Winter Wheat – 6″ x 6″ Watercolor & Sharpie

Happiness is not a destination. It is a method of life.
–Burton Hillis

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Winter Wheat – 6″ x 6″ Watercolor & Sharpie

I saw a black and white photo of a tractor in the midst of some Kansas winter wheat crops in a newspaper and it spoke to me.  This is what came from my brain, while thinking about the wonderful winter wheat crops in Oklahoma.  When we drive from Eufaula to Oklahoma City, I love seeing those bright green fields of color, surrounded by all that is a dull wintery brown.  This is going to be a larger acrylic painting.

Burton Hillis seems to be an elusive fellow.  I couldn’t find much of anything on him.  I did find the statement below, which I like very much… even if I can’t whistle.   Hey,  I can hum!  

Burton Hillis speaks of whistling as an outlet for the joy and peace that well in the heart. Moreover, he strongly believes that one who whistles cannot be harboring any meanness or malice deep in his heart. Whoever hears an angry person whistle?

 

Read more: http://purpleslinky.com/humor/burton-hillis-and-others-on-whistling-and-humming/#ixzz1lzGLF1Ph

Kansas Crop Circles - December 16, 2009

“Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.”
– Lin Yutang

Kansas Crop Circles

2.5″ x 3.5″

When I left the airport in Oklahoma City, on my way to Seattle last month, I was intrigued by the view. Since I have committed to flying lessons, I saw things differently than I have in the past. I sketched this scene on to a little ATC. (I always have watercolor supplies with me when I fly.) When I was in my hotel room in Port Townsend, I started painting it with Golden Fluid Acrylics. I finished it last weekend, after many more layers of glaze. I did another one, which I will share with you tomorrow. It was fun!

About Lin Yutang

Chinese author Lin Yutang wrote more than 35 books in English and Chinese, including My Country and My People and The Importance of Living, which brought him international fame. He was born in 1895 in the Fujian province in China. He created a Chinese-American dictionary, an indexing system for Chinese letters, and translated many classic Chinese texts. Written in a humorous, accessible style, his books bridged European and Chinese cultures. He died in 1976.