The Mystery Project – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor and Sharpie

“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.”
– Harvey Fierstein

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

The Mystery Project – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor and Sharpie

I painted this little postcard for a project with Art House Coop, in Brooklyn, NY and Prismacolor.  The idea of the project is to make a stranger’s day.  I received a little kit in the mail from Art House Coop, with a new Prismacolor artist pen and a theme.  The theme for my card was “If tomorrow came yesterday”.  I painted this little card and left it in a public place for a stranger to find.  Isn’t that a cool project?  2000 artists are participating.   I love it.  Debi Engle says this is a rak,  A random act of kindness.  I like that!  So far, I have not heard from anyone, saying it has been found, so it may still be out there.    I can’t show you the picture of where I left it, because one of you clever people may figure it out… then it’s not so random. 

About Harvey Fierstein

Harvey Fierstein, the raspy-voiced American actor, playwright, and gay activist, is best known for his semiautobiographical play, Torch Song Trilogy, which garnered Tony Awards for writing and acting. He was born in Brooklyn in 1954. His onstage debut as a female impersonator at age 16 led to a role in a 1971 Andy Warhol play. He adapted the French show La Cage aux Folles into a Broadway musical and, later, the movie The Birdcage. He has appeared in such varied movies as Independence Day and Mrs. Doubtfire.

Art House Co-op Canvas Project 2

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.
– Seneca

 

Art House Co-op Canvas Project 2
3″ x 3″ Watercolors mounted onto Canvas

I thought it would be fun to share the paintings I did for Art House Co-op’s Canvas Project 2 last year.  My words that I had to paint from are Destroyed, Giddy, Tenacious, Insolvent & Genteel.  Can you guess which one is which? 


I’m getting a bit of a late start this morning, because  I went to the grocery store to stock up for the holiday weekend.  When our little town goes from 2,500 to 25,000 people, places like the grocery store are a bit of an adventure.    I like to go ahead and let the tourist have the town.  I stock up early and when I’m off work, I head 13 miles out to the quiet comfort of the house.   I am really glad they are here, don’t get me wrong.  They are the life blood of our little economy.  But… they are impatient and in full party mode and I may just be getting too old to jump right in the middle if them. 


I hope that whatever plans you have for the holiday weekend are wonderful and safe.  Happy 4th of July! 

Seneca

(born c. 4 BC, Corduba, Spain — died AD 65, Rome) Roman philosopher, statesman, and playwright. He was trained as an orator and began a career in politics and law in Rome c. AD 31. While banished to Corsica for adultery (41 – 49), he wrote the philosophical treatises Consolationes. He later became tutor to the future emperor Nero and from 54 to 62 was a leading intellectual figure in Rome. An adherent of Stoicism, he wrote other philosophical works, including Moral Letters, a collection of essays on moral problems. He also left a series of verse tragedies marked by violence and bloodshed, including Thyestes, Hercules, and Medea. His plays influenced the development of Elizabethan drama during the Renaissance, notably William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus (1593 – 94) and John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi (c. 1613).

Dive

“We are, each of us, angels with only one wing, and we can only fly embracing each other.”
– Luciano Decrescenzo

 

Dive
4″ x 4″ x 1.5″ Acrylic on Gallery Wrap Canvas

Wooooo hooooo…… watch out below!  he he   This is my 3rd “word” depiction for the Art House Co-op Canvas Project 3.  I had so much fun with this one!  Have you ever noticed, the brighter the color… the more fun I have?  Here are some more views.



My words for the project are Dive, Oboe and Pineapple.  We are supposed to paint our version of the words we are given on 4″ x 4″ x 1.5″ canvases, provided by Art House Co-op.  You can see the other two entries here and here.

About Luciano Decrescenzo

Luciano Decrescenzo, the Italian writer, filmmaker, and intellectual, has published 28 books on subjects ranging from Greek philosophy to his own childhood in Naples. He was born in 1928 and worked as an engineer for IBM for several years before turning to philosophy and writing. He has also directed, written, and starred in a number of Italian language films and received honorary Athenian citizenship in 1994.

Party Pineapple

“Always do the things you fear the most. Courage is an acquired taste, like caviar.”
– Erica Jong

Try as I might, I have never acquired a taste for caviar!  …bleck! 


 

Party Pineapple
4″ x 4″ x 1.5″ Acrylic on Gallery Wrap Canvas

This little painting was fun!  This is the second of three for the Art House Co-op “The Canvas Project 3″.   I received 3 words to paint onto 3 canvases.  My words are Oboe, Pineapple and Dive.  I showed you my oboe here.

About Erica Jong

Erica Jong, the American author who made a splash with the sexual frankness of her first novel, Fear of Flying, has written several works of fiction as well as nonfiction books, including the autobiographical Fear of Fifty. She was born in New York in 1942 and now splits her time between New York City and Weston, Connecticut. She has been married four times and has one daughter.

Oboe or so

“Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever.”
– Isak Dinesen

This is so cool!  I have been having a morning where multiple things have gone wrong, so I needed this.  It’s going to be a great day!!!

 

Oboe or so
4″ x 4″ x 1.25″ Acrylic on Canvas

I painted this little canvas for the Art House Co-op’s  The Canvas Project 3.

Each person interprets the same word differently. Some factors include native language, geographic location, age, and general view of the word.

They’re creating a visual encyclopedia where each artist is asked to visually interpret three words that are assigned to them randomly and were submitted by the Art House community onto 4×4 inch canvases. A visual encyclopedia book will then be created that includes at least one canvas from each artist. An exhibition will be held at The Brooklyn Art Library on December 3rd, 2010.

The goal of this project is to create Volume 2 of the encyclopedia. The first volume was exhibited at the Hartsfeld-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, GA from July to September of 2009 as well as turned into the first volume of the book.

I am in the first volume.  It was a cool project.  The one they picked for the book was Insolvent. My words this time are Oboe, Pineapple and Dive.  What I don’t know about oboes, is a lot!!  So I did what I could and it ended up being really fun!  Here’s another shot of my oboe. 

About Isak Dinesen

Isak Dinesen was the pen name of Karen Blixen, the Danish author famously portrayed by Meryl Streep in the film of her best-selling memoir, Out of Africa. She was born near Copenhagen in 1885. In 1914, she and her new husband moved to Kenya to run a coffee plantation. She stayed on after divorcing her husband ten years later, living an unusually independent life. Her book of stories, Seven Gothic Tales, sold well, but Out of Africa made her a worldwide success. She died in 1962.

What I Dream About

“It’s not what you are, but what you don’t become that hurts.”
– Oscar Levant

 

What I Dream About
4″ x 6″ Watercolor Postcard

This  is a painting of the plane I am training in, except for my trainer is not red.  It’s kind of a dull tan and brown.  Where’s the artistic zing in that?  *grin*
 
I did this little painting for a free project over at Art House Co-op called “What I Dream About”.  I have participated in several Art House Co-op projects.  I just signed up for the Canvas Project – Volume 3.   I participated in the Canvas Project, Volume 2 and it was really fun!  Their projects are inexpensive or free and a lot of fun to do.  I did the sketchbook project and was able to add like 8 galleries to my resume.  The little sketchbooks traveled all over, to different galleries.   Any-Hoo, try one of their projects.   Here’s a link to their blog. (I received no compensation for singing their praises – I just like them a lot.)

Last night, I had the best flying lesson…. EVER!   I am gaining on this thing.  I even flew with the strongest crosswind I have experienced so far.  It was still great.  I’m not embarrassed to admit that several woo-hoos escaped my lips and I was giggling like a little girl.  It must be infectious, cause my CFI was laughing with me.  What a great day!  I must absolutely be the luckiest girl on the planet, except for maybe one that wins a $280 million dollar  lottery.  Oh….. ya gotta buy a ticket?  Crap!  That puts me out.  ha ha ha 

About Oscar Levant

Oscar Levant was a brilliant musician whose work was often overshadowed by his witty, neurotic persona. He was born in 1906 in Pittsburgh and moved with his mother to New York in 1922 to study music, gaining renown as a concert pianist before his twentieth birthday. He composed the scores for more than 20 movies in the years 1929 to 1948. He appeared in movies such as An American in Paris and hosted a TV talk show for two years; the show was taken off the air due to his risqué comments. He died in 1972.