Critters in Watercolor - December 3, 2009

"A person who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."

– Albert Einstein

.

Critters in Watercolor

4" x 6" Postcard

About Albert Einstein

The brilliant physicist Albert Einstein became an international icon for his groundbreaking theory of relativity. He was born in Germany in 1879 and began his seminal work while at the Swiss Patent Office. He later fled the Nazi regime, moving to the United States to teach at Princeton. In 1921, he won the Nobel Prize. He declined Israel's invitation to become its president, saying he lacked the necessary people skills. He died in 1955.

Jenny Lake Plein Air - September 28, 2009

"Luck? I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it and I'm afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: hard work — and realizing what is opportunity and what isn't."

– Lucille Ball

.

Jenny Lake Plein Air
4" x 6" Watercolor on
Indian Village Handmade Paper

What a beautiful place! I walked in to this spot and climbed on a rock and began my first plein air painting.... ever! I usually paint from photos, so this was an amazing experience.

I left Idaho on Friday morning and spent the day in The Grand Teton National Park and in Jackson Hole. I saw some incredible art in Jackson!

Saturday, I did a little more painting, then headed to the airport for my noon flight. I walked in the door to my house after midnight! What a day! It's good to be home to my honey!

This is a page from my 5" x 8" travel journal, that I did on the flight to Minneapolis.

About Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball, the beloved redheaded comedian, was born in 1911 in New York. She enrolled in drama school — where she was told she had no acting talent, so she became a model. That career led to her discovery by Hollywood. Ball and her bandleader husband, Desi Arnaz, pitched a sitcom to CBS, which refused it, but they went on the road with it as a vaudeville act. The act — about a ditzy housewife and her bandleader husband — was a success, as was the ensuing TV show, I Love Lucy. The show made TV history when Lucy's sitcom character was pregnant on the air. She died in 1989.

Greens - September 17, 2009

Remember Edison's remark: "If we did all the things we are capable of doing we would literally astonish ourselves." Astonish yourself!

Positive Thinking Every Day
-Norman Vincent Peale

.
Greens
4" x 6" Watercolor

This was a challenge that I'm not sure I pulled off. Lots and lots of green. aargh! I had fun, tho.


My husband told me yesterday that he went to hear a motivational speaker one day, when he was still working. It was some guy named Norman Vincent Peale. Norman Vincent Peale!! I would love to have had that opportunity! How cool would that be! I really believe strongly in the power of positive thinking!

Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993) was the Champion of Positive Thinking. His legacy is with us to day in the ministry of the Schulers (CrystalCathedral.org), and is currently re-inforced by the highly bankable "The Secret" and there is no doubt that the Peale legacy is powerful and vibrant.

Peale confessed that as a youth he had "the worst inferiority complex of all," and developed his positive thinking/positive confession philosophy just to help himself. It certainly paid off!

Peale's works came under criticism from several mental health experts, one of whom directly said Peale was a con man and a fraud. (Meyer, Donald. "Confidence Man." New Republic. July 11, 1955, pp. 8-10.) These critics appeared in the early 1950s after the publication of The Power of Positive Thinking.

By the way - my husband loved his boat! I told him to be careful with it though, because I forgot to paint in the fenders. he he

Hip Cat - September 15, 2009

"I do believe it is possible to create, even without ever writing a word or painting a picture, by simply molding one's inner life. And that too is a deed." – Etty Hillesum

.
Hip Cat
4" x 6" Watercolor

This is the same kitty I painted yesterday. I love that.
Expression is way more fun that trying to achieve a certain perfection or in trying to make something exactly like the original. I admire artists who can do that, but it's not me.


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.

Blue Heron - September 1, 2009

"Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best."
– Henry Van Dyke

.

Blue Heron

4" x 6" Watercolor

I am fascinated by birds. Of course, I don't paint them in the way that a wildlife artist would paint them. What is the fun in that? Okay, I'm sure wildlife artists have fun, but there is no pressure to be accurate or realistic in my fun little paintings. Life is a hoot!

About Henry Van Dyke

Henry Van Dyke, the American clergyman and author, is best known for the Christmas story, "The Other Wise Man." He was born in Pennsylvania in 1852. He was pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York, taught literature at Princeton, and was U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands. His love of nature influenced his spirituality, and he fought to preserve Yellowstone Park. He wrote poetry and essays as well as fiction. Helen Keller called him an architect of happiness. He died in 1933.

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




.
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

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.

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

.

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.

Midway Girls - August 5, 2009

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


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

.

.

Scratchy Moose

4" x 6" Watercolor & Scratch Art

on Clayboard

Ford Tractor - July 24, 2009

"Parties who want milk should not seat themselves on a stool in the middle of the field in hope that the cow will back up to them."

– Elbert Hubbard

.

Ford Tractor

4" x 6" Watercolor

Chainlink Vista - July 20, 2009

Iron rusts from disuse, water loses its purity from stagnation ... even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind.

--Leonardo da Vinci

.

Chainlink Vista

4" x 6" Watercolor

with Sharpie Outline

Wildflowers - July 10, 2009

"It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are."

– e. e. cummings

This is my Mother's favorite quote. It's so true!

.

Wildflowers

4" x 6" Watercolor

Snowball the Rooster - June 24, 2009

"Rate the task above the prize; will not the mind be raised? Fight thine own faults, not the faults of others; will not evil be mended?"

– Confucius

.

Snowball the Rooster

4" x 6" Watercolor

on Indian Village Handmade Paper

.

This is the same rooster I posted on Monday. I see things differently each time I paint them. Isn't life fun?!