What would you do with a wooden fish?

Hi my friends!

Yes, it's been a very long time since I have published a blog post.  My brain was trying to wrap itself around the need to be out there with my art and the need to keep some of it hidden away to keep it safe.

I have been doing a lot of painting for the Art Licensing business and I've been keeping much of that art under wraps a bit.

One November day, I decided to put all of that aside and paint for pure joy.  For me.  In acrylic.  On wood.

Next thing I know, I am out in my work shop (here at Signs by Beth) cutting fish out of wood.  My Jig saw was so comfortable in my hand!  I was having a ball. 

Loving my Jig Saw

Well, the first 4 fish I finished sold within 4 hours after taking them to the gallery (Our Favorite Place) and posting them on Facebook.  So I started painting more fish.

You can probably guess where this is going.  No more fish sold.  Christmas is over.  I now have a lovely box of fish.

I have been getting creative, when I have time.  Here's one that I painted the back side with my 2015 "Intention" word.  It's hanging in the sign shop.

If you want to share any ideas, like Betty at Our Favorite Place, who suggested a mobile with little fish dangling below, I would welcome your ideas.  I have thought of putting hooks at the bottom for keys or pegs for hanging stuff.

Let's have some fun with this.  I'll share more photos, too.  If you are a blog subscriber and I make something with your idea and it sells, I'll send a free surprise gift.

Thanks for reading my blog!

-Beth

Wooden Puzzle - Pink Dog

“Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.”
– James Bryant Conant

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Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Pink Dog – Wooden Puzzle

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I did a few of these puzzles as my donation to an animal welfare fundraiser.  They were fun and I’d like to do some again one day! 

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About James Bryant Conant

James Bryant Conant, the American chemist and educator, is known both for his role in the Manhattan Project — which developed the first nuclear weapons — and for his innovative tenure as president of Harvard University. Harvard had been a finishing school for the rich; Conant turned it into a world-class research university and created aptitude tests to choose students by ability. These tests became the basis for the SAT. He was born in Massachusetts in 1893 and died in New Hampshire in 1978.

A Wild Pink Flamingo Painting

“Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Whoooop!  A  Wild Flamingo Painting

This is an acrylic painting, painted over a failed effort.   The whole thing is pretty weird, if you ask me, but as I share these archives, I am sharing the odd ones, too. 

About Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Ralph Waldo Emerson helped spark the transcendentalist movement with the essay Nature, which described his belief in the spiritual essence of humanity and the natural world. He was born in Boston in 1803. He was a Unitarian minister until he resigned in 1832 to become a philosopher and writer. He suffered the untimely deaths of many of his loved ones: three brothers, his first wife at age 20, and his eldest son at age five. Emerson died in 1882.

Green Bird Trio in Acrylic

“It’s never too late to be who you might have been.”
– George Eliot

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Acrylic Bird Trio

Another bird archive.  I always liked this one.  It’s funny… going through archives, I sure see a lot of styles.  I think I finally found my true style, but it’s fun to revisit these.  I am wanting to play with my acrylics again. 

About George Eliot

George Eliot was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans, the Victorian author known for her psychologically astute novels set in small English towns. She was born on a farm in England in 1819 and wrote several acclaimed novels, including Middlemarch, The Mill on the Floss, and Silas Marner. She lived with George Henry Lewes for several years, which was considered highly scandalous at the time. She died in 1880.

Proof that I am a Little Weird – Acrylic on Canvas

“Make voyages! — Attempt them! — there’s nothing else…”
– Tennessee Williams

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Proof that I am a Little Weird – Acrylic on Canvas

It’s a cat in Bethville!  Oh My!   This is a little diversion, since I’m sure you’re a little tired of Kansas City paintings.  Do I see life a little differently from normal people?  You bet! 

About Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams was the pen name of Thomas Lanier Williams, the multiple-award-winning Southern Gothic playwright best known for his plays Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie. He was born on March 26, 1911 in Mississippi, where he had a difficult childhood with an abusive father, a smothering mother, and a schizophrenic sister. His emotionally honest plays often feature sensitive souls who don’t fit into a confining culture. He spent most of his adult life in New York City. He died on February 25, 1983.

4 Paws Facing Southwest - 5″ x 5″ – Painting Stages

“Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him.”
– Aldous Huxley

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

4 Paws Facing Southwest -  5″ x 5″  – Painting Stages

I painted this little painting from the driveway of the cabin I stayed in during my 2011 Driggs, Idaho visit.  It’s 5″ x 5″ and I’ve included the progress shots of the stages.  First, I took a panel that I had painted earlier with black gesso.  I drew the lines on with chalk that I wanted to stay black.  Then, with Golden Fluid Acrylic, I painted the underpainting.  I come in and add color after that.  Layers and layers and layers of glazing (with Golden Fluid Acrylic) later, I end up with the finished painting.  These little acrylics are better in person. 

About Aldous Huxley

Aldous Huxley, the cerebral English writer and social critic, is best known for his dystopian novel Brave New World, about a theoretically ideal society that stamps out individuality. He was born in Surrey on July 26, 1894. His teen years were difficult: His mother and sister died when he was 14 and a few years later, he became nearly blind. After early success with fiction, he switched to essays and screenplays, moving to California and becoming a kind of guru for the 60′s counterculture movement. He died on November 22, 1963.

Idaho Fence – Acrylic on Small 4″ x 6″ Canvas

“Never let life’s hardships disturb you…no one can avoid problems, not even saints or sages.”
– Nichiren Daishonin

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Idaho Fence – Acrylic on Small 4″ x 6″ Canvas

There is some really beautiful country between Blackfoot and Driggs, Idaho.  Gentle rolling hills of various shades of gold take my breath away.   I am visiting some paintings from the archives while I am working too much to get very many other paintings done.

I am working on a painting of Park College Power Plant, in Parkville, MO, which I think looks like maybe it’s a bar.  Hard to say, since I found it on Google Street View. 

About Nichiren Daishonin

Thirteenth century Japanese monk Nichiren Daishonin is known as the founder of the branch of Buddhism that bears his name. Born Zennichi-maro in a fishing village in 1222, he changed his name when he founded “True Buddhism,” a return to the non-discriminatory basis of the religion. His huge following and his dire predictions made him unpopular with rulers; according to legend, he was about to be killed when a freak astronomical phenomenon blinded the executioner and saved Daishonin’s life. He died on October 13, 1282.

4 Paws West View – 8″ x 8″ Acrylic on Panel

Change and growth take place when a person has risked himself and dares to become involved with experimenting with his own life.
–Herbert Otto

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

4 Paws West View – 8″ x 8″ Acrylic on Panel

Since I have Idaho on my mind, I thought I would share another painting from my Driggs visit in 2011.  I painted this while I was there at the 4 Paws cabin.  It’s my interpretation of the view to the west of the cabin.   I am so excited that I’m spending time in Driggs this summer, especially since it will probably be 110 degrees here in Oklahoma.  During their heat wave in August of 2011… it was 90. 

I really love that quote by Herbert Otto, but I couldn’t determine what Herbert Otto to credit this quote to.  Yes!  There was more than one Herbert Otto when I googled him.  Who knew?

Collage Postcard for Cricket – 4″ x 6″ Postcard

“Far away in the sunshine are my highest inspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see the beauty, believe in them and try to follow where they lead.”
– Louisa May Alcott

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Collage Postcard for Cricket – 4″ x 6″ Postcard

This is another of my postcard collages.  My very first time doing something like this.  My friend, Cricket, is a big part of our local farmer’s market.  I imagine she has grown a tomato or two.  I really hope she likes it. 

About Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott, the beloved American author, is best known for her semiautobiographical novel, Little Women, which was made into a movie five different times. Born on November 29, 1832 near Philadelphia, she grew up in Massachusetts. Her family lived in the genteel poverty depicted in her fiction. She wrote lurid stories anonymously to bring in money but gained fame under her own name with young adult novels, which held readers with their warm characterizations and simple, engaging style. She died on March 6, 1888.

Oh My! A 4″ x 6″ Collage Postcard (by a first timer)

“This is the beginning of a new day. 

You have been given this day to use as you will.

You can waste it or use it for good.

What you do today is important because you are

exchanging a day in your life for it.

When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone

forever; in its place is something that you have

left behind… let it be something good.”

–Unknown

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Oh My!  A 4″ x 6″ Collage Postcard (by a first timer)

I mod podged some fabric pieces onto a postcard, then cut out the boat from one of my old paintings and mod podged it and a bit of a doily on top of the fabric.  The little sun is a brass piece and the rest is dimensional acrylic craft paint.   Okay… I was playing and learning and having some fun.

This little postcard will be winging it’s way to Canada for Sharron Marshall.

Today’s quote came from my little Simple Truths book, Finding Joy – Simple Secrets to a Happy Life by Mac Anderson  Click here to see a little inspirational video with quotes from this book.  (3 minutes and 32 seconds long.)

I love Simple Truths books!  I think I have 30 of them in my inspirational book collection!

About Simple Truths

There is one thing in life that took me a long time to learn, and that’s… less is almost always more. This “simple truth” is the foundation on which our company was built. I wanted to create beautiful gift books that anyone can read in less than thirty minutes.To make each book special, we focused on three things: Great content Great graphics Great packaging to create a “wow effect” We also chose not to offer our books in any bookstores or any retail outlets, to make it even more special as a gift. Satisfied customers are our #1 priority, so I encourage you to give us feedback on how we’re doing. If we ever disappoint you, I hope you’ll let us know, and we will do everything we can to make it right. We are honored to serve you! Mac Anderson Founder Click Here for our FAQ Page

A Little Fabric and Mod Podge Boat for a Change of Pace

“Attempt easy tasks as if they were difficult, and difficult as if they were easy; in the one case that confidence may not fall asleep, in the other that it may not be dismayed.”
– Baltasar Gracián y Morales

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Fabric and Mod Podge Boat

I bought this little wooden boat (with oars) at Hobby Lobby. I used Mod Podge to apply fabric squares all over it.  I used orange acrylic paint to do the edges and the oar handles.  It was fun!  It looks like it belongs in Bethville, doesn’t it? 

About Baltasar Gracián y Morales

Baltasar Gracián y Morales, the Jesuit scholar and moralist author, was the leading Spanish proponent of conceptism (conceptismo), a method of expressing ideas through puns, epigrams, and other verbal devices. He was born in 1601 in Aragon. The Jesuit leadership frowned on his oratorical style, which included reading a letter from Hell to his congregation. His best known books include The Art of Worldly Wisdom and The Hero, which repudiated Machiavelli. He died in 1658.

Rolling Fields of Memory - Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas 24″ x 36″

“Each new season grows from the leftovers from the past. That is the essence of change, and change is the basic law.”
–Hal Borland

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Tah-Dah!  -  Rolling Fields of Memory
Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas  24″ x 36″

Or…. the back yard at Bethville.  *giggle*  It is actually my memories of the Eastern Idaho landscapes I visited last summer.

Sorry for the bad photo.  The florescent light in my lobby is working only part time, so I took this with a little light coming through the window, over-lighting the left panel.  The lines match up when the paintings are pushed together, but for some reason, I didn’t do that for this photo.  I’ll get some better pictures later, but I wanted to show you the finished painting.   As soon as I varnish it, it’s going to Our Favorite Place.  They have a spot saved for it. 

My next one is going to be a single painting, 24″ x 48″.    Weeeee!  This is fun!

Hal Borland wrote what he liked to think of as his “outdoor editorials” for the Sunday New York Times from 1941 until just before his death in 1978. Born on May 14, 1900, on the prairie in Nebraska, he grew up in Colorado, and then moved to New England in 1945. Borland brought to his writing both personal life experience with nature and the wisdom and ways of rural America.

Edwin Way Teale said the Mr. Borland’s “books are always like a breath of fresh country air.” Like his Sunday editorials, his outdoor books are essays which follow the seasons through the year: An American Year, Hill Country Harvest,Sundial of the Seasons, Seasons, Hal Borland’s Book of Days, Hal Borland’s Twelve Moons of the Year. Trained as a journalist, his writings report the daily news from the world of nature.

Mr. Borland also wrote four novels that include theme of nature and human’s relationship with nature. His most famous fiction is When Legends Die. The novel tells the story of Tom, a Ute Indian boy who is raised in the wilderness by his parents. They die when he is still young, so he adopts the old Ute ways, builds a lodge for himself, and lives off the land. However, neither the Utes nor the whites will leave him alone. Men from both communities use him for their own gain. Finally he returns to the mountains where he rediscovers himself and his roots. Other novels he wrote are The Amulet, The Seventh Winter, and King of Squaw Mountain.

Mr. Borland and his wife, Barbara, lived on a 100 acre farm, the site of an old Indian village in northwestern Connecticut. Mrs. Borland was also a writer and assisted her husband in his writing, too. Mr. Borland wrote many magazine articles, poems, essays, and stories as well as his many books.

Gallery Wrapped Canvas Edges

“There are two ways of exerting one’s strength: one is pushing down, the other is pulling up.”
– Booker T. Washington

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Gallery Wrapped Canvas Edges – A Sneak Peek

Well, I think it’s finished.  All I have to do now is sign it and varnish it.  I wanted to show you how I painted around the edges.  All four sides on all three panels are continued around the edges.  The gallery will sell them as individual paintings or all together, so each one needed to be a complete piece of art.  I am so excited to be done, but at the same time… I’m going to miss it.  This baby has been a big part of my life for over 3 weeks.  I guess that means it’s time to start another.  **giggle**

About Booker T. Washington

Booker T. Washington, the influential American educator, was the first African-American to be invited to the White House; he also had tea with Queen Victoria. He was born in slavery in Virginia in 1856. After emancipation, he worked in the salt mines. When he learned of a school that would accept former slaves, he walked much of the 400 miles to get there. He became an outspoken advocate of education and hard work for African-Americans and founded Tuskegee University. He died in 1915.

A New Sneak Peek at new Painting

“You are invited to live more consciously, to get off auto pilot and cruise control. To try new things to find out who you really are in this moment and time.”
– James Hollis, Ph.D.

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Another Sneak Peek at new Painting

I have been working on this every morning and more on the weekends.  It is such a slow process, as I tweak this and fine tune that.  I am so very pleased with this painting.  I have a growing affection for the whole process.  It’s a shame I have to keep going to my day job.  I could happily create in my studio all day.

This is the same little peek I showed you here.  It’s a wee little part of what I showed you here.   It’s on the far left panel, in the top third.  Many layers of color and glaze have been added since then.  I am almost finished.  A little more tweaking and fine tuning to go.  I think I even have the title… Fields of Memories, or something along that line.   Are two plurals in a title improper?  Like I said… or something like that. 

James Hollis, Ph.D., was born in Springfield, Illinois. He graduated with an A.B. from Manchester College in 1962 and with a Ph.D. from Drew University in 1967. He taught the Humanities 26 years in various colleges and universities before retraining as a Jungian analyst at the Jung Institute of Zurich, Switzerland (1977-82). He is a licensed Jungian analyst in private practice in Houston, Texas, where he served as Executive Director of the Jung Educational Center of Houston from 1997-2008. He lives with his wife Jill, an artist and therapist, and together they have three living children, and six grand-children. He is a retired Senior Training Analyst for the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts, was the first Director of Training of the Philadelphia Jung Institute, and is vice president emeritus of the Philemon Foundation, which is dedicated to the publication of the complete works of Jung. Additionally, he is Director of the Jungian Studies program of Saybrook Graduate School of San Francisco.  (See www.saybrook.edu, and then Jungian Studies).

He has written eight books published by Inner City Books, a Jungian-oriented press located in Toronto, Canada; he has also written three books published by Gotham Press, a division of Penguin, and two books published by academic presses. His books have already been translated into Russian, German, Swedish, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, Italian, Korean, Finnish, Hungarian, French, Czech, and Japanese.

3″ Crop from Panel 3 – Still adding color

“We may spend our lives seeking something that is right inside us, and could be found if we only stop and deepen our attention.”
–Tara Brach

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Itty Bitty 3″ Crop from Panel 3 – Still adding color

The color is starting to be defined and the fun is really beginning.  This part is so addictive!  I just keep adding more layers and more light and shadow.  It’s so hard to walk away at this point.  I got to paint most of the day, yesterday.  I still have so much to do.

My non artist hubby is having a hard time reconciling all the time it takes to do these.  He sees all the hours as less and less profit when it sells.  I tried to explain to him that it’s not really about the money, but as his eyes glazed over, I explained that I will always own the image itself and I can reproduce it in other ways to make more money.  That seemed to satisfy him, sorta.   It makes little sense to the non artist that we fall a little in love with the “whole” of the painting as we tenderly dab on each little bit of color, delighting in each new shadow or area of light that dances off the canvas.  I can’t wait to see it hanging on the gallery wall and I hope that someday, someone will love it as much as I do.

Tara Brach is a leading western teacher of Buddhist meditation, emotional healing and spiritual awakening. She has practiced and taught meditation for over 35 years, with an emphasis on vipassana (mindfulness or insight) meditation. Tara is the senior teacher and founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington. A clinical psychologist, Tara is the author of
Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha and the upcoming book, True Refuge-Three Gateways to a Fearless Heart (Bantam, February 2013).
Tara is nationally known for her skill in weaving western psychological wisdom with a range of meditative practices. Her approach emphasizes compassion for oneself and others, mindful presence and the direct realization and embodiment of natural awareness.

Sneak Peek at Underpainting

“I searched through rebellion, drugs, diet, mysticism, religion, intellectualism, and much more, only to find that truth is basically simple and feels good, clear and right.”
– Armando “Chick” Corea

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Another Sneak Peek at Underpainting

Sorry this is so blurry.  It does give a little glimpse into how I add color. I have to remember where color moves from one canvas to the next.  Each canvas has it’s own composition, but all three together are really FUN!

I was kinda hoping it would rain all weekend, so I could paint, but I imagine the boat will get it’s 2012 maiden cruise.  The last two summers were so hot that we barely used it.  Since we have 80′s in March, it may be that way again this summer.  But, while we are hanging out on the lake, soaking up rays, I’ll be writing my artist bio.  I have to do it for the gallery and I’m not very good at talking about myself.  Wish me luck! 

About Armando “Chick” Corea

Armando “Chick” Corea, the American jazz pianist best known for his composition “Spain,” epitomizes experimentation in jazz, incorporating sounds from classical, rock, and flamenco traditions. He was born in 1941 in Massachusetts. Son of a jazz trumpeter, he began playing piano at age four. He dropped out of Julliard to learn by doing. He played on the seminal Miles Davis Bitches Brew recording, and formed his own jazz fusion group in the early 1970′s. He founded his own record label in 1992.

Underpainting the Colors

“I have learned, as a rule of thumb, never to ask whether you can do something. Say, instead, that you are doing it. Then fasten your seat belt. The most remarkable things follow.”
– Julia Cameron

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Little Bit of Underpainting

I have been getting up before 5:00 am to go paint in the studio before work.  I’m slowly adding color.  These colors you see are still part of the underpainting, because there will be many layers of color and glazing.  Maybe it’ll give you an idea how these paintings develop.   It’s slow, but fun!  

About Julia Cameron

American author Julia Cameron has become an icon in the creative community for her best-selling self-help book, The Artist’s Way, which guides people through a series of simple but profound exercises to awaken their creativity. She grew up in Chicago and has been writing seriously since age 18. In addition to her 28 books, she has written plays, screenplays, and songs. She was married to film director Martin Scorsese and has one daughter. She currently lives in New York.

Seattle Skyline in Technicolor

“You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Seattle Skyline – 6″ x 8″ Watercolor & Sharpie

Valri Ary posted a photo of Seattle’s skyline on WetCanvas.  Of course, I eliminated all the ships and barges docked up there.  And, okay…. I may have made the buildings a little more fun, but what’s the harm in that?  :)

I drew the buildings, then laid down all the windows with itty bitty dabs of white acrylic, tinted with yellow or aqua.  When it was dry, I went in with watercolor.  This is why everything looks so pastel.  There’s a lot of little windows repelling the watercolor.  My own resist.  I almost didn’t add the sharpie, but gave in at the end.  I think I like it.

Still no work computer, so I spent part of the day adding wires to the backs of paintings I am taking to the new gallery this morning.  I’m a little nervous.  I have been in our little arts council gallery for quite a while and my work is selling there, but this one will be quite a different beast.  I understand that each artist will have their own bar code.   Hmmmm…. should be a fun learning experience, to say the least.   

About Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Gandhi, known by the honorific title Mahatma (“great souled”), embodied the power of nonviolent protest to achieve great change. He was born in India in 1896 and awoke to discrimination while practicing law in South Africa. He brought the struggle for equality back to India, rousing the population to demand self-rule from the British. He was profoundly religious, spending one day a week in complete silence; he was also a devout vegetarian. He was assassinated in 1948.

Beth Parker Art Window Display

“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”
– Michelangelo Buonarroti



Beth Parker Art Window Display – March 2012

Glenna McBride, the Executive Director of the Eufaula Area Arts Council, surprised me with this window.  I think I have around 40 pieces in that gallery… mostly small of course.  The large painting, Little Pink House, is 24″ x 48″.  I get a little giggle when I drive by in the mornings.  Thanks, Glenna and the board of directors!

Check out the reflection of the buildings in the window.  We have such a cute downtown. 

About Michelangelo Buonarroti
Michelangelo Buonarotti, the Renaissance sculptor and painter, is considered one of the world’s greatest artists. He was born in Tuscany in 1475. He apprenticed to a painter at age 13, infuriating his father, who considered art menial work. By age 25, he had sculpted one of his finest works, the Pietà, in St. Peter’s. Working alone, he took four years to paint more than 400 figures on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. He also designed St. Peter’s dome and is perhaps best known for his iconic statue of David. He died in 1564.

Gallery Wrapped Canvas Edges

Love doesn’t just sit there like a stone: it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new.
–Ursula K. Le Guin

 Everyone could use a new batch of love every day. Way too often, we forget to make a new batch. Then we end up eating hard, old, crumbly stuff that doesn’t even taste good. We forget to talk with the people we love. We tell ourselves that they should “know” we love them, even if we haven’t called to connect with them for a long time. So we expect them to live off hard, old, dry crumbs too!
 But baking a fresh batch of love is a lot easier than baking bread. All we have to do is make a phone call, write a letter or an email, or stop by our mom’s house. We need to deliver the message that the people we love are important. What could be easier or more rewarding?
–Anonymous

I found these two quotes together and I loved them.   It just makes perfect sense to me!
–Beth

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Uptown Stroll – Gallery Wrapped Canvas Edges – 6″ x 12″ Acrylic

 

Yesterday, I completely forgot to show you the edges of the canvas.   That (to me) is part of the fun and charm of these little paintings.  No frame needed… just follow the frolic around the corners. 

As of 2011, Ursula K. Le Guin has published twenty-one novels, eleven volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation, and has received many awards: Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, etc. Her recent publications include the novel Lavinia, an essay collection, Cheek by Jowl, and The Wild Girls. Forthcoming in 2012, Finding My Elegy, New and Selected Poems. She lives in Portland, Oregon. 

Her blog is here.  Her website is here.  Both are really interesting.