Seagulls – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor and Sharpie

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”
—Carl Jung

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Seagulls – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor and Sharpie

I painted this from a photo by Mary Y. at WetCanvas.  I wonder if all seagulls have spotted tail feathers or just Aussie seagulls.  (Mary lives in Australia.)

They said on the news that where I live in Oklahoma is the hottest part of the country today.  We broke a record for the highest overnight low ever.  When I was driving in to work at 5 am, it was 87 F.  Normally I don’t come in that early (or post my blog this late) but I spent 5.5 hours putting graphics all over a Carpet Cleaning van in my non-air conditioned shop.  It’s only 11:30 and I’m whooped.  But, I’m done with the van.  YAY!!!  I’m staying in the air conditioned part of the sign shop the rest of the day.  You can’t make me go out there!  😀

Carl Gustav Jung (/ˈjʊŋ/ YUUNG; German: [ˈkarl ˈɡʊstaf ˈjʊŋ]; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist who founded analytical psychology. Jung proposed and developed the concepts of the extraverted and the introverted personality, archetypes, and the collective unconscious. His work has been influential in psychiatry and in the study of religion, literature, and related fields.

Individuation is the central concept of analytical psychology. Jung considered individuation, the psychological process of integrating the opposites, including the conscious with the unconscious while still maintaining their relative autonomy, to be the central process of human development

Lonely Grasshopper – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor, Inktense and Sharpie

“Because of our mindfulness, we see our desire, and our aggression, our jealousy an our ignorance. We don’t act on them; we just see them. Without mindfulness, we don’t see them and they proliferate.”
—Pema Chodron

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Lonely Grasshopper – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor, Inktense and Sharpie

Lonely is the word this week for Illustration Friday.  I painted this from a photo I took Saturday morning of a grasshopper on the windshield of my jeep.  Now you know he had to be feeling pretty lonely at that moment.  😀

Pema Chodron is a leading exponent of teachings on meditation and how they apply to everyday life.

She is widely known for her charming and down-to-earth interpretation of Tibetan Buddhism for Western audiences. Pema is the resident teacher at Gampo Abbey, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, the first Tibetan monastery for Westerners and has authored several books, including:

Always Maintain a Joyful Mind (lojong teachings)
Practicing Peace in Times of War
No Time to Lose
The Pema Chodron Collection (audio)
Getting Unstuck:Breaking Your Habitual
Patterns & Encountering Naked Reality (audio)
The Places that Scare You
When Things Fall Apart
Start Where You Are

Little Red Chevy – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor and Sharpie

“Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.”
– Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Little Red Chevy – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Sharpie

I painted the Chevy from a photo I found in the WetCanvas RIL.  Everything else came from Bethville.

It’s Whole Hawg weekend here in Eufaula, Oklahoma.  It started with a rodeo last night, continuing through the weekend.  Tonight at 6:00 there will be a parade down Main street.  That’s always a fun one.  Saturday, there will be a boat poker run on the lake,  carnival, a car show, an arts and crafts fair, hawg cooking and a sandwich giveaway at 5:00 pm.  I’m sure there is more going on that I forgot to mention.  People will be cooking hawgs all over town for judging at 3:00.  Then they all cut up their meat and make sandwiches to give away.    It’s a fun event and did I mention… I get to design their logo every year?  🙂

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

About Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., one of the greatest American jurists of the twentieth century, was called the Great Dissenter because of the brilliance of his dissenting opinions. He was born in Boston in 1841 and was named for his father, the author and doctor. He was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1902 and became known for his pithy, quotable opinions. He stood strong on free-speech rights and was an advocate of judicial restraint and objectivity. He died in 1935.

A Happy Old Orange Truck – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Sharpie

“We have to fight them daily, like fleas, those many small worries about the morrow, for they sap our energies.”
– Etty Hillesum

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

A Happy Old Orange Truck – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Sharpie

I painted this from a photo by rue d’oak from the WetCanvas Reference Image Library.  It was actually rust and green and it was in a city environment without the hay in the back.  I like this way better, but I’m grateful for the WetCanvas RIL for the inspiration.  🙂

About Etty Hillesum

Etty Hillesum, less famous than her contemporary, Anne Frank, lived a short life of great courage. She was born in 1914 in the Netherlands to a Dutch father and a Russian mother. She studied law, Slavic languages, and psychology. Hungry for knowledge, she cut down on food in order to buy books. She went voluntarily to the Westerbork camp to help fellow Jews interned by the Nazis. Her letters detail her experiences; her more meditative diary focuses on issues of faith. She died at Auschwitz in 1943.

 

Same Day, Different Car – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Sharpie

“Victory is won not in miles but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground, and later, win a little more.”
– Louis L’Amour

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Same Day, Different Car – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Sharpie

This is another vintage car from the Rathdowney Heritage Festival, Queensland, Australia.    The photo was by Christine (Crispur) at WetCanvas.  I think the car was a deep dark burgundy… almost black.  But not in Bethville.  😀

Again, I apologize for not replying to comments lately.  The sign shop is keeping me too busy, but I LOVE every comment and it makes me so happy to hear from you!

About Louis L’Amour

Louis L’Amour, the author known for his pulp westerns, wrote more than 100 novels in his lifetime. Born in North Dakota in 1908 as Louis LaMoore, he worked across the southwestern U.S. on a string of backbreaking jobs including longshoreman, elephant handler, and cattle skinner. He saw his writing as akin to telling tales by a campfire and wanted to be remembered simply as a good storyteller. He won the Medal of Freedom in 1984 and died in 1988.

Vintage Car at the Rathdowney Heritage Festival, Queensland, Australia

“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.”
– Carl Jung

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Vintage Car at the Rathdowney Heritage Festival, Queensland, Australia

This is a 5″ x 7″ watercolor and sharpie painting I did from a photo by Christine (Crispur) at WetCanvas.  Of course, I got there early, before all the people and stuff arrived.  The only guy I saw there was the orange cone guy and he was doing an awesome job!  🙂

About Carl Jung

Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist who originated such well-known psychological concepts as the archetype and the collective unconscious, has provided inspiration to people ranging from Joseph Campbell to Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. He was born in 1875 in a small town; he studied with Sigmund Freud before parting ways due to the radical difference in their views of human nature. Jung is considered second only to Freud in his influence on modern psychology, particularly in the area of dream analysis. He died in 1961.

This Guy Can Carry a Tune!

“Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.”
– Samuel Johnson

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

This Guy Can Carry a Tune!  – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Prismacolor Pen

Carry is the word this week for Illustration Friday.    I am enjoying IF, because it makes me think outside the box.  I painted this from a photo from Crispur (Christine) at WetCanvas.  Christine lives in Australia and she had some great photos to paint from this weekend.  I worked on Saturday, but on Sunday I got to paint some of them.  Yay!

About Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson, the sharp-witted British essayist, wrote the first English language dictionary; his definitions still form the backbone of current dictionaries. He was born in Staffordshire in 1709. Johnson married a widow 20 years his senior and lived in poverty before achieving success with his essays when he was in his forties. Later in life, he befriended the young James Boswell, whose Life of Johnson became the quintessential English biography. Johnson died in 1784.

State Farm Sock Monkey Painting

“You miss 100% of the shots you never take.”
– Wayne Gretsky

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

State Farm Sock Monkey Painting – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor & Ink

First I have to say my heart goes out to all the people in Aurora, Colorado.  I visited that city when my brother lived there in the 70’s.  It’s horrible what happened at that movie theater and it’s going to have such a huge impact on a state that has already been rocked with too much this year.

This is another painting from my hometown of Eufaula, Oklahoma.   My friend Janiece Vest owns this business and is such a huge part of our community.  Janiece is a giver and a community leader who has worked very hard for the Chamber of Commerce and other causes.

I love this one.  I giggled at the State Farm bear peeking out the window the whole time I was painting it.  Fun!  😀

About Wayne Gretsky

Wayne Gretsky, the Canadian hockey champion known as the Great One, held 61 NHL records when he retired in 1999. He was born in Brantford, Ontario, and was a prodigy on the ice, competing with ten-year-olds when he was six and playing professionally by 16. He hit the big time playing for the Edmonton Oilers. When he was traded to the L.A. Kings in 1988, Canadians burned the Oilers’ owner in effigy. In 1999, ESPN named Gretsky the fifth-greatest athlete of the 20th century.

Lost – Hide and Seek in Color – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor and Prismacolor Fine Art Pen

“We find it hard to believe that other people’s thoughts are as silly as our own, but they probably are.”
—James Harvey Robinson

I find that quote strangely comforting. This quote came from my little book “Believing in Myself” by Earnie Larsen and Carol Hegarty. They go on to say, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, if we remember, turned out to be a nervous little man shouting through a megaphone. He wasn’t braver than the Lion or smarter than the Scarecrow or more loving than the Tin Man. He was just like them; his wizardry was just an illusion. Much of the superiority we accord to others is illusion, too.”

—Beth

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Lost – Hide and Seek in Color – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor and Prismacolor Fine Art Pen

The link to the black and white version is here.  This was fun!  I spent way more time coloring it in than I did drawing it.  I didn’t re-ink the small details in the background, so they would fade back, but I’m not sure if that was the right choice.  Should I outline in ink again?

It’s a little easier to spot the cat and bearded dragon in this version.  😀

James Harvey Robinson, (born June 29, 1863, Bloomington, Ill., U.S.—died Feb. 16, 1936, New York City), U.S. historian, one of the founders of the “new history” that greatly broadened the scope of historical scholarship in relation to the social sciences.

The son of a bank president, Robinson went to Europe for a short while in 1882 and returned to work briefly in his father’s bank. He entered Harvard in 1884, earning his M.A. in 1888. After further study at the universities of Strassburg and Freiburg, he received his Ph.D. at Freiburg (1890) and began teaching European history at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, in 1891. Four years later he moved to Columbia University.

Source:  britannica.com

Bicycles in the Bahamas

“I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be.”
– Groucho Marx

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Bicycles in the Bahamas – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Ink

I love that quote!  I also loved the photo I painted this from.  It’s another one from Lisilk  at WetCanvas.   Li takes the most incredible photos!

About Groucho Marx

Julius Henry “Groucho” Marx was the wisecracking central figure of the Marx Brothers comedy team, waggling his eyebrows in movies like Duck Soup and A Night at the Opera. He was born in New York in 1890. His mother organized the family into a vaudeville act, which didn’t become successful until Groucho began ad-libbing jokes and insults. In the forties and fifties, he hosted the wildly successful radio and TV quiz show You Bet Your Life. He died in 1977.