Embarrassed 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

.

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.

Yellow Duck with No Shoes

“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”
–Zig Ziglar

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

A Shoeless Yellow Duck

Most people would probably look at that title and think I was nuts….. but we know that in Bethville, birds wear shoes! 

I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who looks at this blog and to those who comment.  I have been unable to reply to the comments lately, but I love every single one!!!  The fact that you take the time to tell me something I painted made you smile…. priceless!

Zig Ziglar is 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 is a committed family man, a dedicated patriot, and an active church member. Zig lives in Plano, Texas, with his wife, Jean.

A Bird in a Business Suit - Watercolor

“Failure seldom stops you. What stops you is the fear of failure.”
– Jack Lemmon

.

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Businessman Bird – Watercolor

.

I painted this bird in a motel during a bad winter storm.  We got 14″ of snow in that storm and we don’t really have snow plows around here.

.

I never go anywhere without my watercolors! 

.

About Jack Lemmon

Jack Lemmon is best known for the poignant sweetness he brought to comedic roles in movies like Some Like It Hot and The Apartment, but is also remembered for his dramatic roles, including the struggling alcoholic in Days of Wine and Roses. He was born in 1925 into a wealthy Boston family and knew by the age of four that he wanted to become an actor. He won two Academy Awards and was known for his collaborations with director Billy Wilder and costar Walter Matthau. He died in 2001.

Bird in Pink Heels

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

.

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Bird in a Pink Hat and Heels – Watercolor

.

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.

.

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. 

.

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.

Pink Flamingo in Stripey Boots

“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 High Heels

“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

.

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. 

.

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.

Teal Christmas Egret

“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.”
– Carl Jung

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

A Christmas Egret – Watercolor

.

Okay…. hardly traditional, but he did come from Bethville, after all. 

.

About Carl Jung

Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist who originated such well-known psychological concepts as the archetype and the collective unconscious, has provided inspiration to people ranging from Joseph Campbell to Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. He was born in 1875 in a small town; he studied with Sigmund Freud before parting ways due to the radical difference in their views of human nature. Jung is considered second only to Freud in his influence on modern psychology, particularly in the area of dream analysis. He died in 1961.

Flowerdy Blue Bird

“Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.”
– Samuel Johnson

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Blue Flowerdy Bird – Watercolor

Another archive bird.  Now days, I’d have outlined it in ink.  It’s fun to revisit these birds, while I try to play catch up.   

About Samuel Johnson

 

Samuel Johnson, the sharp-witted British essayist, wrote the first English language dictionary; his definitions still form the backbone of current dictionaries. He was born in Staffordshire in 1709. Johnson married a widow 20 years his senior and lived in poverty before achieving success with his essays when he was in his forties. Later in life, he befriended the young James Boswell, whose Life of Johnson became the quintessential English biography. Johnson died in 1784.

Purple Bird on a Branch

“Painting is the passage from the chaos of the emotions to the order of the possible.”
–Balthus

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Bird on a Branch – Watercolor on Handmade Paper

I love Daniel Smith’s irridescent watercolors.  The outlines on this are a goldish copperish color.  I can’t remember the name, but it reacted well with the handmade paper, due to all the lovely texture.  Kind of odd, but I like it. 

Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski, 1908-2001) and his elder brother, Pierre (1905-2001), were born in Paris into an artistic and intellectual milieu. Their father, Erich Klossowski (1875–1946), was an art historian and painter whose family had escaped from Poland in 1830 during an unsuccessful revolt against Russia and who obtained German citizenship in East Prussia. The boys’ mother, Elisabeth Dorothea Klossowska (1886–1969), was also a painter and was known as Baladine.

As an eight-year-old, in 1916, Balthus had posed with his pet cat for a watercolor by his mother. Three years later he worked his adventures with a stray cat he called Mitsou into 40 pen-and-ink drawings. The German poet Rainer Maria Rilke, a family friend—who not long after became Baladine’s lover—was so enchanted by these drawings that he arranged for them to be published in 1921 in the book Mitsou, for which he provided a preface in French. At Erich Klossowski’s request, the cover of the book gave the young artist’s name as “Baltusz,” as he then spelled his nickname—which was a shortened version of his given name, Balthasar. At Rilke’s suggestion, Balthus signed his work from then on with this childhood nickname, at some point changing the spelling to “Balthus,” as we know it today. Rilke played an important role in Balthus’s life, as a crucial creative influence and also as a surrogate father following Baladine and Erich’s separation.  More…

I Have My Eye On You!

“You cannot out-give the universe.   Give all you have to each moment, holding nothing back.
When you give, it may not come back to you from where or whom you think it should, but it always does. The energy you put out will always recirculate and find its perfect way back to you.
Trust life.”

Kute Blackson

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

I Have My Eye On You!  -  Bird Watercolor

I’m going back to the birds.  I don’t pay a lot of attention to stats (because it’ll make you feel bad on a little blog like mine) but I noticed when I post birds, they go way up.  When I switch from birds…. yeah, they drop way off.  So… I’m guessing you want to see birds. 

Kute Blackson is a life coach and speaker. Unlike those who promise to simply help people “get” what they want, Kute’s work instead reveals to people what they have to give, by liberating who they are most truly and deeply. The focus: Freedom. For more on Kute, please visit his website and follow him on Twitter.

The Yellow Car

“I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be.”

– Groucho Marx

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

The Yellow Car  – 6″ x 8″ Watercolor

I painted this from a photo by Crispur (Christine) at WetCanvas.  Christine lives in Australia, so that is why you might not recognize the store brands.   Wind is a cellular provider, but I have no idea what Camper is.    In the reference photo, the awnings were plain old black.  Bah humbug. 

About Groucho Marx

Julius Henry “Groucho” Marx was the wisecracking central figure of the Marx Brothers comedy team, waggling his eyebrows in movies like Duck Soup and A Night at the Opera. He was born in New York in 1890. His mother organized the family into a vaudeville act, which didn’t become successful until Groucho began ad-libbing jokes and insults. In the forties and fifties, he hosted the wildly successful radio and TV quiz show You Bet Your Life. He died in 1977.

A-MAZE-ing Cows

“All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous unpremeditated act without the benefit of experience.”
– Henry Miller

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Aztec Cows… or if you please… A-MAZE-ing Cows

.

These are the cows patterned after the Aztec bookmark, but it looks more like a maze to me.  I haven’t tried to follow the path, so I don’t really know if you can get from point A to point B. 

.

These are the same cows I painted in this post.  Happily, it sold as soon as it hit the internet.

.

About Henry Miller

 

The bohemian American novelist Henry Miller is best known for his sexually daring autobiographical novels, Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, and for his love affair with benefactor Anaïs Nin. He was born in 1891 in New York. His writing blossomed after he moved to Paris in 1930 but was banned in the United States for its erotic content. Miller eventually won the right to publish in the U.S., becoming an icon of the sexual revolution. He died in 1980 in California.

Weathered Suitcases

“In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends.”

–John Churton Collins

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Weathered Suitcases Spruced Up – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor

Travel is the topic this week for for Illustration Friday.  I found the photo in the WetCanvas Reference Image Library.  It was contributed by OldRockChick.  I loved the wonderful old suitcases, that were (of course) brown,  beige and white.  I really enjoyed doing this one! 

Twinkies are back!  Anybody going to go find some today?

John Churton Collins (26 March 1848 – 25 September 1908), English literary critic, was born at Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire.

From King Edward’s School, Birmingham, he went to Balliol College, Oxford, where he graduated in 1872, and at once devoted himself to a literary career, as journalist, essayist and lecturer. His first book was a study of Sir Joshua Reynolds (1874), and later he edited various classical English writers, and published volumes on Bolingbroke and Voltaire in England (1886), a Study of English Literature (1891), a study of Dean Swift (1893), Essays and Studies (1895), Ephemera Critica (1901), Essays in Poetry and Criticism (1905), and Rousseau and Voltaire (1908), his original essays being sharply controversial in tone, but full of knowledge.

In 1904 he became professor of English literature at Birmingham University.[1] For many years he was a prominent University Extension lecturer, and a constant contributor to the principal reviews. On 25 September 1908 he was found dead in a ditch near Lowestoft, at which place he had been staying with a doctor for the benefit of his health. The circumstances necessitated the holding of an inquest, the verdict being that of accidental death.  Source:  Wikipedia

Watercolor Aztec Bookmark

“It’s difficult in times like these; ideals, dreams and cherished hope rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality.  It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical.  Yet I cling to them because I believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.  I simply can’t build my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery and death.”– Ann Frank

 

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Aztec Bookmark – Watercolor & Black Pigment Liner

Another fun bookmark to make.  I painted some cows with this design, too!  I know!  Weird! 

Ann Frank

Born in Germany in 1929, Anne Frank is one of the most famous Jewish victims of the Holocaust because of the diary she kept during her time in hiding before being captured by the Nazis. She was only 13 years old when she and her family went into hiding. The writings from the two years she spent in such close proximity to her family was discovered and published by her father, Otto Frank and continue to touch people today.

Hippie Chick Postcard

“Anything that you throw comes back. All your actions are echoes.”
–Swami Satchidananda

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Bethville Postcard – Watercolor & Black Pigment Liner

I think this bookmark comes from the hippie chick in me.  What can I say? 

Swami Satchidananda

His Holiness Sri Swami Satchidananda,  the founder of Integral Yoga,^®  is one of the most revered Yoga masters of our time.  Regarded by many as an apostle of peace,  Sri Gurudev serves as an example of  the teachings of Yoga and its goal of Self-Realization.

This site celebrates his life, service, and teachings.

Watercolor Coy Pond Bookmark

Limited expectations yield only limited results.
- Susan Laurson Willig

No one but me determines my course today. My success begins in my mind.  - Karen Casey

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Coy Pond Bookmark – Watercolor & Black Pigment Liner

For some reason, I liked this with all that white on the fish.  Would you have added color?   This is bookmark 11 of 18.   1-8 Were posted in May of 2012.  9-18 were done before work,  during my recent computer fiasco.

Karen Casey -  http://karencasey.wordpress.com/author-bio/

Karen is married, a grandmother, an occasional golfer, and an avid bridge player. She and her husband, Joe, own a home on Prior Lake which is adjacent to Minneapolis, and they recently built a log cabin outside of Lafayette, Indiana which is her home town.

Even more recently, Karen and Joe sold their Harleys. It was a hard decision. Karen loved the freedom of the ride, but lost a friend on a Harley a couple of years ago and Joe was nearly creamed on his bike in Sturgis. It simply seemed like a good time to let them go. They have not lost the desire for adventure, however, and Joe bought a small two-seater Piper Pacer airplane which they fly all over the country. Some might say it’s no safer than motorcycles but at least you don’t have to fight for space in the air like a Harley rider has to fight with cars and trucks on the road. Joe has even begun to build an airplane. He expects it to be a 3 or 4 year project. For you enthusiasts reading this, it’s an RV9. You will know what that is. Karen will be the passenger. That’s all.

Bird on a Vine Bookmark

“Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.”
– Thomas A. Edison

.

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Bird on a Vine Bookmark 10 – Watercolor & Black Pigment Liner

.

I had so much fun doing these bookmarks.  The stress level at work was so high that when I painted on these in the early morning hours before work, it set a calm state in my body.  This enabled me to take on all the computer drama with  less anxiety.  Does that make sense?

.

I’m getting a new awning at the sign shop!  The frame is coming down today.  I’ll share a photo when the new one goes up.  I’m trading in the old tired forest green for blue. 

.

About Thomas A. Edison

Thomas Edison, the American inventor who made his early fortune with the stock ticker and the phonograph record, is credited with inventing the light bulb — although he simply improved upon the original idea by making the bulb burn longer. Edison was born in 1847 in Ohio. He was a dreamer in school; his teacher called him “addled,” and his mother taught him at home. He used the money from his inventions to set up a lab with a number of employees; he held a record 1,093 patents in his name. He died in 1931.

Hearts & Butterflies Bookmark

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
– Aristotle

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Bookmark 9 – Watercolor and Black Pigment Liner

On my last bookmark post, Mary Walker said… “I love the feeling I get sitting on the couch with a stack of three or more art books taking out the bookmark and reading a section popping the bookmark back in and moving on to the next. The weight of the books on my lap and the height it gives me to prop the book I’m reading feels right.”

That just made me want to go over to Mary’s house and read art books.  Doesn’t it sound wonderful? 

 

About Aristotle

 

Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher who is considered one of the most influential thinkers in history, wrote a number of books about science, poetry, and ethics. He was born in 384 B.C. in Macedonia. He studied with Plato in Athens and later tutored Alexander the Great. His death in 322 B.C. was rumored to be caused by hemlock poisoning.

Bookmark Number 8 – Tweetie – Watercolor & Black Pigment Liner

“It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are.”
– e. e. cummings

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Bookmark Number 8 – Tweetie – Watercolor & Black Pigment Liner

I just finished Bookmarks 8 through 18.    Does anyone but me actually read paper books these days?  I love books and I’m not ready to give them up. 
I hope you are having a safe and fun 4th of July weekend.

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. His most famous poem was “In Just-”.

Pink 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

.

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

.

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

.
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).

A Wild Pink 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.

Toys in the Tree & a Lavender Bird

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Bird Toys in the Tree

Here is another from the archives.  This place is so busy that I’m really glad I still have all these images…. especially after a hard drive and mother board crash. 

About Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Gandhi, known by the honorific title Mahatma (“great souled”), embodied the power of nonviolent protest to achieve great change. He was born in India in 1869 and awoke to discrimination while practicing law in South Africa. He brought the struggle for equality back to India, rousing the population to demand self-rule from the British. He was profoundly religious, spending one day a week in complete silence; he was also a devout vegetarian. He was assassinated in 1948.