A Salina, KS Church – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor & Ink

“I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there can be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.”
–William Penn

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

A Salina, KS Church – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor & Ink

I painted this from a photo by Suzanne Wallick at Paint My Photo.  I showed you the ink drawing on my post here, while I was trying to decide if I was brave enough to do the bricks.  I actually painted the whole thing, then added the bricks after I looked at it for a few days.  I’m glad I did it, because the bricks really make the painting. 

William Penn (October 14, 1644–July 30, 1718) founded the Province of Pennsylvania, the British North American colony that became the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The democratic principles that he set forth served as an inspiration for the United States Constitution. Ahead of his time, Penn also published a plan for a United States of Europe, “European Dyet, Parliament or Estates.”  More here.

Church in Salina, KS – 8″ x 10″ Ink so far

“Become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid.”
– Lady Bird Johnson

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Church in Salina, KS – 8″ x 10″ Ink

This is the painting I’m working on now.  Many, many times, while working on this, I found myself saying out loud… “What was I thinking?”  Can you imagine how smart the architects had to be to design this building?  I’m trying to decide whether to add the bricks…. in some fashion or another.  It would really add to the painting, but it would make me go insane!  Hmmmmm…. what to do.   Maybe I should read Lady Bird Johnson’s quote again. 

I am painting this from a photo by Suzanne Wallick at Paint My Photo.

About Lady Bird Johnson

Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Johnson, the wife of President Lyndon Johnson, is known for her concern for the environment. She was born in Texas in 1912. Johnson asked her to marry him seven weeks after they met. She supported his career by keeping his congressional office running after his heart attack, stumping for Democratic candidates, and visiting 33 countries as his emissary. She founded the Wildflower Research Center and worked to pass the Highway Beautification Act. She lived in Texas until her death in July 2007.

Trinity Episcopal Church – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor

“When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people:  Those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened.”
– John M. Richardson, Jr.

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Trinity Episcopal Church – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor

This is such a beautiful old building in real life.  It sits a couple blocks West of Main on High street.  I really enjoyed doing this painting.

John M. Richardson, Jr. (born March 12, 1938) is an American academic who currently serves as Professor of International Development. Dr. Richardson received his AB degree from Dartmouth College and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Prior to appointment at American University, Dr. Richardson held faculty appointments in political science and systems engineering at Case Western Reserve University.

He was a pioneer in the fields of global modeling and system dynamics under the auspices of the Club of Rome, with work focusing on sustainability and population-resource-environment interrelationships. In 1982 he was named by the Society for Computer Simulation as “one of the twenty most effective decision makers in the world”. Dr. Richardson remains an ongoing contributor to the Hungary-based Balaton Group and in the mid-1980s he collaborated with the late Donella Meadows as systems…

Trinity Episcopal Church – Black and White Version

“You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; in just the same way, you learn to love by loving.”
– St. Francis de Sales



Trinity Episcopal Church – Black and White Version

Excuse the terrible photo.  I took this in my studio this morning when it was still dark.  It’ll need a lot of cleaning up in Photoshop because I was too impatient to stop working, so I could bring it in to work to scan it.  (The black and whites will become a coloring book later.)  But I really wanted to start with the paint.  It’s so much fun painting these little building portraits. 

About St. Francis de Sales

St. Francis de Sales (1567–1622), known as the Gentle Saint, was bishop of Geneva. His motto was, “He who preaches with love preaches effectively,” and his religious texts, including Introduction to the Devout Life, have resonated with many non-Catholics. Pope Pius IX proclaimed him a patron saint of writers. Some consider him a patron saint of the deaf; he invented a form of sign language to teach a young deaf man how to communicate.

Church in Switzerland - 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Purple Prismacolor Chisel Marker

“The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.”
– Chinese Proverb

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Church in Switzerland -  4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Purple Prismacolor Chisel Marker

“A street and church in Fabian’s home village.” is what Wendy (Sundiver) at WetCanvas said about the photo when she posted it for us to paint from.    She also said… “For those of you who wish a challenge, here’s one: Take any aspect, such as colour, shape, value, rhythm, contrast, etc (or any combination of these) and push them farther into abstraction than you usually do.  Some of the mountain scenes I saw made me think of the work of Stephen Quiller , for example.”

So… I painted it in a manner similar to Stephen Quiller, who’s work I love. 

I think I like black outlines better than purple though.

Guard Duty – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Sharpie on Indian Village Handmade Paper Postcard

“When the Japanese mend broken objects,
they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks
with gold. They believe that when something’s
suffered damage and has a history it
becomes more beautiful.”
–Barbara Bloom

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Guard Duty – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Sharpie on Indian Village Handmade Paper Postcard


This painting was done by combining two images that jlloren posted at WetCanvas.  This is what Joel said about the Church… “The Philippines was a Spanish colony for over 300 years until the end of the 19th century when the Americans took over. Their biggest influence is Catholicism. You will find old churches like this all over the country. This one is Paete Church in Laguna.”  The dog was napping in the warm sand in it’s photo.  This way, the dog doesn’t have to have a bath when he gets home. 

Barbara Bloom is an American writer and TV programming executive. She earned a bachelor of science degree in theater from Skidmore College.

She joined ABC Daytime in 1992 and was Vice President, Director, Daytime Programming, West Coast from 1994-2000 where she worked closely with Mary Burch and Rebecca Lane.

Bloom joined CBS Daytime in 2003, replacing Lucy Johnson. When Bloom left CBS in February, 2011, she held the position of Senior Vice President, Daytime, CBS Entertainment and worked under Nina Tassler. During her eight years at CBS, Bloom oversaw Drew Carey’s assumption of the role of host on The Price is Right as well as the resurrection of Let’s Make a Deal. She also oversaw the introduction of CBS’ first daytime talk show, The Talk.

On January 18, 2011, it was announced that announced Bloom would leave CBS Daytime when her contract expired in at the end of the month.   Nina Tassler, the President of CBS Entertainment, released the following statement: “Barbara artfully led CBS through several key transitions in her eight years here. All of these efforts have positioned CBS very well for the future.”  Source:  Wikipedia