Barbados Beach Shack - August 31, 2009

"No great deed, private or public, has ever been undertaken in a bliss of certainty."
– Leon Wieseltier

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Barbados Beach Shack

6" x 6" Watercolor

I took this picture when I was there in September of 2008.

Last December, I painted this same beach shack with acrylic on a 4" x 4" gallery wrap canvas. I didn't look at the first painting at all, when I painted this watercolor. To look at the two of them, side by side, is fun. They are so different! I'm not really sure which one I like the best. I do like them both.

About Leon Wieseltier

Leon Wieseltier, the sharp-tongued literary editor of The New Republic, has used his role to deliver brilliant, scathing put-downs of intellectual fads and pretense. He was born in Brooklyn in 1952. He studied Jewish history and philosophy at Columbia, Oxford, and Harvard's Society of Fellows. He won the National Jewish Book Award for the memoir Kaddish, about his year of mourning after his father's death.

Sweet Mountain Meadow - August 28, 2009

"You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it."
– Robin Williams
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Sweet Mountain Meadow
6" x 6"x 1.5" Acrylic on
Gallery Wrap Canvas

Monarch Migration - August 27, 2009

Believe more deeply. Hold your face up to the light, even though for the moment you do not see.
--Bill Wilson

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This is a Whiskey Transfer, done on an open 5" x 7" greeting card, then painted with watercolor.






The Monarchs are going to be migrating through Oklahoma in another month. (Our latitude is 35.287) We love when it happens, although the numbers have been fewer the last few years. On the peak days, we try to spend as much time on the lake as we can. It's so beautiful when you're floating around out there, surrounded by Monarchs! You can find your latitude on the internet, if you don't know it. They may be visiting you any day!

MonarchWatch.org

Hydrangea Macro - August 26, 2009

"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."

– Andy Warhol

Hydrangea Macro

6" x 6" Acrylic

About Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol, the American pop artist, is probably best known for his silk screens of Campbell Soup and Marilyn Monroe. He was born as Andrew Warhola in Pittsburgh in 1928. His style borrowed from comic books and advertising; he wanted to remove the separation between commercial and fine art. His studio, the Factory, became a hub for the New York art scene. He was also a prolific filmmaker. He was shot three times in the chest in 1968 and narrowly escaped death. He died in 1987.

M is for Meatballs - August 25, 2009

"Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."
– Steve Jobs

M is for Meatballs

2.5" x 3.5" Watercolor & Ink

Alphabet Exchange

About Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, the American computer pioneer who cofounded Apple, is known for his intensity, his brashness, and his focus on elegant design. He was born in 1955 in Los Altos. At age 21, he and Steve Wozniac built the first Apple computer in his garage. Its successor, the Macintosh, introduced the mouse. After Jobs was ousted from Apple, he bought Pixar Animation, creator of Toy Story and Finding Nemo. On his return to Apple, he introduced the iMac and iPod, restoring the company's luster. He now lives in California with his wife and three children.

Spring Garden - August 24, 2009

"Man's main task in life is to give birth to himself, to become what he potentially is."
– Erich Fromm

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Spring Garden

8" x 5.5" Watercolor & Gouache

Award of Excellence from

The Whistle Stop Gallery

Granite City, IL

Out of Nature Show 2009

About Erich Fromm

Erich Fromm, the humanist German psychoanalyst and author, is best known for his book, The Art of Loving, which describes love as care, responsibility, respect, and knowledge. Born in Germany in 1900, he emigrated to the United States in 1934, fleeing Hitler's regime. He taught at a number of universities in the U.S. and Mexico and wrote eight books delineating his view of human nature.. He believed that modern society makes us feel isolated and long to reach out to others. He died in 1980.

Quiet Street - August 21, 2009

"Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out."
– James Bryant Conant

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Quiet Street

5" x 7" Watercolor

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About James Bryant Conant

James Bryant Conant, the American chemist and educator, is known both for his role in the Manhattan Project — which developed the first nuclear weapons — and for his innovative tenure as president of Harvard University. Harvard had been a finishing school for the rich; Conant turned it into a world-class research university and created aptitude tests to choose students by ability. These tests became the basis for the SAT. He was born in Massachusetts in 1893 and died in New Hampshire in 1978

The Color of Trees - August 20, 2009

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe."

– Anatole France

The Color of Trees

Acrylic on Two 4" x 12" x 1.5" Canvases

About Anatole France

Anatole France was the pen name of Nobel Prize–winning French author Jacques Anatole François Thibault. He was born in 1844 in Paris. His father was a book dealer, and France spent his life among books, including 14 years as assistant librarian to the French Senate. His novels, including the Contemporary History series and The Gods Are Athirst, often use allegory and religious symbolism as vehicles for moral questions. He died in 1924.

Online Video - Right Here, Right Now

85 Million People Can’t Be Wrong!


Thelma & Bert
Catch up on the News
4" x 6" Watercolor & Ink




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As you know, Online Video is hot right
now and it’s only getting hotter!
YouTube is now the 4th most visited
site on the Internet, and the 2nd most
popular search engine behind Google.
If you had a video posted on YouTube
last month, your potential audience was
85 Million viewers!

If you’d like access to that enormous
audience, you need to get your video
online now. And I can’t imagine two
better experts to show you how to do it
than my friends Denise Wakeman and Lou
Bortone.

Denise and Lou are teaming up again on
Thursday, August 27th at 2:00 p.m.
Eastern to bring you “Online Video:
Right Here, Right Now!”

>>>> Register here!

In this jam-packed, 75-minute
teleclass, Denise and Lou will share
the very latest video tips, tools and
trends – You’ll learn about new
video resources, cool new video
websites, and how to create and
distribute videos that will make your
business stand out and get noticed!
You’ll get up-to-the-minute info on
free video creation websites, info on
the Flip Video camera and iPhone 3G
with Video, as well as how to get the
most from YouTube’s new interface.

Save the date and register now for the
“Online Video: Right Here, Right
Now” call on Thursday, August 27th at
2:00 p.m. eastern. (If you can’t
make the call, sign up anyway so you
can get the recording!) Lou and Denise
always pack their sessions with useful
info, and they never disappoint!

I hope you’ll take advantage of this
unique opportunity to learn how to tap
into the power of Online Video by
register for this class today!

>>>> Register now!

See you online!

Beth

Puppet People - August 19, 2009

"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time."
– Winston Churchill

Puppet People

6" x 6" Watercolor & Ink

I know this is goofy, but sometimes weird stuff appears on my canvas. I'm not too sure how this happens, but I roll with it and usually have a pretty good time. **grin**

Pink Trees - August 18, 2009

"The Noah rule: Predicting rain doesn't count; building arks does."
– Warren Buffett

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Pink Trees

5" x 7" Watercolor

Whiskey Transfer

If you haven't tried it, a whiskey transfer is a lot of fun! You start with an ink jet print. Turn it face down onto your watercolor paper. Liberally brush whiskey onto the back. The whiskey will transfer the ink to the paper. Then, just paint! (well, let it dry first) Remember to reverse the image in your computer before you print it, or it'll be backwards. Have fun!

About Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett, the legendary American financier known as the Oracle of Omaha, is the world's richest man. He was born in Nebraska in 1930. As a youngster, he sold six-packs of Coke for a profit and first invested in the stock market at age 11. His first limited partnership reaped dividends up to 30 percent. He follows the simple but powerful principle that you should learn about the intrinsic value of a company before you invest. He is now the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a diversified holding company.

Goldie Up Close - August 17, 2009

I feel at this age I can go overboard and be as ridiculous as I want.
--Miriam Hofmeier

A real blessing of growing old is the freedom it gives us to be who we really are. Of course, we could have been our real selves our whole lives. No doubt some of us were. However, far too many of us struggled to impress others with the person we thought we ought to be, and in the process, we lost a lot of real living. Fortunately, it's never too late to project the real us.

Do we know for certain who we really are? Age is no guarantee that we do. Living through others is not so uncommon, unfortunately, and if that describes us, then we still have the task of discovering who we really are. But let's think of it as an adventure rather than a task. It's a journey, one that promises to be full of surprises.

We have earned the right to speak our minds. We have earned the right to whatever beliefs appeal to us. Most particularly, we have earned the right to spend our days fulfilling whatever dreams we want. We're lucky.

Being as silly as I want to be today feels good. I have it coming!

Karen Casey

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Goldie Up Close
6" x 6" Watercolor


Goldie lives in Overland Park, KS with my step-mother, Joan. She is a character. She's so smart and boss of th house, for sure.

Barbados Contour - August 14, 2009

"Dreams come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them."
– John Updike

An artist that I follow, Leslie White, inspired me to try a contour drawing. It was fun. The drawing took about 2 minutes. Then, I filled it in with watercolor (about 15 minutes). I need to do more of this! This is done on a 4" x 6" Indian Village watercolor postcard.

About John Updike

John Updike, the Pulitzer Prize–winning American novelist known for his careful craftsmanship and small-town settings, has published more than 60 books to date. He was born in 1932 in Pennsylvania. As a child he suffered from stammering and was encouraged by his mother to write. After college, he joined The New Yorker as a regular contributor. He is best known for his series of novels about a fictional alter ego, including Rabbit, Run and Rabbit at Rest. He lives in Massachusetts.

K is for Kiwi - August 13, 2009

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

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K is for Kiwi
2.5" x 3.5" Watercolor & Ink
for Alphabet Exchange

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.

Purple Owl - August 12, 2009

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
– Theodore Seuss Giesel

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Purple Owl

5" x 7" Watercolor

About Theodore Seuss Giesel

Theodor Seuss Geisel, the beloved Dr. Seuss, is renowned to generations of children as the author of Green Eggs and Ham and other deliciously absurd picture books. He was born in 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. His first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected 27 times. He wrote The Cat in the Hat after Houghton Mifflin asked him to write a children's primer using fewer than 250 easy-reader words. He died in 1991.

Can you imagine that? 27 rejections? I'm not sure I'd have his persistence. I'm really glad he hung in there.

Angry Sadness - August 11, 2009

"When you encounter difficulties and contradictions, do not try to break them, but bend them with gentleness and time."

– St. Francis De Sales

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Angry Sadness

4" x 6" Watercolor

I did this postcard for Arts4GlobalDevelopment

I have participated in two of their postcard fundraisers.

About St. Francis De Sales

St. Francis de Sales (1567–1622), known as the Gentle Saint, was bishop of Geneva. His motto was, "He who preaches with love preaches effectively," and his religious texts, including Introduction to the Devout Life, have resonated with many non-Catholics. Pope Pius IX proclaimed him a patron saint of writers. Some consider him a patron saint of the deaf; he invented a form of sign language to teach a young deaf man how to communicate.

Coffee for Two - August 10, 2009

Lost warriors have only to open their eyes to find the right and good path.
-- Chief Red Mountain


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Coffee for Two
5" x 7" Watercolor

I am tickled with the way this one turned out. The photo I used came from the WetCanvas - Reference Image Library and is by tanianault.

Hummingbird - August 7, 2009

"Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip."

– Will Rogers

About Will Rogers

American humorist Will Rogers was considered the Mark Twain of his generation. He was born in 1879 in Oklahoma, of Cherokee descent, and left school early to become a cowboy. In South Africa his showy roping skills won him a job in a traveling Wild West show, and he quickly switched over to vaudeville and film acting roles. He wrote six books and 4,000 syndicated columns. An avid flier, he died in a plane crash in 1935.

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Hummingbird
2.5" x 3.5" Watercolor

This is from the saddle of a carousel horse. I was too chicken to paint the horse. *grin*

Jasper National Park - August 6, 2009

"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

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Jasper National Park
2.5" x 3.5" Watercolor

Midway Girls - August 5, 2009

"Failure seldom stops you. What stops you is the fear of failure."
– Jack Lemmon
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Midway Girls
4" x 6" Watercolor

Scratchy Moose - August 4, 2009

Today, I'll make a list of things that I would like to do, just for me and no one else.

My list can contain things I’ve always wanted to do: things that are fun, things that are relaxing, or things I’ve only dreamed of doing. I am beginning to realize what I want instead of what someone else tells me to want.

Judith R. Smith

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Scratchy Moose

4" x 6" Watercolor & Scratch Art

on Clayboard

The Dancing Raven - August 3, 2009

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

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The Dancing Raven
5" x 7"
Watercolor & Ink