Happy Easter from the Easter Cows

“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 2013

Easter Cows – Happy Easter!!

Somebody got into the Easter egg dye!  Oh my!  That reminds me of a story.  (I know… weird, huh?)  Stop me if you’ve heard this already.

When I first started my sign company, 21 years ago, I created my brand by wearing overalls every day.  I had all kinds of overalls, short and long.  One Easter, I died all my white overalls different colors.   It was fun!  Well, the overalls went away 13 years ago when the hubby started doing all the laundry.  He couldn’t stand the sound of the buckles in the dryer.  I was happy to give them up because I haven’t done 2 loads of laundry in 13 years!  Yes, he’s a jewel!! 

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 on June 12, 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.

Kitty Cat Easter Hat

“Neuroplasticity is our ability to change our mind,
to change ourselves and to change our perception of the
world around us; that is, our reality… we have to change
how the brain automatically and habitually works.
The ability to make our brain forgo its habitual internal
wiring and fire new patterns and combinations is
how neutoplasticity allows us to change.”
–Joe Dispenza, D.C.

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Kitty Cat Easter Hat – Watercolor

I thought this little painting would put us in the Easter fashion mode.  I know there is more to Easter than eggs, bunnies and lovely pastel colors, but this is an art blog.  I get to giggle and play with the fun things the season has to offer.  One Easter weekend about fifteen years ago, I died all my white painter’s overalls different pastel colors.  It was fun!  Overalls used to be my sign shop trademark, but my husband does the laundry and he hates to listen to the clanging buckles in the dryer.  So… without hesitation, I gave them up. 

Have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Joe Dispenza, D.C.

Take Your First Step Toward True Evolution

Ever wonder why you repeat the same negative thoughts in your head? Why you keep coming back for more from hurtful family members, friends, or significant others? Why you keep falling into the same detrimental habits or limiting attitudes—even when you know that they are going to make you feel bad?

Dr. Joe Dispenza has spent decades studying the human mind—how it works, how it stores information, and why it perpetuates the same behavioral patterns over and over. In the acclaimed film What the Bleep Do We Know!? he began to explain how the brain evolves—by learning new skills, developing the ability to concentrate in the midst of chaos, and even healing the body and the psyche.

Evolve Your Brain presents this information in depth, while helping you take control of your mind, explaining how thoughts can create chemical reactions that keep you addicted to patterns and feelings—including ones that make you unhappy. And when you know how these bad habits are created, it’s possible to not only break these patterns, but also reprogram and evolve your brain, so that new, positive, and beneficial habits can take over.

This is something you can start to do right now. You and only you have the power to change your mind and evolve your brain for a better life—for good.

Papa Bird Dresses for Easter

“I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is, after all, to matter: to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all.”
– Leo Rosten

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Papa Bird Dresses for Easter – Watercolor & Ink

I painted this little dude at the same time as I painted yesterday’s mama bird.  I really love his shoes!  I would wear those shoes… much to the horror of my poor “footwear conservative” hubby.  He hates my red high tops.  he he he

About Leo Rosten

Leo Rosten, the Polish-American academic and author, is best known for his seminal The Joys of Yiddish, an amusing look at Yiddish words that have entered the American vernacular. Born in Lodz, Poland, in 1908, he immigrated to Chicago as a child. He wrote dozens of books, including a set of extremely popular humorous stories about Hyman Kaplan, a night-school student struggling with English. Under the pseudonym Leonard Q. Ross, he wrote mysteries and film noir screenplays. He died in 1997.

Mama Bird in Her Easter Duds

“For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!”
–Paul Anka for Frank Sinatra

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Mama Bird in Her Easter Duds – Watercolor & Ink

It’s another Eastery image for you.  I painted this during that monster snow storm we had in January of 2011.  I was in a motel room, since it wouldn’t be possible to get out of our steep driveway at home.  We were there for 4 days!  I liked this winter much better!!!

I’m still working on the large acrylic.  It’s coming along nicely.  I really hope I can finish it over the weekend, but we’ll see.  More sneak peeks coming. 

I heard My Way by Frank Sinatra on my way in to work today and I love the words to it, so when I got to work, I looked it up. This is part of that song.  The lyrics of “My Way” tell the story of a man who, having grown old, reflects on his life as death approaches. He is comfortable with his mortality and takes responsibility for how he dealt with all the challenges of life while maintaining a respectable degree of integrity.

“My Way” is a song popularized by Frank Sinatra. Its lyrics were written by Paul Anka and set to music based on the French song “Comme d’habitude” composed in 1967 by Claude François and Jacques Revaux, with lyrics by Claude François and Gilles Thibault. Comme d’habitude had in turn originally been written in English, titled “For Me”. Anka’s English lyrics are unrelated to the original French song or the earlier English version. “My Way” is often quoted as the most covered song in history.  Source:  Wikipedia

Listen to it here… Frank Sinatra, My Way (Live at the Royal Festival Hall 1971) by waytoblue

Distorted Pink Easter Bunny

“Hope is the feeling you have that the feeling you have isn’t permanent.”
– Jean Kerr

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Distorted Easter Bunny – Watercolor & Sharpie

Since we are approaching Easter, I thought I’d revisit some of my Eastery paintings.  This little bunny was done by drawing a graph over the photo reference (of course you do know he wasn’t wearing a bow tie and vest… he he) and then drawing a graph on a piece of watercolor paper with curvy, distorted lines.  You then draw what is in each square into the distorted squares on your paper.  Clear as mud?  I know.  Just enjoy the bunny and pretend you’ve had a couple glasses of wine. 

About Jean Kerr

Comedic American author Jean Kerr is known for her wry take on married life in the suburbs in such books as How I Got to Be Perfect and Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, which was turned into both a movie and a TV series. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1922. She often collaborated on plays with her husband, drama critic Walter Kerr. She also wrote a number of plays by herself, including the extremely successful Mary, Mary, which ran for nearly 1,600 performances. She died in 2003.

Happy Eater Bunny

Intuition is a spiritual faculty and does not explain, but simply points the way.
–Florence Scovel Shinn



Happy Eater Bunny – 4.5″ x 8.5″ Watercolor & Sharpie

I used Leslie White’s distorted graph method again, to create this little Easter card.   You can see how to do it here.   Of course, me being a poor observer, I not only distorted the horizontal lines, but the vertical lines as well.  What happens then, is a bunny that looks totally goofy.  I never noticed, until just now, that Leslie leaves the vertical lines straight.  he he he   Now I have to try another one. 

Have a very Happy Easter, if you celebrate it.

Florence Scovel Shinn (September 24, 1871, Camden, New Jersey – October 17, 1940) was an American artist and book illustrator who became a New Thought spiritual teacher and metaphysical writer in her middle years.^[1][2] In New Thought circles, she is best known for her first book, The Game of Life and How to Play It (1925).
Shinn expressed her philosophy as:

The invisible forces are ever working for man who is always ‘pulling the strings’ himself, though he does not know it. Owing to the vibratory power of words, whatever man voices, he begins to attract.

The Game of Life, Florence Scovel Shinn

Poppy Easter Egg

“Just as appetite comes by eating, so work brings inspiration, if inspiration is not discernible at the beginning.”
– Igor Stravinsky



Poppy Easter Egg – 4″ x 5″ Watercolor

This is the last one I got to paint over the weekend.  It was fun to start with a photo of a plain white egg and a photo of some poppies, and turn them into a poppy egg.   The reference photos came from Sharrm at WetCanvas.

When I was a kid, we got new Easter shoes and a new Easter outfit every year.  My Mom was terrific about giving me and my brother and sister some wonderful holiday memories.    We would dye our eggs on Saturday, then Easter morning, she had the eggs hidden and the special Easter basket for us.    Thanks, Mom!   One year, My brother swore he saw the Easter bunny!  Do you have any special Easter memories?

About Igor Stravinsky

Igor Stravinsky, the modernist Russian composer, had a profound influence on classical music with his musical innovations in such pieces as the ballet The Rite of Spring, which shocked contemporary society with the newness of its sound. He was born in 1882 near St. Petersburg. After briefly considering law, he apprenticed to composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. He was also a virtuosic pianist. He continued composing and touring into his 80′s. He died in 1971.

Easter Ducks

Unless our desire for human compassion is stronger than our desire to be right, to be secure or to belong, love will elude us.
–Marsha Sinetar

Knowing we are loved is what most of us crave. For brief moments we feel it; then it eludes us once again. Why does it slip through our fingers so quickly? One way of attracting the love we desire is to be willing to love others. What we give to others comes back to us. Unfortunately, we may give judgment, impatience, or anger far more often than we give love.

We can learn to give compassion. First we need to make the decision to be compassionate. Then we need to act as if we’re comfortable doing this. When we have practiced it a while, we’ll discover that giving love and receiving the love we crave is within our grasp.

I will feel loved when I give love away. I don’t need to be right today. I need to be loved.

Karen Casey
A Woman’s Spirit

 

Easter Ducks
4″ x 6″ Watercolor on Canson 140 lb Watercolor Postcard

I wanted to do something Eastery today, for those of you celebrating the holiday.  I painted this from a reference photo by bgmet over at morguefile.com.   I was inspired by Carol King to leave a little white around the ducks.  She did a wonderful painting of Tulips and Cranberries on her blog and talked about leaving some white.  I may not have accomplished the beauty that Carol did, but I appreciated the reminder.  Go check it out here.

For another wonderful example of  leaving a little white is Leslie White’s poppies.  When I clicked on this painting to see it closer, I loved the white Leslie left.  If I keep hanging out with all of these great artists, stuff is bound to rub off on me.  Thanks, my friends!   


I couldn’t find an actual biography for Ms. Sinetar, but discovered that she is an author of some amazing books.  You can find out more at her website.  About Marsha Sinetar.
 

About Karen Casey

Millions of people around the world spend a few moments in quiet reflection with Karen Casey every day. Karen is the best-selling author of Each Day a New Beginning, the first daily meditation book written expressly for women in recovery from addiction. Published in 1981, Each Day a New Beginning has sold more than three million copies and has been translated into ten different languages. Over the years, readers around the world have come to regard Karen as a trusted companion on the recovery journey. Among her other best-selling inspirational books are Keepers of the Wisdom, A Woman’s Spirit, Fearless Relationships, and A Life of My Own. In her newest book, Serenity (Hazelden, 2007), Karen shares favorite passages that gently convey simple lessons for living with greater peace, hope, and trust. Karen enjoys golfing and riding her Harley with her husband. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Naples, Florida.