Blood Hound Zentangle

“Laughter is the closest distance between two people.”
– Victor Borge

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Zentangled Blood Hound

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I love that quote!  My sister and I were applying Linseed Oil to our mom’s new fence, while we were in Idaho.  It was hard work… horrible work… yet my sister and I laughed the whole time.  We were getting as much oil on us as we were on the fence.  Laughing non-stop!!!  We laughed our hearts out.  It was fun and it was like we hadn’t been apart at all.  I love her so much and that is a memory we will always have.

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Another strange zentangle painting.  A little odd, but fun for me none the less.

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About Victor Borge
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Danish pianist Victor Borge was affectionately known as the Clown Prince of Denmark. Born as Børge Rosenbaum in 1909 to musician parents, he began playing piano at age three. After a stint as a classical pianist, he began combining music and jokes. His anti-Nazi jokes landed him on Hitler’s enemies list. In 1942, he was named Best New Radio Performer by the American press. His Comedy in Music show on Broadway was the longest running one-man show in the 1950′s. He died in 2000.

Sock Monkey and the Stuffed Olive

“This I conceive to be the chemical function of humor: to change the character of our thought.”
– Lin Yutang

This must be why I often say “I needed that!” after a good belly laugh. 

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Stuffed Olive Postcard – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor

The owner of this restaurant, Debbie Gibbens,  has the best set of marketing skills!  She is always doing something original and quirky to promote her businesses.  (Besides this restaurant in Eufaula, she has 3 locations of Libby’s, a wonderful clothing store; in Eufaula, Tulsa and St. Louis.)  Debbie commissioned this postcard.  She wanted the restaurant, a VW bug and a sock monkey.  The trailer was my idea and she liked it.  I also did their sign when they first opened.  The olive is a carved, dimensional olive.
Here are some of the practice steps I took on the way to the final painting…

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

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.

Well Dressed Dog

“Laughter is the best medicine for a long and happy life.  He who laughs-lasts!
Wilfred A. Peterson

I couldn’t agree more!


 
Well Dressed Dog
5″ x 7″ Watercolor

If you ask me, I’d have to say this fellow doesn’t like his new sweater.   There’s just something in his eyes. 


Wilferd Arlan Peterson (August 21, 1900 – June 2, 1995) was born in Whitehall, Michigan and lived most of his life in Grand Rapids, where he was the Vice President and Creative Director of an advertising firm, the Jaqua Company. A prolific writer for various industry publications, his inspirational essays began to appear on the “Words To Live By” page of This Week magazine in1960 (which was distributed in 42 metropolitan Sunday newspapers with over 13 million readers). Letters of praise from admiring readers led to the publication of The Art of Living, the first of a series of books that would sell millions of copies. Essays in this book were also recorded by William J. Nichols, editor of This Week magazine, to produce an album called “The Golden Album of Inspiration.”  more…