A Paisley Horse! 6″ x 8″ Watercolor

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”
– T.S. Eliot

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

It’s Really a Paisley Horse!  6″ x 8″ Watercolor and Black Staedtler Pigment Liner

Yes… I think we have already established that I’m a little bit wacko!  But, in case you weren’t sure… this should remove all doubt.  (Especially since I an considering a series.)

The border and background is inspired by Mexican Folk Art and the paisley?   Pure Bethville.   

The brown horse reference photo is by SkattyKat at WetCanvas.

About T.S. Eliot

 

T.S. Eliot, the Nobel Prize–winning poet, is perhaps best known today for a light book of rhymes that became the Broadway hit Cats. He penned such weightier poems as “The Waste Land,” “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” and “Four Quartets.” His work is rich with deeply felt religious meditations, but he never wanted to be perceived as a religious poet. He was born in 1888 in St. Louis and made his adult home in England, where he worked as an editor at the publisher Faber & Faber. He died in 1965.

Ellen’s House in Ink - A Kansas City Commission

“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

Ellen’s House in Ink – 8″ x 10″

This is the first of four commissions I got from the show in Kansas City.  I went to Ellen’s to take the photos.  Her house is so beautiful and in a great neighborhood.  The neighbors were visiting and walking and pushing their kids in Ellen’s tire swing.  It was a real Mayberry feel.  This stage of the painting has been approved and I’m on to paint in the morning.  Yay! 

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.

New York City – 5″ x 7″ Work in Progress

“How can disappointments be opportunities to grow? When we feel thwarted, frustrated or empty it is difficult – but not impossible – to see the positive side of our pain.Most disappointments come from a sense of failure when our expectations of ourselves or others are not met. 

 

If we can work through our initial response or source of frustration that lies within ourselves, we are taking the right steps toward turning our hurts and fears into growth-filled experiences.Do we have unrealistic expectations of ourselves or approval of us? 

 

Have we sold ourselves short by placing our entire self-worth on our jobs, paychecks, or possessions? Have we accepted negative feelings about ourselves, or do we see ourselves as capable human beings?

  TODAY I will probe the sources of my self-esteem. I will seek my happiness within myself, not in other people, places, or things.”

– Liane Cordes (from the book – The Reflecting Pond)

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

New York City – 5″ x 7″ Work in Progress

This is the painting I am working on now.  I thought it would be fun to show you some progress shots.  Fist I do a pencil drawing, then come back in with ink.  I use Staedtler pigment liners.   They are archival quality, fade-resistant  and acid-free.

On this one, I came in with the sky and water first.  I often save the sky for last and I think this way is better.  I wet the area then bring the color in.   Everything after the liner is watercolor.  I have some teensie tiny itty bitty brushes.  It feels like it would be cheating if I used colored markers.

See the building to the right of the tall purple building?  That puppy took me an hour all by itself, just to paint the color in.  I’m getting close to finishing, so I should be able to show you the finished painting before the week is out. 

The reference photo is by MissMouse at WetCanvas.  She provided it to the Reference Image Library for artists’ use.  If you haven’t checked it out, you should.   It’s an amazing source of inspiration.

“The Reflecting Pond” is a collection of meditations that takes one subject at a time and covers it in depth. Whether we have a concern about self-acceptance, fear, friendship, or love, there is a chapter full of understanding thoughts. Used as an extra dose of support on specific issues, this book will help us think through day-to-day living problems. An excellent resource for those in aftercare programs.”

Zentangle Bookmark for Kana - 2″ x 5.5″ Watercolor & Black Staedtler Fine Art Pen

“Trust your hunches. They’re usually based on facts filed away just below the conscious level.”
– Dr. Joyce Brothers

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Zentangle Bookmark for Kana - 2″ x 5.5″ Watercolor & Black Staedtler Fine Art Pen

I had so much fun with this one!  Kana Tyler is a writer, a reader and a lover of books and the color turquoise.   To read more about my zentangle bookmarks go here.

About Dr. Joyce Brothers

The popular American psychologist and advice columnist Joyce Brothers first found fame by winning The $64,000 Question game show. She was born on October 20, 1927. Her influence, through a daily newspaper column, radio and TV shows, and more than ten best-selling self-help books, has made her one of the ten most admired women in America, according to a number of polls. After her husband died in 1989, she wrote her most personal book, Widowed, delving into her own grief. She lives in New York City.

Play It Forward Bookmark for Gwyn – 2″ x 5.5″ Watercolor & Black Staedtler Fine Art Pen

“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, but only saps today of its strength.”
– A. J. Cronin

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Play It Forward Bookmark for Gwyn – 2″ x 5.5″ Watercolor & Black Staedtler Fine Art Pen

Gwen and her husband, Sam, are avid sailors.  They love taking their sail boat out on Lake Eufaula.  They love their Harley, too, but I don’t know how to draw one of those. 

You can read about the Play It Forward game on my post here.

About A. J. Cronin

Archibald Joseph Cronin, the Scottish novelist who wrote as A. J. Cronin, had a full career as a doctor before turning to fiction. He was born on July 19, 1896, worked as a Royal Navy surgeon during World War I, and later was appointed Medical Inspector of Mines in Wales. Some of his most famous books are The Citadel, The Keys of the Kingdom, and Pocketful of Rye. His works were known to reflect both his religious beliefs as a Roman Catholic and his medical training. He died on January 6, 1981.

Play It Forward Bookmark for Kordelia – 2″ x 5.5″ Watercolor & Black Staedtler Fine Art Pen

“Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.”
–Hannah Arendt

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Play It Forward Bookmark for Kordelia – 2″ x 5.5″ Watercolor & Black Staedtler Fine Art Pen

This is another “Play it Forward” bookmark.  You can read more about the game in my post here.  

Okay, you are probably wondering why a bookmark for Kordelia would say “Nonny” on it.  Kordelia prefers to be called Nonny and most people do call her that.  I’m not very comfortable with such intimate nicknames and I just like the name Kordelia.  She was the first person I saw do Zentangles.  I’ve been fascinated ever since. 

Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) was one of the most influential political philosophers of the twentieth century. Born into a German-Jewish family, she was forced to leave Germany in 1933 and lived in Paris for the next eight years, working for a number of Jewish refugee organisations. In 1941 she immigrated to the United States and soon became part of a lively intellectual circle in New York. She held a number of academic positions at various American universities until her death in 1975.

She is best known for two works that had a major impact both within and outside the academic community. The first, The Origins of Totalitarianism, published in 1951, was a study of the Nazi and Stalinist regimes that generated a wide-ranging debate on the nature and historical antecedents of the totalitarian phenomenon. The second, The Human Condition, published in 1958, was an original philosophical study that investigated the fundamental categories of the vita activa (labor, work, action).  More here….

Play It Forward Bookmark for Dorcille – 2″ x 5.5″ Watercolor & Black Staedtler Fine Art Pen

“The self is a calm stable center surrounded by a continuous changing sea. Merge with yourself and be ready for any emergent sea.“
–Coretta Scott King

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Play It Forward Bookmark for Dorcille – 2″ x 5.5″ Watercolor & Black Staedtler Fine Art Pen

Learn more about the “Play it Forward” game on my post here.  Dorcille and her husband own Belle Starr Marina, here on Lake Eufaula.   That’s where the fish comes from.    Dorcille misunderstood the post and is not able to play it forward, but she has been my friend for 20 years and I’m sending the bookmark anyway.  (Even though she tried to refuse it.)

I found out this morning that J.E. Lattimer over at Fictional Machines blog has nominated me for Blog of the Year Award!!  What an honor! 

Coretta Scott King – Pioneer of Civil Rights 

April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006 – Coretta Scott was born in Heiberger, Alabama and raised on the farm of her parents, Bernice and Obadiah Scott, in Perry County, Alabama. She was exposed at an early age to the injustices of life in a segregated society. She walked five miles a day to attend the one-room Crossroad School in Marion, Alabama, while the white students rode buses to an all-white school closer by. Young Coretta excelled at her studies, particularly music, and was valedictorian of her graduating class at Lincoln High School. She graduated in 1945 and received a scholarship to Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio.  More here.

Play It Forward Bookmark for Mona – 2″ x 5.5″ Watercolor & Black Staedtler Fine Art Pen

“Holding onto a resentment is like swallowing poison and hoping the other person will die.”
–Anonymous

.

Here’s how to REBOUND…

Reevaluate your future.
Explore new options.

Bounce back quickly.

Overcome disappointments.

Uncover hidden strengths.

Never give up on yourself.

Develop wisdom and perspective.

Both of the above are from my little book – Oh, Thank Goodness, It’s Not Just Me!
by Lisa Hammond & BJ Gallager

(Sometimes you just kinda know what someone you love might need to hear.)

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Play It Forward Bookmark for Mona – 2″ x 5.5″ Watercolor & Black Staedtler Fine Art Pen

This is for our little Playing it Forward game on Facebook.  Here’s what I wrote about it on yesterday’s post.   These little bookmarks are so fun!  This one will be heading to Sweden today.

Inspiration for these bookmarks was found in the following reference books:  One Zentangle a Day by Beckah Krahula and Zenspirations- Dangle Designs by

Play It Forward Bookmark for Bonnie – 2″ x 5.5″ Zentangle

“Hope is not a dream, but a way of making dreams become reality.”
– Cardinal Leon Joseph Suenens

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Play It Forward Bookmark for Bonnie – 2″ x 5.5″ Watercolor & Black Staedtler Fine Art Pen

To start the year off giving, I became a part of Play It Forward 2013, thanks to Kana Tyler.  She posted on Facebook that the first 5 people to comment on her post will get something handmade (or home grown) in the mail from her, some time in the next 12 months.  The kick is… they in turn, have to play it forward and do the same for 5 of their friends.  I love it!  The first person to comment on my post was Bonnie.  This little bookmark will be winging it’s way to Canada.

Inspiration for these bookmarks was found in the following reference books:  One Zentangle a Day by Beckah Krahula and Zenspirations- Dangle Designs by Joanne Fink.   I really intended to leave them mostly black and white with just a few little hints of color.  Well, as you can see…. I couldn’t quit!!!  I made 6 of these on Sunday.  (I was sick, so I spent almost the whole day in my studio.)  They will be laminated before I mail them off. 

About Cardinal Leon Joseph Suenens

Cardinal Leon Joseph Suenens played a major leadership role during the Second Vatican Council in the early 1960s; his reforms include reciting the liturgy in modern languages, expanding the role of laypersons, and opening a dialogue with other religions. He was born in 1904 in Brussels. Wealthy relatives wanted him to study economics and manage their fortune, but instead he entered the priesthood. He was witty and charming, with an enthusiasm for soccer. He died in May 1996.