Floating Your Boat

“I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”

–Christopher Reeve

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Whatever Floats Your Boat

This is a little 4″ x 6″ Postcard I painted last spring.  The photo was from my friend, Dewi who lives in the Philippines.  Just a bit of fun.

Today is the 21st anniversary of Signs by Beth, LLC.  Where did the years go?

Christopher Reeve

Actor, director, and activist are just some of the words used to describe Christopher Reeve. From his first appearance at the Williamstown Theatre Festival at the age of 15, Reeve established a reputation as one of the country’s leading actors. However, ever since he was paralyzed in an equestrian competition in 1995, Reeve not only put a human face on spinal cord injury but he motivated neuroscientists around the world to conquer the most complex diseases of the brain and central nervous system.  More…

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.

Paddle Boat Painting

“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.”
– Alexander Graham Bell

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Paddle Boat 6″ x 8″ Watercolor and Prismacolor Pen

I painted this from a photo by mbeckett at WetCanvas.  I used a .01 Prismacolor Fine Liner to do the lines.  It was way too small to use a sharpie.

I worked on this the last couple mornings before work.  Coffee and art.  Ahhhhhhh!  Nothing better to start my day!

About Alexander Graham Bell
Scottish-Canadian inventor Alexander Graham Bell is credited with inventing the telephone; he also invented the metal detector, which he created hurriedly in an attempt to find the bullet that killed President James Garfield. He was born in 1847 in Edinburgh. He began as an elocutionist but began learning about acoustics to find a way to help his deaf mother. Other inventions include the telegraph and the phonograph. He also developed techniques to teach speech to the deaf. He died in 1922.

Pleasure Cruisin’ in Thailand – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor and Sharpie

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will.”
– Vincent Lombardi

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Pleasure Cruisin’ in Thailand – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor and Sharpie

I painted this from another photo by Dewi at WetCanvas.    Doesn’t that look like fun?  Since the Illustration Friday word was “Kernel”, I actually thought about painting both of these boats yellow and naming the big boat “Cob” and the little boat “Kernel”, but ended up not doing it.  Just the fact that I thought about it makes me twisted enough.  he he

About Vincent Lombardi

American football coach Vincent Lombardi is famed for turning the Green Bay Packers from a losing team to two-time Super Bowl champions. He was born in 1913 in Brooklyn. He initially wanted to be a priest, but changed his mind after he became the star fullback on his high school team. When he began coaching the Packers, he set up intensive training camps and demanded absolute dedication but promised them the championship. The NFL named him “Man of the Decade” in the 1960′s. He died in 1970.

Quiet Boat

“Forgiveness is the economy of the heart.…forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits.”
– Hannah More

 
Quiet Boat
4″ x 6″ Acrylic on Canvas

I painted this, then kinda lost interest in it when I got to the water.  I suppose I could have gone on to add reflections, and the like, but I thought not. 


I opted to insert a little troll, that I did on watercolor paper.  No, I didn’t attach it permanently, because I still may do more on the painting.
I hope I at least gave you a laugh this morning! 

About Hannah More

English writer and philanthropist Hannah More, one of the most influential women of her time, is seen as a proto-feminist because she argued for true education for women. She was born near Bristol in 1745. When her long engagement to a local landowner ended badly, he gave her a yearly stipend in apology, which allowed her the freedom to move to London and write plays. She later shifted to philanthropic work and writing popular religious tracts. She died in 1833.