Bookmark 4 – Watercolor & Sharpie

“Today I am focusing on all the goodness in life,
all the blessings I have been given and all the richness
of all the friends I have, and I feel great joy.
Everything you think, you feel; and all that you feel
manifests to create the conditions of your life.”

–Ramtha

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

I LOVE that quote!!

Bookmark 4 – Watercolor & Sharpie

You can see the shadows a little better in this one.  That’s what I think makes them fun… the depth and shadows.  Oh, and the pen “stitching”.  🙂

Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment, created by Ramtha the Enlightened One, is an academy of the mind that offers retreats and workshops to people of all ages and cultures.

Using ancient wisdom and the latest discoveries in neuroscience and quantum physics, RSE teaches students how to access the extraordinary abilities of the brain to “Become a Remarkable Life®.” RSE facilitates live events and streaming over the Internet in many languages.

JZ Knight began publically channeling Ramtha in 1979. RSE was established in 1988 in Yelm, Washington. More than 100,000 people from around the world have attended Ramtha’s events.

RSE’s unique, innovative approach combines many threads of contemporary scientific research to support the principle that God lives within each of us. The message that you are divine means that you have a direct experience with God, a direct channel. You do not need priests or missionaries to intervene on your behalf to deter you from a direct communion with God.

Read more »

So This Is Where Pink Sweaters Come From

“Make me strong in spirit,
courageous in action,
gentle at heart.
Help me act in wisdom,
conquer fear and doubt,
discover the hidden gifts within me,
meet others with compassion,
be a source of healing energy,
and greet each day with Hope and Joy.”

–Kana Tyler

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

So This Is Where Pink Sweaters Come From – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor and .01 Prismacolor fine art pen

Gail(Ruby Red Dog) at WetCanvas had the best sheep photo to paint from over the weekend!  They each seemed to have their own personality and I had a great time painting them.   Oh… my WordPress blog is letting me add links and tags again!  Yay!!!

About Kana

Kana writes the best blog!  I love reading it every time it pops into my inbox.  Here is what it says on her about page.

 When faced with a fill-in-the-blank statement of “I am a _____”… What’s YOUR answer?

 I am… a writer, an explorer, a coffee-drinker, a recovering addict, a barefoot linguist, a book-dragon (“bookworm” doesn’t cover it), a raconteur, a minister, a sailboat skipper, a research diver, a tattooed scholar, a pirate, a poet, a spiritual adventurer, a photographer, a cartographer, a joyful wife, a mom (and Granny), an island-girl at heart… A list-maker! 🙂

 And pleased to meet you! 🙂 Kana

http://kanatyler.com/

Ralph Faded Into the Forest – Illustration Friday

“I celebrate all of me today!
Weaknesses and strengths alike!
I celebrate every part of me
And
I
feel
JOY!

-Ruth Fishel

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Ralph Faded Into the Forest – Illustration Friday – 5.5″ x 5″ Watercolor and Prismacolor .01 fine artist pen

Ralph, in his infinite frog wisdom, discovered that if he climbed into the tree and held perfectly still, he faded perfectly into the background, keeping him safe from 5 year old boys.  We all know little boys love taking frogs home and putting them in the bathtub.  Ralph liked the forest better than any bathtub.

Illustration Friday:  http://www.illustrationfriday.com/  (WordPress is still not letting me imbed links or do tags!)

I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.  I had a whole 3 days off!  I am rested, relaxed and happy.  🙂

Ruth Fishel, is a therapist, retreat and workshop leader, and author of several books, including “Precious Solitude,” “The Journey Within, A Spiritual Path to Recovery,” a pioneer book on meditation, spirituality, and recovery, and the best-selling “Time for Joy.” She also teaches “Stop! Do You Know You’re Breathing?” a program she developed for teachers and health care workers. She now co-directs Spirithaven, Inc., which she co-founded in 1989.

Spirit Haven, Inc can be found here… http://ruthfishel.com/Home_Page.html

Bookmark 3 – Watercolor, Inktense and Sharpie

“Smiling is infectious; you can catch it like the flu. Someone smiled at me today, and I started smiling too.”
Author Unknown

Good one!  It has already happened to me today.  I smiled at someone and they smiled back!  Love it!

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Bookmark 3 – Watercolor, Inktense and Sharpie

This is the darkest of the bookmarks.  To lighten it up some, I added the little white dots and x-s with white gouache.  I think it helped.  Did I tell you that these 5 little bookmarks are going to be someone’s Christmas gifts?  Talk about planning ahead.  I was asked to do 5 of them and the person I did them for is going to give them to her girlfriends in a book  (like I gave to her).  Nice!

I looked up “Author Unknown” on the internet and I found a site called cybernation.com, dedicated to the betterment of humanity.  They have a bunch of quotes by Author Unknown.   Since WordPress is still acting up…. here’s the link  http://www.cybernation.com/quotationcenter/quoteshow.php?type=author&id=9112.  I tried to imbed the link and the whole post went blank.   Maybe my WordPress blog needs a 3 day weekend!

Have a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend.  I’d like to give a huge thanks to the brave men and women serving in our armed forces, as well!  THANKS!

Bookmark 2 – Watercolor, Inktense and Sharpie

“Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and you learn at once how big and precious it is.”
– Aleksei Peshkov

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Bookmark 2 – Watercolor, Inktense and Sharpie

So much fun!  I used a green sharpie to do the mesh in the background.  I put shadows behind everything to give it some depth, but it doesn’t show up well in the scan.  Only 2 more work days until a 3 day weekend!  Yay!  I haven’t taken many days off this month.  I’m not sure I’m going to know how to act.  😀

WordPress tags still not working!   grrrrrrrrr

About Aleksei Peshkov

Russian social realist author Aleksei Peshkov, known as Maxim Gorky, was so esteemed that his birthplace, Nizhny Novgorod, was renamed Gorky in his honor. He was born in 1868. His parents died when he was young, and he left his home at age 12. He was arrested in the late 1880’s as a revolutionary. His writing, including his best-known novel, The Mother, portrayed a decadent society and immense poverty. He became disillusioned after the Russian Revolution, feeling Lenin’s Communism was little better. He died in 1936.

Paddle Boat 6″ x 8″ Watercolor and Prismacolor Pen

“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.”
– Alexander Graham Bell

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Paddle Boat 6″ x 8″ Watercolor and Prismacolor Pen

I painted this from a photo by mbeckett at WetCanvas.  I used a .01 Prismacolor Fine Liner to do the lines.  It was way too small to use a sharpie.

I worked on this the last couple mornings before work.  Coffee and art.  Ahhhhhhh!  Nothing better to start my day!

WordPress still won’t let me add tags.  I do have my visual editor back.  If anybody has a fix, can you let me know?

About Alexander Graham Bell

Scottish-Canadian inventor Alexander Graham Bell is credited with inventing the telephone; he also invented the metal detector, which he created hurriedly in an attempt to find the bullet that killed President James Garfield. He was born in 1847 in Edinburgh. He began as an elocutionist but began learning about acoustics to find a way to help his deaf mother. Other inventions include the telegraph and the phonograph. He also developed techniques to teach speech to the deaf. He died in 1922.

Finish Line is In Sight!

“A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work.”
– John Lubbock

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Finish Line is In Sight! – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor and Sharpie

Once the girls had the finish line in sight, there was no stopping them!  Flying is clearly against the rules, so they were hoofing it around the track as fast as they could.  The instant replay tapes are still being viewed, to see who actually won by a beak.  I did this for http://www.illustrationfriday.com/ where the word is “sight”.

The photo I painted this from was by Mike Beckett at WetCanvas.

My WordPress blog is still not operating correctly.  The visual editor seems to be missing.  I can’t add tags or categories.  What a pain.

About John Lubbock

John Lubbock, the multifaceted British banker, statesman, and scientist, was responsible for the institution of England’s monthly Bank Holidays, sometimes referred to as St. Lubbock Days. He was born in 1834 in England. Growing up, he learned science from his father’s friend Charles Darwin. He coined the terms Paleolithic and Neolithic to denote the different Stone Ages, and he wrote the well-regarded books Prehistoric Times and Ants, Bees, and Wasps. He died in 1913.

 

Swirly Worms in Sight – Illustration Friday

“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 2012

Swirly Worms in Sight – 6″ x 6″ Watercolor

I painted this from a photo by mbeckett at WetCanvas.  The word for Illustration Friday is “sight” and with this big ol’ fish eye, it seemed to fit the bill.  I have another “sight” painting for tomorrow.  Here’s the link for Illustration Friday:  http://www.illustrationfriday.com/  (WordPress editing is all messed up this morning, so I can’t imbed the link or make any other edits, like adding tags.)

I worked both Saturday and Sunday, so the only time I had to paint was early in the morning, before getting ready.  That means we’ll be looking at more bookmarks later in the week.  🙂

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.

 

Bookmark 1 – Watercolor, Inktense and Sharpie

“If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you’ll never enjoy the sunshine.”
– Morris West

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Bookmark 1 – Watercolor, Inktense & Sharpie

I finished the bookmarks this morning.  They were really fun to do.  I like the little “stitching” that makes them pop a little more.  I’m going to post them one at a time, because work is so busy that I may not get many little paintings done to post through next week.  Memorial Day weekend is the official start to summer on Lake Eufaula.  Everybody is sprucing up their businesses and their boats before all the tourists get here.  I’m the sprucer.  he he 😀

The 6th Annual Lake Eufaula Sailboat Bucket Run is this coming weekend.  (They are wisely skipping the Memorial Day weekend craziness.)

Tucker-Downing Agency of Wilburton had the following on their blog about the Bucket Run:

“The Bucket Run is a unique sail boat race for inland waters. It’s a point to point race and not your run of the mill “round the buoys” race. The course is 14 miles in each direction and it is not without some very real challenges. The race begins along the beaches and outside the entrance to Eufaula Cove Marine. It heads mostly east and enters “The Narrows”. A part of the lake where Oklahoma’s gentle giant, and one of the largest man made lakes in the world, narrows down to only about a quarter mile wide as the surrounding hills push the entire flow of the rivers feedling the lake into a narrow pass between the hills.

It’s here that the Bucket Run has been won or lost every year since the beginning. Despite the challenges of The Narrows most competitors will still have a huge smile on their face as they cross the finish line each day.”This race is a committment!” was the only comment heard from a certain entrant the first year he was in the Bucket Run. That sailor didn’t let that stop him and he’s been seen around the Bucket Run more than once. In fact, once most sailors complete the entire two days they are hooked and always return. From catamarans to club racers, from brand new to 100 year old designs, the Lake Eufaula Sail Boat Bucket Run is a sailboat race for every kind of sailboat. But, when the final boat crosses the finish line on Sunday the only thing you can be absolutely certain of is that you’ve made some new friends, re-established old friendships and will have lots of stories to tell until next year.”

Come on down to the lake and enjoy the graceful beauty of all those sailboats. It is truly an amazing sight! For more information downingc@swbell.net or (918) 855-1316

About Morris West

Morris West, the popular Australian writer best known for religious thrillers including The Shoes of the Fisherman and The Devil’s Advocate, spent 12 years in a Christian Brothers monastery but left before taking his final vows. He was born in Melbourne in 1916. He wrote his first book while serving in the South Pacific during World War II. After the war, he held such varied jobs as a radio soap-opera writer and Vatican correspondent for London’s Daily Mail. He died in 1999.

Pleasure Cruisin’ in Thailand

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will.”
– Vincent Lombardi

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Pleasure Cruisin’ in Thailand – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor and Sharpie

I painted this from another photo by Dewi at WetCanvas.    Doesn’t that look like fun?  Since the Illustration Friday word was “Kernel”, I actually thought about painting both of these boats yellow and naming the big boat “Cob” and the little boat “Kernel”, but ended up not doing it.  Just the fact that I thought about it makes me twisted enough.  he he 😀

About Vincent Lombardi

American football coach Vincent Lombardi is famed for turning the Green Bay Packers from a losing team to two-time Super Bowl champions. He was born in 1913 in Brooklyn. He initially wanted to be a priest, but changed his mind after he became the star fullback on his high school team. When he began coaching the Packers, he set up intensive training camps and demanded absolute dedication but promised them the championship. The NFL named him “Man of the Decade” in the 1960’s. He died in 1970.