I would love your opinion...

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”
– Andy Warhol

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Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Eufaula Postcard Possibility

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Seriously… I’d love to know if this works.  I am playing with the idea of my art layered with actual photographs.  Tomorrow, I’ll show you another one.  I’m thinking the bright colored one here, with a sailing photo behind it.

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I am officially a short timer.  I leave for my Idaho trip on Thursday.  I thought I might be goofing off a little this week, but my sign shop customers had a different idea.  It was crazy in here yesterday.  I’ll certainly be ready for a rest. 

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About Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol, the American pop artist, is probably best known for his silk screens of Campbell Soup and Marilyn Monroe. He was born as Andrew Warhola in Pittsburgh in 1928. His style borrowed from comic books and advertising; he wanted to remove the separation between commercial and fine art. His studio, the Factory, became a hub for the New York art scene. He was also a prolific filmmaker. He was shot three times in the chest in 1968 and narrowly escaped death. He died in 1987.

New York City Street Scene – 8″ x 8″ Watercolor

Every new moment that arises in your life can now be a point of choice. . .in which you can choose to treat yourself and others with Compassion rather than Judgment.
–David Harp



New York City Street Scene – 8″ x 8″ Watercolor

Look Ma… No Sharpie!  **giggle**  (says the Sharpie addict)

Okay, I have questions and my friend Carol King, who lives in New York City, said she’d help.  In order for my questions to make sense, I need to show you the whole scene, before I cut out the stuff I was afraid to paint.



I already asked Carol what the tourist percentage was.  She told me… “Depends what part of the City you’re in. If you’re at the Empire State Building say, then it’s more like 80%! Times Square at Broadway show curtain time? 99%! You can’t walk at all! “

I asked about how hard it was to walk around all those people gawking up and taking photos.  Carol has things she tells her visiting friends NOT to do and I believe that is on the list.  he he  I’m sure this list is just for their safety.  Carol says she likes tourists and tries to be helpful and friendly, since she is also a tourist when she travels.

I have more questions.

Do they really put tables and chairs out in the middle of the street?   Or maybe this is like a food court in a mall…. give the people a convenient place to eat and gawk without getting hurt.

Do they really surf there?  Is this not reserved for the west coast?
I see it is really clean.  I like that.  Is all of New York City this clean?

There are many ladies alone in this photo.  Is it really that safe?  Most of us have a scarier vision of New York City, I think.

KFC… really?  I thought New York City was too cosmopolitan for KFC.

Everybody seems so relaxed and laid back.  Are there any locals in this photo, besides the guy in the tie?

Is Tim Horton’s coffee really, really good?  I can smell the aroma from here. 

Carol said she’d come by and try to answer my questions.  I'll  post them here tomorrow.  Carol is really funny and a life long New Yorker, so it'll be good.

David Harp’s area of interest and expertise lies in teaching individuals and groups how to consciously control the neurological process known as “The Fight or Flight Response,” which produces the emotions of Fear and Anger.

His 20+ books now include a recent book aimed at therapists: Neural Path Therapy: How to Change Your Brain’s Response to Anger, Fear, Pain, and Desire! and the new, completely revised Fifth Edition of The Three Minute Meditator. Source:  www.davidharp.com

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.

Blurry Sneak Peek at Underpainting

“There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow.”
– Orison Swett Marden

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Blurry Sneak Peek at Underpainting

Sorry about the blur.  I’m at work and the paintings are at home, so I can’t just go snap another one.     This Bethville series is going to be so much fun!  I can’t wait to do some more painting!

About Orison Swett Marden

Orison Swett Marden, the American writer who is considered the forerunner of motivational authors, wrote an average of two books a year from 1894 to 1924. He was born on a New England farm in 1850. During college, he worked in hotel management. He then used his seed money to buy a resort in Rhode Island. Wanting to inspire people as he himself had been inspired by British author Samuel Smiles, he began writing books like You Can, But Will You? and founded Success Magazine. He died in 1924.

Montreal in Color

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”
– Andy Warhol




Montreal in Color (Stage 1)
10″ x 14″ Watercolor & Acrylic on 140 lb cold press paper

I drew the buildings on watercolor paper, then painted all the lines in with black Golden Fluid Acrylic paint.  It took 2 hours from blank paper to this stage.    I couldn’t wait to fill in the color.  I felt like a little kid with a brand new coloring book!




This is the painting after I spent approximately another 3.5 hours filling it in with watercolor.  It was so fun!!!  If you want to see the original image by EllZee, go here to the WetCanvas WDE.

About Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol, the American pop artist, is probably best known for his silk screens of Campbell Soup and Marilyn Monroe. He was born as Andrew Warhola in Pittsburgh in 1928. His style borrowed from comic books and advertising; he wanted to remove the separation between commercial and fine art. His studio, the Factory, became a hub for the New York art scene. He was also a prolific filmmaker. He was shot three times in the chest in 1968 and narrowly escaped death. He died in 1987.

Dancing Buildings

“We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results.”
– Herman Melville


 

Dancing Buildings
from Vernazza, Italy

8″ x 10″ Watercolor

I almost titled this one, “Why I Paint” because it was so fun and so satisfying!  It took me a little over two hours and is larger than I usually paint.  The original reference photo is from Joan Tavolott  over at WetCanvas and it was very  inspirational.  One of my fellow WC-ers called these my “Dancing Buildings”,  hence the name. 


I first drew a 30 minute sketch.  After it was completed, I began painting in the watercolor, being careful to avoid touching any pencil lines with my paint.  When I finished, I erased all the pencil lines.  This is the original sketch.



This has inspired a 6″ x 18″ acrylic painting.  I’ll post it when it’s finished.
Thanks, Joan, for the wonderful photo!  Check out Joan’s blog, too.  She’s a wonderful artist.

About Herman Melville

American author Herman Melville is best known for his epic whaling novel, Moby-Dick, which wasn’t recognized as a masterpiece until after his death. He was born in New York in 1819. At age 20, he went to sea on a whaling ship. His seafaring adventures included time with cannibals in the Marquesas Islands, the basis for his successful novel Typee. His later, more philosophical, novels were not as well received as his early adventure yarns, and he died in obscurity in 1891.