Banana Republic – Kansas City Mini Watercolor

“When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.”
– Peter Marshall

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Banana Republic – Kansas City – 4″ x 3″ Watercolor

Wow… this is big here, but in real life it is only a wee 4″ x 3″.  I love that building!  If you’re familiar with Google street view, you know that sometimes parts of the image are blurred or there may be a car or something in the way.  That is why parts of my buildings may not be just like the real thing…. aside from the wavy walls.  It’s fun making stuff up to fill in the gaps. 

About Peter Marshall

Peter Marshall, the witty, magnetic Scottish-American preacher who became chaplain of the US Senate just two years before his death, was the subject of the 1955 movie A Man Called Peter, based on his wife’s best-selling biography. He was born in Scotland on May 27, 1902 and, as a boy, wanted to go to sea; he served in the navy before becoming a minister. His compelling orations and his belief that religion should be fun drew large congregations to his church. He died on January 26, 1949.

JJ’s – A Kansas City Icon – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor & Ink

“There is no shortcut to life. To the end of our days, life is a lesson imperfectly learned.”
–Harrison E. Salisbury

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

JJ’s – A Kansas City Icon – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor & Ink

Tragically, JJ’s exploded and burned to the ground last week.  JJ’s was a much loved Kansas City icon for 28 years.   If you go to their website, you can see their heartfelt thanks to the outpouring of support from the community.  You can also find out how to donate to the fund that will help the employees and charitable groups that have responded to this tragedy.

This has to be one of my favorite Kansas City paintings.  It was important to me that I added the color and life that they brought to the plaza.

Harrison Evans Salisbury (November 14, 1908 – July 5, 1993), an American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist (1955), was the first regular New York Times correspondent in Moscow after World War II.^[1] He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He graduated from Minneapolis North High School in 1925 and the University of Minnesota in 1930.  More…