Pink Poppy Flamingo in Pink Tennies

“Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.”
– Peter Ustinov

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Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

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Pink Poppy Flamingo in Pink Tennies

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This flamingo absolutely lives in Bethville, where no wardrobe choice is a surprise.  When people look at you and laugh, it’s because your pink poppy outfit makes them happy.  I believe that to our very core, that’s what we all want… to be happy.  🙂

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By the way, changing themes did not correct my wordpress issues.  **sigh**

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About Peter Ustinov

British actor Peter Ustinov is best known for his Oscar-winning roles in Topkapi and Spartacus. He was born in London in 1921 to parents of blended pan-European extraction. He wrote several plays as well as a well-received autobiography, Dear Me. From 1969 until his death in 2004, he took on the role of goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, visiting disadvantaged children all over the world. He said his multicultural background gave him automatic loyalty to the UN.

Shy Pink Bird

“Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.”
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Shy Pink Bird

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Doesn’t this little bird look timid?  Maybe he really is a white bird…. flushing with embarrassment.  🙂

About Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a beloved American poet of the 19th century, is best known for “The Song of Hiawatha” and “Evangeline.” He was born in Maine in 1807. He knew Latin by the age of six, and when he taught at Bowdoin College, he wrote the textbooks himself. He courted his second wife while teaching at Harvard and frequently walked the several miles from Cambridge to Boston across the West Boston Bridge. The bridge that replaced it was named the Longfellow Bridge in his honor. He died in 1882.

Bird in a Pink Hat and Heels – Watercolor

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

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Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Bird in a Pink Hat and Heels – Watercolor

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I painted this one during an ice storm, at a motel, because our driveway makes it kinda dumb to stay there in icy weather.  Colored outlines are not as effective as black outlines, I think.

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It’s the 29th annual Whole Hawg weekend in Eufaula.   The rodeo started last night and the fun continues through Saturday, with a parade, a boat poker run, a car show, craft vendors, a carnival and a bunch of people cooking Hawgs all over town.  At 5:00 they give away free sandwiches at all the cookers, and there are cash prizes for the best tasting hawg.  Giggles all around.  🙂

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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.

Stripey Boots on a Pink Flamingo

“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 2013

Stripey Boots on a Pink Flamingo

I sketched this little bird in an airport a couple years ago.  Goofy… maybe.  Bethville…  oh yeah!

I just finished putting graphics all over a box van for a construction company.  It feels so good to be inside where the air is cool.  🙂

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.

Flamingo in Green Shoes – Watercolor

“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

Flamingo in Green Shoes – Watercolor

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If I was a girl who still wore heels…. I would SO wear those shoes.  My hubby would be mortified!  He’s picky about shoes.  😀

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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.

Flamingos in Wading Boots

“There are really only two ways to approach life – as victim or as gallant fighter – and you must decide if you want to act or react, deal your own cards or play with a stacked deck. And if you don’t decide which way to play with life, it always plays with you.”
—Merle Shain.

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Flamingos in Wading Boots

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Another bird archive.    I looked for something red, white & blue, but I had no luck.  I figured pink and green would have to do.

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Have a wonderful day and a safe 4th of July!  ~Beth

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Merle Shain (1935–1989) was a Canadian journalist and author. She worked as a feature writer for the ‘Toronto telegram,’ as associate editor of ‘Chatelaine’ [magazine], and as a columnist by the ‘Toronto sun’. She was a host of the CTV Network program, ‘W5’, and served for four years as a member of the board of the National Film Board of Canada. Her books include Some men are more perfect than others, (1973), When lovers are friends (1978), Hearts That We Broke Long Ago (1983) and Courage my love (1988).

Whoooop! A Wild Flamingo Painting

“Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Whoooop!  A  Wild Flamingo Painting

This is an acrylic painting, painted over a failed effort.   The whole thing is pretty weird, if you ask me, but as I share these archives, I am sharing the odd ones, too.  🙂

About Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson helped spark the transcendentalist movement with the essay Nature, which described his belief in the spiritual essence of humanity and the natural world. He was born in Boston in 1803. He was a Unitarian minister until he resigned in 1832 to become a philosopher and writer. He suffered the untimely deaths of many of his loved ones: three brothers, his first wife at age 20, and his eldest son at age five. Emerson died in 1882.

My Pink House – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor

“Sometimes when we are generous in small, barely detectable ways it can change someone else’s life forever.”
– Margaret Cho

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

My Pink House

This is a little corner of my house.  There is a cliff on the east side and a lake on the west side so it’s hard to photograph.  I took this photo standing on the cliff.  I’ll try to do another one, showing more of the house.

I finally have my computer back.  I do not have my vinyl cutter back.  I have an old plotter and may have to upgrade.  So the sign shop is still in a holding pattern… as it has been for two weeks.  It feels good to at least be able to get orders in the system and do the design work.  I can’t wait until this is all resolved and I’m functioning at 100% again.  🙂

About Margaret Cho

Margaret Cho, the outspoken Korean-American comedian and actor, made television history as the first Asian-American with her own TV series, All American Girl. She was born in 1968 in San Francisco and has mined her life for extremely successful one-woman shows, including I’m the One That I Want and Notorious C.H.O., both of which spawned albums, movie versions, and books. When not touring with her comedy, Cho works now in Hollywood as both an actress and a director.

Versace Home in Pink

“Our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pains, losses and disappointments, but let us have patience and we soon shall see them in their proper figures.”
– Joseph Addison

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Versace Home in Pink

Again, I am posting an older painting.  Yes, I’m busy, busy, busy.  Yesterday was a day full of new orders at the sign shop.  I’m blessed and amazed at how much business is coming in these days.   I wish I was 35 again, with all that stamina and energy.  😀

The photo of the white building I painted this from was by my friend, Helen, at WetCanvas.   This home was on the market for $125 million!  I wonder if it sold?

About Joseph Addison

English politician and writer Joseph Addison is remembered as a cofounder, along with his friend Richard Steele, of The Spectator, one of the first magazines to cover literature and manners. He was born on May 1, 1672 in Wiltshire. He spent four years traveling in Europe, studying politics and writing poetry, and became a Commissioner of Appeals on his return to England. His shyness made public office difficult. His most famous work is the play Cato, a tragedy about ancient Rome. He died on June 17, 1719.

Little Purple Doxie – 4″ x 5″ Watercolor

“The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.”
– William Connor Magee

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Little Purple Doxie – 4″ x 5″ Watercolor

I did this little quickie this morning, because I had a little extra time on my hands.  I have one of those atomic alarm clocks that is over 15 years old.  It changed to daylight savings automatically…. at the time of year it used to change.  So when I thought I was getting up at 5:00 am, it was actually only 4:00.  Mercy!

I don’t really even like this painting, but I know a few dachshund lovers that may look past the flaws.  😀

About William Connor Magee

British prelate William Connor Magee was known as the Militant Bishop for his forceful speaking style, though he always worked for peace. He was born in 1821 in Ireland. Extremely bright, he enrolled in Trinity College at age 13. Ordained to a curacy at St. Thomas’s, Dublin, his fame as a speaker took him all the way to the powerful Archbishop of York. He spoke several times in the House of Lords, arguing against the dissolution of the Irish Church and against national temperance laws. He died on May 5, 1891.

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“Talk doesn’t cook rice.” –Chinese proverb

“Some of us are crazy about self-help books, inspirational tapes, and personal improvement seminars. We’ll buy or sign up for anything, whatever the price, if it promises revolutionary insights or a foolproof new system. We want relief in a day and deliverance in a weekend. And we want the expert of the hour to do it for us. There’s nothing wrong with wishing, of course. But there’s a lot wrong with kidding ourselves as a way of life.

Think about it: If progress could be bought, we wouldn’t need to be meditating. If personal transformation resulted from collecting new ideas, we’d have been transformed long ago. Exploring is great. And looking for all the inspiration and wisdom we can find is necessary for growth. But changing is doing. All the plans and schemes for improvement put together won’t change a thing if we don’t put the principles into daily practice. Even catchy words are just words.”

 –Earnie Larsen & Carol Larsen Hegarty