Wonderful Old Fire Truck – 4″ x4″ Watercolor & Sharpie

“Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.”
– William James

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Wonderful Old Fire Truck – 4″ x4″ Watercolor & Sharpie

Monday, my work computer crawled off into a corner and died.  My computer guru thinks it needs a new motherboard and processor.  Since he built it custom for me, he knows it well…  like his own baby.  So he took custody of it and hopes to have it back under my roof on Monday.

This basically puts my sign shop on stand-by mode.  So, rather than cry or throw something… I painted this little dude.  Art calms me and gives me time to think and sort stuff out.  At 5:00, I usually lock the door and get down to some serious, uninterrupted work until about 6:30.  Yesterday at 5:00, I went next door to the nail salon and got a pedicure.  This is only the second one I’ve ever had and the massage chair is incredible!

I am practicing what I preach, so I can still be happy and have good days until my computer comes home to start making signs again.  I choose to be happy and that’s exactly what I’m going to do today.  :)

I painted this from a photo from WetCanvas.   I just can’t remember who’s it was.  (that’s on my work computer)

About William James

American psychologist and philosopher William James, brother to author Henry James, wrote voluminously during his life, exploring a range of issues from a theory of emotion to a philosophy of history. He was born in New York in 1842 and wanted to be an artist, but his father disapproved. He obtained a medical degree but felt unsatisfied and depressed, leading to a crisis that he called his soul sickness. After this turning point, he began his fulfilling second career. He died in 1910.

Wales Building in Color – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor & Sharpie

“Between Stimulus and response there is a space.
In that space is our power to choose our response.
In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
–Victor Frankl



Wales Building in Color – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor & Sharpie

I love today’s quote!  Yesterday I had a huge stimulus called computer problems.  My chosen response was to get in my jeep and head to Staples in McAlester.  I knew the jeep would make me happy, Staples would make me happy and I wouldn’t feel so powerless if I bought some computer related “offering” to the Computer Gods.  I bought a new wireless keyboard and mouse that were on sale.  I also turned in 15 used ink cartridges for a $3 credit each.  Since McAlester is a 30 minute drive, I was calm and collected when I returned.  The computer was still messed up, but by 4:30 that afternoon, I had it working again.  My new favorite phrase: Restore Point. 

This was painted from a photo reference by JustJean at WetCanvas.  The building was all gray, but the resolution was really good.  I could swear I saw a computer printer in that bay window.

Viktor Frankl was born in Vienna on March 26, 1905. His father, Gabriel Frankl, was a strong, disciplined man from Moravia who worked his way from government stenographer to become the director of the Ministry of Social Service. His mother, Elsa Frankl (née Lion), was more tenderhearted, a pious woman from Prague.

The middle of three children, young Viktor was precocious and intensely curious. Even at the tender age of four, he already knew that he wanted to be a physician.

In high school, Viktor was actively involved in the local Young Socialist Workers organization. His interest in people turned him towards the study of psychology. He finished his high school years with a psychoanalytic essay on the philosopher Schopenhauer, a publication in the International Journal of Psychoanalysis, and the beginning of a rather intense correspondence with the great Sigmund Freud.  Source:  http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/frankl.html