30th Annual Whole Hawg Day Logo

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

30th Annual Whole Hawg Day Logo

I have been designing the Whole Hawg Days logo for many years.  This year they said “We want pigs on the beach, wearing swimsuits, playing poker, cooking a hog, with another pig in a boat, with cards.”  After I got over the shock of pigs cooking a pig… I drew this.  Oh, and you must use a limited color pallet.  Fun!

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 on October 14, 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 on January 9, 1923 of tuberculosis.

Main & Foley Going North – My 1000th WordPress Blog Post

“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.”
– Sir Winston Churchill

Main & Foley Going North – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor

This is another Eufaula painting.  That building with the dome is the Foley Building.   It originally housed State National Bank, now known as The Bank of Eufaula.  This bank is now in the low brick building you see on the lower right area of the painting.  The Sorbe building is the one in the lower left.  It was built in 1895 and is the oldest building in the business district.  Empire Finance is currently operating there.  I am leaving the business names off of these Main Street paintings on purpose.  In my 20.5 years in the sign business, I have changed many of them a number of times.  I’d like to memorialize the buildings themselves, in stead of the businesses.  🙂

This is my 1000th WordPress Post!  Oh my!  Almost every one has a painting, too!  Isn’t that amazing?    Where did all that time go?

About Sir Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Churchill was an extraordinary British prime minister; he laid the groundwork for welfare in England, helped set the boundaries in the Middle East, became a symbol of the resistance against the Nazis in Europe, and was a central force in the Allied victory in World War II. He was born in 1874 near Oxford. He was known for his courage, his stubbornness, and his powerful personality. He was also an accomplished painter and writer. He died in 1965.

Foley Mansion – An Artist’s View

“When it comes to life, the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.”
—G.K. Chesterton

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Foley Mansion – An Artist’s View – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor & Ink

The Foley Mansion was built in 1901 and burned in 1962, here in Eufaula, OK.  Since I was unable to find out what color it was for sure, I took the advise of fellow blogger Jill (afternoonartist.wordpress.com) and researched colors that were widely used in that period.    I am thrilled with how it looks, but the hubby thought I should have been more diligent in my search for the actual color of the mansion.  Since I painted this for pleasure and it wasn’t commissioned… I like it this way.   🙂

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) cannot be summed up in one sentence. Nor in one paragraph. In fact, in spite of the fine biographies that have been written of him, he has never been captured between the covers of one book. But rather than waiting to separate the goats from the sheep, let’s just come right out and say it: G.K. Chesterton was the best writer of the 20th century. He said something about everything and he said it better than anybody else. But he was no mere wordsmith. He was very good at expressing himself, but more importantly, he had something very good to express. The reason he was the greatest writer of the 20th century was because he was also the greatest thinker of the 20th century.  More here…

McIntosh County Courthouse

“Luck? I don’t know anything about luck. I’ve never banked on it and I’m afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: hard work — and realizing what is opportunity and what isn’t.”
– Lucille Ball

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

McIntosh County Courthouse – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor

I didn’t add the sock monkey to this painting because it is for sale and a Judge or Court Clerk may want the painting for their office, but may not feel so warm and fuzzy about the sock monkey.  All the individual “business” paintings are sold before I paint them.  I guess you could say they are commissioned.  I’m painting the Post Office, City Hall, Posey Park, the Library, etc., just so that the black and whites can be in the coloring book I’m working on.   Here’s a link to the black and white version of this one.

About Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball, the beloved redheaded comedian, was born in 1911 in New York. She enrolled in drama school — where she was told she had no acting talent, so she became a model. That career led to her discovery by Hollywood. Ball and her bandleader husband, Desi Arnaz, pitched a sitcom to CBS, which refused it, but they went on the road with it as a vaudeville act. The act — about a ditzy housewife and her bandleader husband — was a success, as was the ensuing TV show, I Love Lucy. The show made TV history when Lucy’s sitcom character was pregnant on the air. She died in 1989.

 

Auntie Faye’s Fudge, Gifts & Etc.

“When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. And that is my religion.”
– Abraham Lincoln

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Auntie Faye’s Fudge, Gifts & Etc. – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor

This one was so fun!  They have already put in their order for postcards (yes, I do postcards and business cards) with their building on them.  Some of the businesses are making their Christmas Cards from the paintings, too.  They have asked me to Photoshop the sock monkey out for the postcards.  Bummer.

About Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln, the American president remembered as Honest Abe, is renowned for his strong leadership during the Civil War and for ending slavery in the United States. He was born in a Kentucky cabin in 1809. He taught himself law and passed the Illinois bar in 1837, the same year he first spoke out against slavery. The Southern states seceded in response to his election to the presidency in 1860. Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, mere days after General Robert E. Lee surrendered to end the war.

 

Our Favorite Place – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor & Sharpie

“Courage is very important. Like a muscle, it is strengthened by use.”
– Ruth Gordon

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Our Favorite Place – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor & Sharpie

This is another sock monkey building portrait.  Our little town is having so much fun with these.  This is the new Our Favorite Place, a Made in Oklahoma Store & Art Gallery, featuring only art and products created in Oklahoma.  In the back is Sips & Bytes, where you can get a coffee or a smoothie and a dessert, while enjoying the free wi-fi.  I love this store!  My art is there, too.  🙂  The proprietor is Karen Weldin, who owns Eufaula Lakeshore Realty, along with her partner, Susanne Bain.  She bought this building a couple years ago and has been restoring it back to it’s original 100 year old glory.  It has only been open a couple months and it’s a real treasure for the little town of Eufaula, Oklahoma.

The sign shop has been so busy lately that I am having a hard time getting over here to reply to comments.  I apologize for that.  I love your comments sooooo much and I read every one.  Please don’t stop!  I love hearing from you.  I’ll get more time soon, I hope.

About Ruth Gordon

American actress Ruth Gordon is best known for her roles in Harold and Maude and Rosemary’s Baby. She was born in Massachusetts in 1896. At age 19, she moved to New York to pursue acting; she performed in plays for the next 20 years. She and her first husband, Garson Kanin, wrote five film scripts for Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, including Adam’s Rib, which was based on the writers’ own marriage. She died in 1985.

M

If Tomorrow Came Yesterday – A Mystery Project

“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

The Mystery Project – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor and Sharpie

I painted this little postcard for a project with Art House Coop, in Brooklyn, NY and Prismacolor.  The idea of the project is to make a stranger’s day.  I received a little kit in the mail from Art House Coop, with a new Prismacolor artist pen and a theme.  The theme for my card was “If tomorrow came yesterday”.  I painted this little card and left it in a public place for a stranger to find.  Isn’t that a cool project?  2000 artists are participating.   I love it.  Debi Engle says this is a rak,  A random act of kindness.  I like that!  So far, I have not heard from anyone, saying it has been found, so it may still be out there.    I can’t show you the picture of where I left it, because one of you clever people may figure it out… then it’s not so random.  🙂

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.

Sleepy Cat – October 26, 2009

“We arrive at the truth, not by the reason only, but also by the heart.”

– Blaise Pascal

Sleepy Cat – October 26, 2009
2.5″ x 3.5″ Acrylic on Strathmore Canvas Paper

I did several little paintings on Sunday. It was a nice, relaxing day.

Eufaula’s 4th Annual Art Walk is over. We started the event off with a free concert by Selby Minner & Blues on the Move. They were great!

Saturday was the best day! We had a street blocked off and filled it with artists, musicians, a storyteller, a poet, demonstrators, kids in costumes, a flute maker, two wineries doing wine tasting, a silent auction, beans & cornbread, sold in bowls the Quinton High School kids made, and an artist sharing his potter’s wheel with anyone who wanted to get their hands dirty. I’m sure I left something out, but it was a wonderful day.

It was the first time I had a booth. I am always behind the scenes, but this year, I jumped right in the middle of the fun. I had such a good time. I sold two paintings, which is great, but I’d have had fun even without the sales. Of course, I lived on coffee, candy bars and cookies all day, so the caffeine and sugar may have been a factor. he he

Blaise Pascal was not only a mathematician and philosopher, he was also an inventor, having created the hydraulic press and the syringe. He was born in France in 1623. He showed a gift for math early: At age 12, he started rediscovering Euclid’s theorems on his own. Later, spurred by a friend who liked gambling, he developed the theory of probabilities. After a life-threatening accident in 1654 he had a religious conversion, which led him to write about religious ethics and belief. He died in 1662.