Happy New (I mean Moo) Year! – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor & Ink

“If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less but to dream more, to dream all the time.”
– Marcel Proust

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Happy New (I mean Moo) Year! – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor & Ink

New is the word this week for Illustration Friday.   Well, here I go again… pretending I know how to draw a cow!  Can you tell they are drunk?  Someone filled their trough with champagne!  

Have a very Happy New Year!  I’m excited about all the wonderful possibilities in 2013 and I’m getting a running start.  I love this life!

About Marcel Proust

French writer Marcel Proust is renowned for his book In Search of Lost Time (formerly translated as Remembrance of Things Past), an autobiographical novel that Somerset Maugham called the greatest fiction to date. He was born near Paris in 1871. He had a severe asthma attack at age nine that nearly killed him; he remained in poor health much of his life. His bedroom was lined with cork for soundproofing; he wrote his novel at night and slept during the day. It took him 13 years to write the 3,200 page opus. He died in 1922.

Kansas City Skyline – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor & Ink

“Man can only become what he is able to consciously imagine.”
– Dane Rudhyar

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Kansas City Skyline – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor & Ink

If you find it a little curious that I would switch from painting Eufaula, Oklahoma to painting Kansas City…  I have a reason.  I was asked to be part of a show in Kansas City in April.  They don’t even start jurying until later next month, but I’m in!   I am one of 30 artists who will be in the show.  I am excited!  My art has shown in different places around the country, but I didn’t go with it.  This is a wonderful opportunity and you can look forward to seeing more paintings like this over the next few months.

I’m having a great time painting these buildings!  I wonder what is in the fancier tops of some of the buildings.  I am imagining swanky penthouses.  The photo reference for this painting was contributed to the cause by my longtime friend, Jim “Botee” Meyer.  We have been friends since I was about 18 years old and I was living in Kansas City.  Don’t try to do the math… it’ll hurt your head! 

About Dane Rudhyar

Dane Rudhyar was a respected modernist composer as well as a pioneering modern psychological astrologer. He was born in Paris in 1895 as Daniel Chennevière and immigrated to the United States in the early 1900′s. His music utilizes dissonant harmony; he claimed to be inspired by the cadence of speech. His work influenced a group of composers known as the ultramodernists. He also wrote a number of astrology books, including the seminal Astrology of Personality. He died in 1985.

Foresee Ready Mix – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor & Ink

“When we create something, we always create first in a thought form. If we are basically positive in attitude, expecting and envisioning pleasure, satisfaction and happiness, we will attract and create people, situations and events which conform to our positive expectations.”
–Shaki Gawain

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Foresee Ready Mix – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor & Ink

Kathy at Foresee commissioned this painting.  I had so much fun doing those big tanks.  I got quite a bit of painting done over the holiday.  I took off Sunday through Tuesday, then got snowed (iced) in on Wednesday.  Some of you know that my very steep driveway is 600 feet long.  Well it was a sheet of ice.  We did finally get out on Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 pm, and came in to town to get the mail.

I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas, if that is a day you celebrate.

The Glow from Within – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor & Ink

“I think in terms of the day’s resolutions, not the year’s.”

– Henry Moore

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

The Glow from Within – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor & Ink

Glow is the word this week for Illustration Friday.

 ”Never underestimate the glow from within.” –Beth Parker

With people, and tired old buildings… don’t judge the outside too quickly.  You could be missing something wonderful on the inside.  I painted this from a photo by Painter65 at WetCanvas.

Merry Christmas!

About Henry Moore

British sculptor Henry Moore is known for his voluptuous abstract figures. He was born in 1898 to a poor mining family. After Moore served in World War I, he became the first student of sculpture at Leeds School of Art; a sculpture studio was set up specifically for him. As he studied primitive arts, his own work became more abstract. He established The Henry Moore Foundation in 1977 to promote public appreciation of art. He died in 1986. His work can be seen in public spaces all over the world.

Christmas Ornaments by Beth for Ornament Exchange

“In things pertaining to enthusiasm, no man is sane who does not know how to be insane on proper occasions.”
– Henry Ward Beecher

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Christmas Ornaments by Beth

I was in an ornament exchange for the second year, over at Blu Penny.  I think there are 60 of us, divided into groups of 4.  You mail handmade ornaments to the other 3 people in your group and they each send you one.   My group was “The Fruitcakes”.  Our $10 entry fee benefited the Make a Wish Foundation.

To make these, I took a plastic ornament and covered the whole thing with little fabric squares, using Mod Podge.   I added 2 more coats of Mod Podge.  Then the leaves on the top were created by cutting apart a little plastic poinsetta and painting the leaves with spray paint.  I attached a bunch of little charms and bells to the ends and then hot glued the leaves onto the ornament.  Whaaa-Laaa! 

About Henry Ward Beecher

The liberal American minister Henry Ward Beecher was a great orator, an advocate of women’s suffrage, and a staunch abolitionist. He raised funds before the Civil War to buy rifles to fight against slavery; these guns became known as “Beecher’s Bibles.” He was born in 1813 in Connecticut; among his eight siblings was Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. His immense popularity waned only slightly after he was accused of adultery; the trial ended in a hung jury, and he was ultimately acquitted. He died in 1887.

Nicole’s Unique Gifts & Meme’s Place – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor & Ink

“Live with intention.  Walk to the edge.  Listen hard.  Practice wellness.  Play with abandon.  Laugh.  Choose with no regret.  Appreciate your friends.  Continue to learn.  Do what you love.  Live as if this is all there is.”

–Mary Anne Radmacher

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Nicole’s Unique Gifts & Meme’s Place – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor & Ink

This business is right next door to Our Favorite Place.  Kim & Tracy Franklin have that store packed to the gills with all kinds of cool stuff.

Wow!  We are having some strange pre-Christmas weather.  There’s blizzards to the north and dust storms to the south.  Here in Oklahoma, it’s just a little windy.  We are so lucky…. so far.

Mary Anne Radmacher is a writer and an artist. She conducts workshops on living a full, creative, balanced life, teaches Internet writing seminars, and works with individual clients. She has been writing since she was a child, and she uses her writing to explore symbols and find meaning. She is the author of Lean Forward into Your Life (Conari Press, 2007), and Live Boldly (Conari Press, 2008). She lives with her husband near Seattle, Washington. Visit her online at www.maryanneradmacher.com or www.maryanneradmacher.net. “

Houston Homan High School.. or uh… Middle School – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor & Ink

“No man can think clearly when his fists are clenched.”
– George Jean Nathan

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Houston Homan High School.. or uh… Middle School – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor & Ink

Houston Homan was dedicated in 1923. This four story structure was the second high school building located on the south end of main street at 111 Forest Street. Houston Homan was located west of and adjacent to Jackson Lee High School. Highway expansion required the demolition of the beautiful 3 1/2 story Jackson Lee Building.  (Hmmmm… three and a half?  What do we do with the half story?)

Houston Homan served the high school students of our district until the current high school was completed in 1967. The Houston Homan building then became Eufaula’s Middle School. In 2007, the middle school students began attending Eufaula’s new middle school building located west of town. The Houston Homan building is currently empty.

About George Jean Nathan

George Jean Nathan, the acerbic American drama critic, was renowned for what he called destructive theater criticism, which helped shape a more serious theatrical community and paved the way for modern critics. He was born in 1882 in Indiana. He and H.L. Mencken coedited the magazines Smart Set and The American Mercury. Although he found little to like in the theater, he became a fierce champion of the playwrights he did appreciate, including Eugene O’Neill and Sean O’Casey. He died in 1958.

Sno-Cone Business in the Snow – 2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor ATC

“The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”
–Mitch Albom

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Sno-Cone Business in the Snow – 2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor ATC

Snow is the word this week for Illustration Friday.   As I painted this, I realized why most Sno-Cone businesses are little buildings on wheels.  he he he  Life is fun, isn’t it?  I can’t imagine my life without art….. and pink paint. 

MITCH ALBOM is an internationally renowned and best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have collectively sold over 33 million copies worldwide; have been published in forty-one territories and in forty-two languages around the world; and have been made into Emmy Award-winning and critically-acclaimed television movies.  More at mitchalbom.com.

A Little Fabric and Mod Podge Boat for a Change of Pace

“Attempt easy tasks as if they were difficult, and difficult as if they were easy; in the one case that confidence may not fall asleep, in the other that it may not be dismayed.”
– Baltasar Gracián y Morales

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Fabric and Mod Podge Boat

I bought this little wooden boat (with oars) at Hobby Lobby. I used Mod Podge to apply fabric squares all over it.  I used orange acrylic paint to do the edges and the oar handles.  It was fun!  It looks like it belongs in Bethville, doesn’t it? 

About Baltasar Gracián y Morales

Baltasar Gracián y Morales, the Jesuit scholar and moralist author, was the leading Spanish proponent of conceptism (conceptismo), a method of expressing ideas through puns, epigrams, and other verbal devices. He was born in 1601 in Aragon. The Jesuit leadership frowned on his oratorical style, which included reading a letter from Hell to his congregation. His best known books include The Art of Worldly Wisdom and The Hero, which repudiated Machiavelli. He died in 1658.

Lake Eufaula Bed & Breakfast – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor & Ink

“Children will not remember you for the material things you provided, but for the feeling that you cherished them.”
–Richard L. Evans

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Lake Eufaula Bed & Breakfast – 5″ x 7″  Watercolor & Ink

Last night was our annual “Girls Night Out” Christmas party at Reba & Wayne Thompson’s  Lake Eufaula Bed & Breakfast.  This is a painting of the back of their B&B, facing the beach.  It is so beautiful and Reba decorates it to the hilt for Christmas.  We always have a great time there.  Last night there were 20 of us ladies and we ate and laughed and did the Secret Santa gift thing, which is always a hoot.  Thanks, Reba & Wayne!  (Wayne has the difficult task of helping us all park and then get out, after someone always blocks someone in.)  This little painting was my hostess gift to Reba.

Richard L. Evans (1906-1971)  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.  More…

Moory Christmas – 4.5″ x 6.5″ Watercolor & Ink

“Your life becomes the thing you have decided it shall be.”
– Raymond Charles Barker

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Moory Christmas – 4.5″ x 6.5″ Watercolor & Ink

I know!  They don’t even look like cows.  Maybe it’s the sheepish grins I gave them. 

I painted this from a photo supplied by ScattyKat at WetCanvas.  They are french cows, but they really weren’t wearing hats or boots.  There were no signs of Christmas in the photo.  All of that is pure Bethville weirdness.

About Raymond Charles Barker

Raymond Charles Barker was an influential American minister and author in the mid-twentieth century. He wrote such books as The Power of Decision and Treat Yourself to Life, on ways to change subconscious patterns. He became president of the International New Thought Alliance in 1943, a group practicing the religious philosophy developed in the late 1800′s by Phineas Quimby, with early proponents including Ralph Waldo Emerson. Unity Church and Divine Science are among its later offshoots. He founded the First Church of Religious Science in Manhattan in 1946 and served as its minister until 1979. He died in 1988 at the age of 77.

Trinity Episcopal Church – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor

“When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people:  Those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened.”
– John M. Richardson, Jr.

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Trinity Episcopal Church – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor

This is such a beautiful old building in real life.  It sits a couple blocks West of Main on High street.  I really enjoyed doing this painting.

John M. Richardson, Jr. (born March 12, 1938) is an American academic who currently serves as Professor of International Development. Dr. Richardson received his AB degree from Dartmouth College and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Prior to appointment at American University, Dr. Richardson held faculty appointments in political science and systems engineering at Case Western Reserve University.

He was a pioneer in the fields of global modeling and system dynamics under the auspices of the Club of Rome, with work focusing on sustainability and population-resource-environment interrelationships. In 1982 he was named by the Society for Computer Simulation as “one of the twenty most effective decision makers in the world”. Dr. Richardson remains an ongoing contributor to the Hungary-based Balaton Group and in the mid-1980s he collaborated with the late Donella Meadows as systems…

Crafty Red Shoe – 2.5″ x 3.5″ ATC and Happy Birthday, Mom!

“I think the whole thing that keeps life whole is not the actions of the great, but the little things, even to smile or be kind at a particular moment. Do not think lightly of these little gestures – It is their multiplication from all over the world that creates heaven on earth.”
–Howard Thurman



Crafty Red Shoe – 2.5″ x 3.5″ ATC

I used a combination of watercolor & Ink on this one.  Some of the ink is Pigma Brush Pens.  The image I painted this from was provided by SkattyKat over at WetCanvas.

Are you ready for Christmas?  I am almost ready.  Just a few last minute things to do and I can kick back and enjoy the next 2 weeks.

Happy 83rd Birthday, Mom!  I love you! 

Howard Thurman

When Howard Thurman spoke, he filled the entire room with compassion, truth, keen intellect, and joy. To be in his presence was to experience the drama of life itself — with all its attending conflicts — and to be carried beyond these realities to the Reality of a gracious God whose will is life and wholeness.
Howard Thurman was a graduate from Morehouse College and from Colgate-Rochester Theological Seminary. He then became a special student of philosophy in residence at Haverford College with Rufus Jones, the noted Quaker philosopher and mystic. After serving on the faculty of Howard University as Professor of Theology and Dean of Rankin Chapel (1932-44), he moved to San Francisco to help found the intercultural and interdenominational Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples. In 1953 he became Dean of Marsh Chapel at Boston University (1953-65).  More….

Explore the World with Reading – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Ink

“Surround yourself only with those people who are going to lift you higher.”
– Oprah Winfrey

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Explore the World with Reading – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Ink

Explore is this week’s word for Illustration Friday.  What better way is there to explore, than through reading?  I love books!  I am so glad that I like to read.  The world opens up to you with books, and takes you wherever you want to go. 

Right now, I am reading The Silent Sea, a Clive Cussler novel and I’m in Argentina fighting off bad guys and trying to get back to my submersible, which will take me back to The Oregon, our high tech ship.

I painted this from a reference by SkattyKat at WetCanvas.  Kat lives in France and had wonderful images to paint from!

Clive Cussler is the author of many New York Times bestsellers, most recently The Spy and Lost Empire. He lives in Arizona.

Oprah Winfrey

Media giant Oprah Winfrey was born in the poor rural town of Kosciusko, Mississippi on January 29, 1954. In 1976, Winfrey moved to Baltimore, where she hosted a hit TV chat show, People Are Talking, after which she was recruited by a Chicago TV station to host her own morning show. Later she went on to pursue her two-and-a-half decade stint as host of the wildly popular Oprah Winfrey show.  More….

Trinity Episcopal Church – Black and White Version

“You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; in just the same way, you learn to love by loving.”
– St. Francis de Sales



Trinity Episcopal Church – Black and White Version

Excuse the terrible photo.  I took this in my studio this morning when it was still dark.  It’ll need a lot of cleaning up in Photoshop because I was too impatient to stop working, so I could bring it in to work to scan it.  (The black and whites will become a coloring book later.)  But I really wanted to start with the paint.  It’s so much fun painting these little building portraits. 

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 – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor

After a speech one day, Zig Ziglar was approached by someone in the audience who said: “Zig, it was a great speech, but motivation doesn’t last.” Zig said, “Bathing doesn’t either. That’s why I recommend it daily.”
–from Wrinkles Don’t Hurt, by Ruth Fishel

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Coffee for Two – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor

Well… I’ve been working on another building portrait with a lot of detail, so I had to dip into the archives again.   This painting is actually framed and sitting in my lobby right now.  Main Street Studio brought it back to me with some others, to make room for a large solo exhibition someone was having.

Zig Ziglar

Motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, died last week at the age of 86. He will be missed, but he left a legacy of pithy wisdom and good advice in the form of books, tapes and videos.

Zig Ziglar was a motivational teacher and trainer who has traveled the world over, delivering his messages of humor, hope, and encouragement. As a talented author and speaker, his international appeal has transcended every color, culture, and career. Recognized by his peers as the quintessential motivational genius of our times, Zig Ziglar’s unique delivery style and powerful messages have earned him many honors, and today he is considered one of the most versatile authorities on the science of human potential. Ten of his twenty-eight books have been on the best-seller lists, and his titles have been translated into more than thirty-eight languages and dialects. He was a committed family man, a dedicated patriot, and an active church member. Zig lived in Plano, Texas, with his wife, Jean.

Church in Switzerland - 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Purple Prismacolor Chisel Marker

“The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.”
– Chinese Proverb

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Church in Switzerland -  4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Purple Prismacolor Chisel Marker

“A street and church in Fabian’s home village.” is what Wendy (Sundiver) at WetCanvas said about the photo when she posted it for us to paint from.    She also said… “For those of you who wish a challenge, here’s one: Take any aspect, such as colour, shape, value, rhythm, contrast, etc (or any combination of these) and push them farther into abstraction than you usually do.  Some of the mountain scenes I saw made me think of the work of Stephen Quiller , for example.”

So… I painted it in a manner similar to Stephen Quiller, who’s work I love. 

I think I like black outlines better than purple though.

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

“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. 

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.

Stretch for Illustration Friday – 4″ x 4.5″ Watercolor & Ink

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”
– e. e. cummings

Stretch for Illustration Friday – 4″ x 4.5″ Watercolor & Ink

Stretch is the word this week for Illustration Friday.  This little girl is stretching to get the snowman’s hat on just right.

About e. e. cummings

The writer who became known as e. e. cummings was an experimental poet whose idiosyncratic typography complements the music of his poetry; he published more than 900 poems, two novels, and four plays. He was also an accomplished painter. He was born in Massachusetts in 1894 and entered the ambulance corps in World War I but ended up in a detention camp after expressing his pacifist views. He died in 1962. “In Just-” was his most famous poem.