for work.  I need to be twins for about 3-4 weeks.  🙂

About Peter Marshall

Peter Marshall, the witty, magnetic Scottish-American preacher who became chaplain of the US Senate just two years before his death, was the subject of the 1955 movie A Man Called Peter, based on his wife’s best-selling biography. He was born in Scotland in 1902 and, as a boy, wanted to go to sea; he served in the navy before becoming a minister. His compelling orations and his belief that religion should be fun drew large congregations to his church. He died in 1949.

Seattle Skyline – 6″ x 8″ Watercolor & Sharpie

“You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Seattle Skyline – 6″ x 8″ Watercolor & Sharpie

Valri Ary posted a photo of Seattle’s skyline on WetCanvas.  Of course, I eliminated all the ships and barges docked up there.  And, okay…. I may have made the buildings a little more fun, but what’s the harm in that?  🙂

I drew the buildings, then laid down all the windows with itty bitty dabs of white acrylic, tinted with yellow or aqua.  When it was dry, I went in with watercolor.  This is why everything looks so pastel.  There’s a lot of little windows repelling the watercolor.  My own resist.  I almost didn’t add the sharpie, but gave in at the end.  I think I like it.

Still no work computer, so I spent part of the day adding wires to the backs of paintings I am taking to the new gallery this morning.  I’m a little nervous.  I have been in our little arts council gallery for quite a while and my work is selling there, but this one will be quite a different beast.  I understand that each artist will have their own bar code.   Hmmmm…. should be a fun learning experience, to say the least.   🙂

About Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Gandhi, known by the honorific title Mahatma (“great souled”), embodied the power of nonviolent protest to achieve great change. He was born in India in 1896 and awoke to discrimination while practicing law in South Africa. He brought the struggle for equality back to India, rousing the population to demand self-rule from the British. He was profoundly religious, spending one day a week in complete silence; he was also a devout vegetarian. He was assassinated in 1948.

Birds on a Wire – 2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor and Sharpie ATC

“Freedom lies in being bold.”
– Robert Frost

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Birds on a Wire – 2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor and Sharpie ATC

I painted this little ATC from another WetCanvas photo.  I love those big old electric thingies!  So fun!

Work computer is still down, so this is another watercolor done while passing time at the sign shop.  It’s amazing that one computer can stop everything.  When Publishers Clearing House brings my millions…. I’m going to buy a clone to the current computer and have it there on stand-by.  🙂

About Robert Frost

Robert Frost, the influential American poet known for his rural settings, uncluttered language, and meditative themes, wrote the poems, “A Road Not Taken” and “Mending Walls,” among many others. He was born in San Francisco in 1874 and moved to Massachusetts at age 11. He ran a farm for ten years, selling it to move to England and become a full-time poet. After achieving his goal, he moved back to New Hampshire. His ambition was to write “a few poems it will be hard to get rid of.” He died in 1963.

Wonderful Old Fire Truck and Choosing Happiness

“Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.”
– William James

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Wonderful Old Fire Truck – 4″ x4″ Watercolor & Sharpie

Monday, my work computer crawled off into a corner and died.  My computer guru thinks it needs a new motherboard and processor.  Since he built it custom for me, he knows it well…  like his own baby.  So he took custody of it and hopes to have it back under my roof on Monday.

This basically puts my sign shop on stand-by mode.  So, rather than cry or throw something… I painted this little dude.  Art calms me and gives me time to think and sort stuff out.  At 5:00, I usually lock the door and get down to some serious, uninterrupted work until about 6:30.  Yesterday at 5:00, I went next door to the nail salon and got a pedicure.  This is only the second one I’ve ever had and the massage chair is incredible!

I am practicing what I preach, so I can still be happy and have good days until my computer comes home to start making signs again.  I choose to be happy and that’s exactly what I’m going to do today.  🙂

I painted this from a photo from WetCanvas.   I just can’t remember who’s it was.  (that’s on my work computer)

About William James

American psychologist and philosopher William James, brother to author Henry James, wrote voluminously during his life, exploring a range of issues from a theory of emotion to a philosophy of history. He was born in New York in 1842 and wanted to be an artist, but his father disapproved. He obtained a medical degree but felt unsatisfied and depressed, leading to a crisis that he called his soul sickness. After this turning point, he began his fulfilling second career. He died in 1910.

Green African Gray

“The excitement of learning separates youth from old age. As long as you’re learning, you’re not old.”
–Rosalyn S. Yalow

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Green African Gray – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & sharpie Postcard

I painted this little gal (Babbs) on St. Patrick’s Day.  My intention was to do some kind of Celtic design on the background, but she looks like she fell into the green beer and had hallucinations.  😀

The photo reference was provided by Valri Ary at WetCanvas.

Rosalyn S. Yalow

“A Jewish woman whose father-in-law is a rabbi, who keeps a kosher home, who invites her lab assistants to Passover seders, and worries about them catching colds is not the typical image of a Nobel Prize winner,” Emily Taitz writes in Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. “But it is the image of Rosalyn Yalow, the first woman born and educated in the United States to win a Nobel Prize in a scientific field.” Rosalyn S. Yalow passed away Monday, May 30, 2011, at the age of 89.

Born July 19, 1921, in a working-class South Bronx neighborhood, Rosalyn Yalow excelled in math and chemistry. Her parents, immigrants from Eastern Europe, wanted her to have the education that had been denied them. Yalow credited her success partly to her father’s belief that girls could do anything boys could. She graduated from Walton Girls High School at 15 and went directly to Hunter College, a free city university for women where she studied chemistry and physics. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude, in 1941.  More… Jewesses with Attitude

Stylish Flamingo Shoes (What? Your flamingo doesn’t wear shoes?)

“Could we change our attitude, we should not only see life differently, but life itself would come to be different.”
– Katherine Mansfield

I LOVE that quote and really believe it to be true!

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

This is a crop from a larger painting.  I think these flamingo shoes are adorable!  Did I miss my calling?  Maybe I should have been a footwear designer.  😀

About Katherine Mansfield

Katherine Mansfield was the pen name of short story writer Katherine Beauchamp, who is best known for her collection The Garden Party. Born in New Zealand in 1888, she moved to England as a young woman and became friends with writers such as Virginia Woolf and D.H. Lawrence. Her writing style was influenced by Anton Chekhov; like him, she focused on intimate moments that revealed character. She in turn influenced a generation of short story writers. She died in 1923 of tuberculosis.

Fantasy Flamingo Boots

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
– Mark Twain

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Fantasy Flamingo Boots – Watercolor and Ink

This is one I have not shown you before.  It’s really only a crop of a larger painting, since I’m doing the shoe thing this week.  That is actually a pink flamingo wearing these boots.   See the knobby knees?  I would wear these boots… okay, maybe not.  I am afraid of heights.    😀

Do you know someone who is wanting to start their own blog, but are afraid to try it?  Check out the new link in my blogroll.  How to create a WordPress blog – by Kana Tyler.  Kana is a great writer and she has posted a wonderful tutorial.

About Mark Twain

Samuel Clemens, the iconic American humorist and writer, is better known by his pen name Mark Twain. He was born in 1835 in Missouri. He worked at several jobs, including steamboat pilot and miner. He wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Prince and the Pauper, and other successful novels. His writing captured a very American vernacular and flavor, and helped create a distinctive American literature. He died in 1910.