Sock Monkey and the Stuffed Olive

“This I conceive to be the chemical function of humor: to change the character of our thought.”
– Lin Yutang

This must be why I often say “I needed that!” after a good belly laugh. 

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Stuffed Olive Postcard – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor

The owner of this restaurant, Debbie Gibbens,  has the best set of marketing skills!  She is always doing something original and quirky to promote her businesses.  (Besides this restaurant in Eufaula, she has 3 locations of Libby’s, a wonderful clothing store; in Eufaula, Tulsa and St. Louis.)  Debbie commissioned this postcard.  She wanted the restaurant, a VW bug and a sock monkey.  The trailer was my idea and she liked it.  I also did their sign when they first opened.  The olive is a carved, dimensional olive.
Here are some of the practice steps I took on the way to the final painting…

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

About Lin Yutang

Chinese author Lin Yutang wrote more than 35 books in English and Chinese, including My Country and My People and The Importance of Living, which brought him international fame. He was born in 1895 in the Fujian province in China. He created a Chinese-American dictionary, an indexing system for Chinese letters, and translated many classic Chinese texts. Written in a humorous, accessible style, his books bridged European and Chinese cultures. He died in 1976.

Funky Street Lamp

“Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.”
– Lin Yutang

Funky Street Lamp – 3″ x 5.5″ Watercolor

I had a lot of fun painting this.  The funny part is that when I finished it and showed it to the hubby, he said… “That would have made a better Christmas card.”  This was a mere 18 hours after I dropped 45 Christmas cards in the mail… with a magpie sitting on the head of an elk in the snow.  You know… snow… Christmas…     Gotta love him! 

This was cropped from a large night  city photo from Phlugel at WetCanvas.

About Lin Yutang

Chinese author Lin Yutang wrote more than 35 books in English and Chinese, including My Country and My People and The Importance of Living, which brought him international fame. He was born in 1895 in the Fujian province in China. He created a Chinese-American dictionary, an indexing system for Chinese letters, and translated many classic Chinese texts. Written in a humorous, accessible style, his books bridged European and Chinese cultures. He died in 1976.

I Don’t Wanna Wear This Doggy Sweater!

“Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone.  The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.
–Lin Yutang

Boy, isn’t that the truth!



I Don’t Wanna Wear This Doggy Sweater! – 4″ x 4″ Watercolor

This painting is a little portrait of Stacey’s dog Alex (WetCanvas).  I have created such a look on her face!  She looked worried in the photo, but I seem to have created something different, though I was really trying to capture the worry.    I seem to have something like… “I swear!  If you make me go outside in this sweater, I will never be able to show my face in this neighborhood again!  Pleeeeease take it off!!  I don’t want to be the laughing stock of the whole town!  Come on,  Mom!” 

Tune in tomorrow for Stacey’s cat, Panny.  Totally different approach and way fun!

Lin Yutang (October 10, 1895 – March 26, 1976) was a Chinese writer and inventor. His informal but polished style in both Chinese and English made him one of the most influential writers of his generation, and his compilations and translations of classic Chinese texts into English were bestsellers in the West.  more…