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.

Elk Watercolor

“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

Yeah!!



Elk Watercolor 6″ x 6″

This little watercolor was painted from a WetCanvas Reference Image Library photo by Westerngirl.    If you haven’t checked out the RIL, you should.  There are currently 9,609,260 images in the library.  I grabbed some before I left for Idaho, in case it rained the whole time I was there (or I just didn’t want to leave the cabin).    As it turned out, I was glad I did.

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.