Wales Building in Color – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor & Sharpie

“Between Stimulus and response there is a space.
In that space is our power to choose our response.
In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
–Victor Frankl



Wales Building in Color – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor & Sharpie

I love today’s quote!  Yesterday I had a huge stimulus called computer problems.  My chosen response was to get in my jeep and head to Staples in McAlester.  I knew the jeep would make me happy, Staples would make me happy and I wouldn’t feel so powerless if I bought some computer related “offering” to the Computer Gods.  I bought a new wireless keyboard and mouse that were on sale.  I also turned in 15 used ink cartridges for a $3 credit each.  Since McAlester is a 30 minute drive, I was calm and collected when I returned.  The computer was still messed up, but by 4:30 that afternoon, I had it working again.  My new favorite phrase: Restore Point. 

This was painted from a photo reference by JustJean at WetCanvas.  The building was all gray, but the resolution was really good.  I could swear I saw a computer printer in that bay window.

Viktor Frankl was born in Vienna on March 26, 1905. His father, Gabriel Frankl, was a strong, disciplined man from Moravia who worked his way from government stenographer to become the director of the Ministry of Social Service. His mother, Elsa Frankl (née Lion), was more tenderhearted, a pious woman from Prague.

The middle of three children, young Viktor was precocious and intensely curious. Even at the tender age of four, he already knew that he wanted to be a physician.

In high school, Viktor was actively involved in the local Young Socialist Workers organization. His interest in people turned him towards the study of psychology. He finished his high school years with a psychoanalytic essay on the philosopher Schopenhauer, a publication in the International Journal of Psychoanalysis, and the beginning of a rather intense correspondence with the great Sigmund Freud.  Source:  http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/frankl.html

Shadow – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor

“Don’t let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.”
–Richard L. Evans



Shadow – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor

This was painted from a photo by JustJean at WetCanvas.  Jean’s Shadow has gone on to doggie heaven and it just felt right to do this painting for Jean.

If my computer survives the next hour without me putting a bullet through it, my day will have improved a lot.  I think it may be time to walk away for a moment and do something fun.  

Richard L. Evans is best known for his inspirational messages given in the long-running weekly radio program “Music and the Spoken Word” with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. As a General Authority of the Mormon Church, he was one of their most senior leaders.

Evans was the last child born to John A. Evans and Florence Neslen, for when he was only 10 weeks old his father died leaving a widow with nine children to rear. However, with determination and a scholarship, he sought higher education first at L.D.S. University and then at the University of Utah. Taking time away from university study, he served as a Mormon missionary in Great Britain from 1926 to 1929, where he acted as associate editor of the Mormon newspaper the “Millennial Star” under James E. Talmadge and Dr. John A. Widtsoe. In addition to gaining journalistic skills, he also polished his speaking talents through the experience of speaking in street meetings and even at the speaker’s corner in Hyde Park, London. Returning to the University of Utah after his mission, he received his BA degree in 1931 and MA degree in 1932.  Source:  http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1457644/bio

Gallery Wrapped Canvas Edges

Love doesn’t just sit there like a stone: it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new.
–Ursula K. Le Guin

 Everyone could use a new batch of love every day. Way too often, we forget to make a new batch. Then we end up eating hard, old, crumbly stuff that doesn’t even taste good. We forget to talk with the people we love. We tell ourselves that they should “know” we love them, even if we haven’t called to connect with them for a long time. So we expect them to live off hard, old, dry crumbs too!
 But baking a fresh batch of love is a lot easier than baking bread. All we have to do is make a phone call, write a letter or an email, or stop by our mom’s house. We need to deliver the message that the people we love are important. What could be easier or more rewarding?
–Anonymous

I found these two quotes together and I loved them.   It just makes perfect sense to me!
–Beth

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Uptown Stroll – Gallery Wrapped Canvas Edges – 6″ x 12″ Acrylic

 

Yesterday, I completely forgot to show you the edges of the canvas.   That (to me) is part of the fun and charm of these little paintings.  No frame needed… just follow the frolic around the corners. 

As of 2011, Ursula K. Le Guin has published twenty-one novels, eleven volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation, and has received many awards: Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, etc. Her recent publications include the novel Lavinia, an essay collection, Cheek by Jowl, and The Wild Girls. Forthcoming in 2012, Finding My Elegy, New and Selected Poems. She lives in Portland, Oregon. 

Her blog is here.  Her website is here.  Both are really interesting.

Uptown Stroll – 6″ x 12″ Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

“How many cares one loses when the decision is made not to be something, but someone.”
–Coco Chanel

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Uptown Stroll – 6″ x 12″ Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

This is the third painting in the Bethville Series.  I have to admit, they make me happy! 

I like that quote, too!  I get up every day and decide to be happy.  I try to be a good wife, a person of my word and a professional in my work.  My 20 year old sign shop will never be big and fancy or make me wealthy, but I get to go there every day and do what I love.   And I get to paint on the weekends!  Woohoo!

Fashion designer Coco Chanel, born August 19, 1883, in Saumur, France, is famous for her timeless designs, trademark suits, and little black dresses. Chanel was raised in an orphanages and taught to sew. She had a brief career as a singer before opening her first clothes shop in 1910. In the 1920s, she launched her first perfume and introduced the Chanel suit and the little black dress.

With her trademark suits and little black dresses, Coco Chanel created timeless designs that are still popular today. She herself became a much revered style icon known for her simple yet sophisticated outfits paired with great accessories, such as several strands of pearls. As Chanel once said,“luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.”

Her early years, however, were anything but glamorous. After her mother’s death, Chanel was put in an orphanage by her father who worked as a peddler. She was raised by nuns who taught her how to sew—a skill that would lead to her life’s work. Her nickname came from another occupation entirely. During her brief career as a singer, Chanel performed in clubs in Vichy and Moulins where she was called “Coco.” Some say that the name comes from one of the songs she used to sing, and Chanel herself said that it was a “shortened version of cocotte, the French word for ‘kept woman,” according to an article in The Atlantic.  Source:  biography.com

Down on the Boardwalk – 6″ x 12″ Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

Time is a dressmaker specializing in alterations.
–Faith Baldwin

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Down on the Boardwalk – 6″ x 12″ Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas (part of the new Bethville Series)

Funny story…  I was working on these paintings last weekend when we decided to run into town for a bit of breakfast.  We ate at I Smell Bacon, where it’s so crowded that you are often sharing a table with people you’ve never met.  Of course, my hubby has never known a stranger, so we were visiting away when he suddenly showed the people the green paint on my thumb and assured them that I can’t grow a single thing.  He he  Isn’t he cute. 

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Faith Baldwin, (born Oct. 1, 1893, New Rochelle, N.Y., U.S.—died March 18, 1978, Norwalk, Conn.), American author, one of the most successful writers of light fiction in the 20th century, whose works targeted an audience of middle-class women.

Faith Baldwin attended private academies and finishing schools, and in 1914–16 she lived in Dresden, Germany. She married Hugh H. Cuthrell in 1920, and the next year she published her first novel, Mavis of Green Hill. Although she often claimed she did not care for authorship, her steady stream of books belies that claim; over the next 56 years she published more than 85 books, more than 60 of them novels with such titles as Those Difficult Years (1925), The Office Wife (1930), Babs and Mary Lou (1931), District Nurse (1932), Manhattan Nights (1937), and He Married a Doctor (1944). Her last completed novel, Adam’s Eden, appeared in 1977.

Typically, a Faith Baldwin book presents a highly simplified version of life among the wealthy. No matter what the difficulties, honour and goodness triumph, and hero and heroine are united. Evil, depravity, poverty, and sex found no place in her work, which she explicitly intended for the housewife and the working girl. The popularity of her writing was enormous. In 1936, in the midst of the Great Depression, she published five novels in magazine serial form and three earlier serials in volume form and saw four of her works made into motion pictures, for an income that year in excess of $315,000. She also wrote innumerable stories, articles, and newspaper columns, no less ephemeral than the novels.  Source:  http://www.britannica.com

Wow… 85 novels!  I’m impressed!

Cottage Inn at Bethville – 6″ x 12″ Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

“Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you’re going to do now and do it.”
– William C. Durant

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Cottage Inn at Bethville – 6″ x 12″ Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

The sun came out for a few minutes this morning, so I was able to photograph my newest paintings.  I had so much fun doing these.  There are many layers of paint and glaze, but the fun came in when I got to add the shadows and highlights.  That’s when they really came to life.  I can’t wait to start the next three.  They’ll be 12″ x 24″. 



About William C. Durant

William C. Durant, founder of General Motors, consolidated much of the fledgling American auto industry under one roof. He was born in 1861 in Boston and grew up in Flint, Michigan. His innovative business model was to buy out vendors and acquire competitors. Forced to resign from GM due to this management style, he founded a new company with his race-car driver, Louis Chevrolet. He later regained control of GM but lost everything in the Great Depression. He died in 1947.

Sneak Peek – 6″ x 12″ Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

“Life is not the way it’s supposed to be. It’s the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.”
– Virginia Satir

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Sneak Peek – 6″ x 12″ Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

I finished the first three paintings in the Bethville series over the weekend.  It’s really cloudy outside or I’d get a better photo.  This is taken on saw horses in my sign shop lobby.   Maybe by Wednesday, I’ll have the full view for you. 

Did you watch the Academy Awards last night?  I watched about an hour of it and my favorite part was seeing Octavia Spencer win an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.  She cried!  It was so sweet that I was almost crying with her.    I really need to watch The Help.  I still haven’t seen it.  Have you?

About Virginia Satir

American psychotherapist Virginia Satir played a central role in shaping family therapy. She was born in Wisconsin in 1916. While working as a teacher, she became deeply involved in the lives of her students and their parents. This led to graduate school and a career change. She took on the mission of inspiring therapists to work with families. She cofounded the Mental Health Research Institute in California, where she held the first-ever family-therapy training program. She died in 1988.

Blurry Sneak Peek at Underpainting

“There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow.”
– Orison Swett Marden

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Blurry Sneak Peek at Underpainting

Sorry about the blur.  I’m at work and the paintings are at home, so I can’t just go snap another one.     This Bethville series is going to be so much fun!  I can’t wait to do some more painting!

About Orison Swett Marden

Orison Swett Marden, the American writer who is considered the forerunner of motivational authors, wrote an average of two books a year from 1894 to 1924. He was born on a New England farm in 1850. During college, he worked in hotel management. He then used his seed money to buy a resort in Rhode Island. Wanting to inspire people as he himself had been inspired by British author Samuel Smiles, he began writing books like You Can, But Will You? and founded Success Magazine. He died in 1924.

Underpainting Sneak Peek – 12″ x 6″ x 1.5″ Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

“The quickest way to change your attitude toward pain is to accept the fact that everything that happens to us has been designed for our spiritual growth.”
–M. Scott Peck

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Underpainting Sneak Peek – 12″ x 6″ x 1.5″ Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

Okay… so I told you about the new Bethville acrylic series I am working on.  I finally got the underpainting started on the first 3 canvases.  I am so excited.  I think they are going to turn out so cute.  As you can see, I paint all around the edges, so that they require no framing.  I start with a black gessoed canvas, so they will need a lot of layers of paint and glaze before they are finished.  I wish I had more time to paint. 

M. Scott Peck

Dr. Peck was born on May 22, 1936 in New York City, the younger of two sons to David Warner Peck, a prominent lawyer and jurist, and his wife Elizabeth Saville. He married Lily Ho in 1959, and they had three children.

Dr. Peck received his B.A. degree magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1958, and his M.D. degree from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in 1963. From 1963 until 1972, he served in the United States Army, resigning from the position of Assistant Chief Psychiatry and Neurology Consultant to the Surgeon General of the Army with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and the Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster. From 1972 to 1983, Dr. Peck was engaged in the private practice of psychiatry in Litchfield County, Connecticut.   Source and more info:  www.mscottpeck.com

Guard Duty – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Sharpie on Indian Village Handmade Paper Postcard

“When the Japanese mend broken objects,
they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks
with gold. They believe that when something’s
suffered damage and has a history it
becomes more beautiful.”
–Barbara Bloom

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Guard Duty – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Sharpie on Indian Village Handmade Paper Postcard


This painting was done by combining two images that jlloren posted at WetCanvas.  This is what Joel said about the Church… “The Philippines was a Spanish colony for over 300 years until the end of the 19th century when the Americans took over. Their biggest influence is Catholicism. You will find old churches like this all over the country. This one is Paete Church in Laguna.”  The dog was napping in the warm sand in it’s photo.  This way, the dog doesn’t have to have a bath when he gets home. 

Barbara Bloom is an American writer and TV programming executive. She earned a bachelor of science degree in theater from Skidmore College.

She joined ABC Daytime in 1992 and was Vice President, Director, Daytime Programming, West Coast from 1994-2000 where she worked closely with Mary Burch and Rebecca Lane.

Bloom joined CBS Daytime in 2003, replacing Lucy Johnson. When Bloom left CBS in February, 2011, she held the position of Senior Vice President, Daytime, CBS Entertainment and worked under Nina Tassler. During her eight years at CBS, Bloom oversaw Drew Carey’s assumption of the role of host on The Price is Right as well as the resurrection of Let’s Make a Deal. She also oversaw the introduction of CBS’ first daytime talk show, The Talk.

On January 18, 2011, it was announced that announced Bloom would leave CBS Daytime when her contract expired in at the end of the month.   Nina Tassler, the President of CBS Entertainment, released the following statement: “Barbara artfully led CBS through several key transitions in her eight years here. All of these efforts have positioned CBS very well for the future.”  Source:  Wikipedia