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…

Nelson’s Feed & Seed – Eufaula, OK - 8" x 10" Watercolor

“One way to become enthusiastic is to look for the plus sign. To make progress in any difficult situation, you have to start with what’s right about it and build on that.”
– Norman Vincent Peale

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Nelson’s Feed & Seed – Eufaula, OK

The Nelson family has owned the feed store since the early 1930′s.  Vernon Nelson purchased it and his grandson, T.Max Nelson runs it today.   It was leased to others for a time in the early years, but it has been Nelson operated since 1962.  Don’t you just love it?

If you look over your right shoulder, you will see my sign shop.  Their rooster has been known to wander over for a visit.

The quote below was also with the above quote and I loved it, so you’re getting a little extra today.  It’s from the book Body, Mind & Spirit by Anonymous.

 ”Beginning our days with a positive mental outlook is a great depression chaser. Simply lifting our heads and looking up and out instead of down will make us feel better. Although we can’t spend all our time staring at the sky, we can train ourselves to look for the best in ourselves and others.

 Even in the middle of difficulty or pain, we have choices. We can choose a gloom-and-doom attitude and endlessly replay the thoughts that accompany it. Or we can step back and find the one good thing. We may be blinded with pain. The situation may appear hopeless, utterly bleak. But recovery guarantees that we are equal to it; that in our pain there is at least one good thing.

We are the masters of our fate. We can change even the most difficult situations with an attitude of hope and positive expectation. Approaching each day with a hopeful heart will give us a different approach to our troubles.”
–Anonymous

Eufaula, OK – Main and Foley – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor & Ink

“You will not find poetry anywhere unless you bring some of it with you.”
– Joseph Joubert

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Eufaula, OK – Main and Foley – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor & Ink

This painting is being donated to the Eufaula Area Chamber of Commerce for their Community Dinner/Dance silent auction on December 8th.   I fell in love with this painting and I’m the artist, so I hope it’ll be a hit at the auction.

About Joseph Joubert

French essayist Joseph Joubert became famous after his death when his friend, the renowned author Chateaubriand, gathered a selection of essays into the book Collected Thoughts of Mr. Joubert. Joubert was born in 1754 in Périgord. He attended and then taught at a religious college in Toulouse but left in 1778 for Paris, where he became friends with a number of great thinkers of the time. He wrote copiously on such subjects as ethics, politics, theology, and literature. He died in 1824.

The Foley Mansion - Circa 1901 - 8" x 10" Watercolor in Progress

Fearful as reality is, it is less fearful than evasions of reality.
–Caitlin Thomas

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

The Foley Mansion – Circa 1901 – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor in Progress

This is as far as I have gotten on this painting.  I’m working from a really old black and white photo.  The Foley Mansion burned in 1962 and I have been unable to find out what color it was.  This morning  I found a painting of it on the internet and it was white in the painting.   I’m still not convinced that it was white.  Do you know?

I found some other interesting stuff about C.E. Foley.  He had a ticket for the Titanic voyage!  He missed the trip due to illness and his luggage was already on board the ill fated ship.  One of the artifacts that was salvaged by Titanic recovery crews was a $5 bank note. It was issued from the First National Bank of Eufaula, Oklahoma. The bank note was dated November 16, 1907. That is the date Oklahoma became a state. The Foley family is convinced it belonged to C.E. Foley. It is believed he kept the note as a keepsake, seeing he was a supporter of Oklahoma becoming a state.

Caitlin Thomas (8 December 1913 – 31 July 1994), née Macnamara, was the wife of poet and writer Dylan Thomas. Their marriage was a stormy affair, fuelled by alcohol and infidelity, though the couple remained together until Dylan’s death in 1953. After her husband’s death she wrote the book Leftover Life to Kill, an account of her self exile to Italy. She paints a picture of a grieving widow seeking solace in distance, a younger lover and alcohol.  More…

A Lovely, Historic Eufaula Home – 8″ x 10″ Ink

“Some people march to the beat of a different drum… and some people polka.”
–anonymous

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

A Lovely, Historic Eufaula Home – 8″ x 10″ Ink

I really love that quote.  Have you ever turned to the RFD channel and watched Big Joe’s Polka Show?  Yes…. I have, though it’s not something that generally comes up in conversation.  he he  The hubby and I were noticing that the steps to polka are basically like skipping.  Do you remember skipping when you were a kid?  Skipping was always a happy thing to do.   So, next time you are flipping around the channels and you see someone doing the polka, stop for just a minute and you’ll see what I mean. 

This home has a lot of history.  It was built in 1938.  It’s really beautiful, too.  I hope to get it painted this weekend.  If any of you local Eufaula folks know what the significance is of the circle of rocks in the front yard, please tell me about it in the comment section.  The current owner knows it means something, but she doesn’t know just what that is.  There is a big round rock in the center with small round rocks around it.

Eufaula, Oklahoma Post Office – 8″ x 10″ Ink Drawing

“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.”
– Lao-Tzu

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Eufaula, Oklahoma Post Office – 8″ x 10″ Ink Drawing

It’s amazing how much I learn about these buildings when I draw them.  For instance, there are entrances to the basement of this building from both sides.  I didn’t paint the various signs on the building, but I just looked one of them up and it’s a fallout shelter sign.  I need to add that one.  That’s pretty cool.  I need to get a closer look at that sign to be sure.   I love the history these buildings have.  When I looked up McIntosh County History, I found that Eufaula has had a post office since 1874, but I doubt this is the original.  It’s a little too modern.

In 1876, The Indian Journal newspaper was founded and it’s the oldest surviving newspaper in the state of Oklahoma.  Interesting stuff.

About Lao-Tzu

The ancient Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu is believed to have lived in the 4th century B.C. Little is known about him, but it is likely that he wrote the Tao te Ching, the foundation of Taoist philosophy, and engaged Confucius in debate, honing both men’s belief systems. His name means either “old master” or the “old child,” and one legend says he was born with white hair after spending 80 years in his mother’s womb.

Downtown Eufaula - May 7, 2009

It is not fair to ask of others what you, are not willing to do yourself.
-- Eleanor Roosevelt



Downtown Eufaula - 2.5" x 3.5" Watercolor


Equality is a state of mind. When we value our own self-worth, we are comfortable with the achievements and the well-being of our friends and associates. The symptoms of a punctured ego occur when we criticize others and make demands we don't want to fulfill ourselves.



Most of us experience wavering self-confidence on occasion. It may haunt us when a big task faces us. Or it may visit us when we least expect it. It's a facet of the human condition to sometimes lack self-assurance. At times we need to remember that life is purposeful, and the events involving us are by design.



Almost daily we'll face situations we fear are more than we can handle, and we'll hope to pass the task off to another. It's well for us to remember that we're never given a task for which we're not prepared. Nor should we pass on to others those activities we need to experience personally if our growth is to be complete.



I must do my own growing today. If I ask others to do what I should do, I'll not fulfill my part of life's bargain.

--Karen Casey