A Laundry Day Painting

“The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”
– Lady Dorothy Nevill

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Laundry Day – Watercolor on Masa

I did this little 3″ x 7″ Painting last spring.  The photographer was Lisilk at WetCanvas.  I like the dog.   

About Lady Dorothy Nevill

 

Lady Dorothy Nevill, the noted British gardener, was one of the most celebrated society hostesses of her day; her salons attracted leading writers, artists, and statesmen. She was born Dorothy Walpole in 1826 in England. She married a wealthy cousin with a 23-acre estate, where she pursued her interest in plants. She built 13 greenhouses and carried on an extensive correspondence with Charles Darwin. Her memoir, Leaves From the Note-Books of Lady Dorothy Nevill, was published in 1906. She died in 1913.

Cliff Houses after I put away the laundry

“A mistake is simply another way of doing things.”
– Katharine Graham

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Cliff Houses – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor

I started this before I left and finished it in my hotel room in Kansas City.  It was fun to paint.  My reference photo was from WetCanvas and was dark and gray.  I fixed all the broken windows, neatly folded and put away all the laundry that was hanging off the balconies, and repainted the buildings.  Bring on the tourists! 

About Katharine Graham

 

Katharine Graham, the publisher of The Washington Post, is considered one of her era’s most powerful women. She was born in 1917 in New York. After her father bought the newspaper, she joined the staff as a reporter. Her husband inherited the paper from her father, and Graham took it over when he died in 1963. During her tenure, the paper printed the controversial Pentagon Papers and uncovered the Watergate conspiracy. She won a Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for her autobiography, Personal History. She died in 2001.

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.

Laundry in Paradise - 2′ x 4′ Acrylic on Canvas

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover.”
–Mark Twain



Laundry in Paradise
2′ x 4′ Acrylic on Canvas

This painting is sooo much brighter in person.  I didn’t get an outdoor photo before it was hung last night.It is hanging in our laundry room, which is also the entrance to the house from the garage.



This painting was requested by the hubby and he normally isn’t a fan of this style, so I am totally happy that he loves it!  He does all the laundry at our house, so if he’s happy, I’m happy! 




Here is a photo I took of it before framing.  I laid it on the floor in my studio and stood on a chair. 

A Life Lived in a Rapidly Changing World: Samuel L. Clemens‚ 1835-1910
As Twain’s books provide insight into the past‚ the events of his personal life further demonstrate his role as an eyewitness to history. During his lifetime‚ Sam Clemens watched a young United States evolve from a nation torn apart by internal conflicts to one of international power. He experienced America’s vast growth and change – from westward expansion to industrialization‚ the end of slavery‚ advancements in technology‚ big government and foreign wars. And along the way‚ he often had something to say about the changes happening in his country.

The Early Years
Samuel Clemens was born on November 30‚ 1835 in Florida‚ Missouri‚ the sixth of seven children. At the age of 4‚ Sam and his family moved to the small frontier town of Hannibal‚ Missouri‚ on the banks of the Mississippi River. Missouri‚ at the time‚ was a fairly new state (it had gained statehood in 1821) and comprised part of the country’s western border. It was also a slave state. Sam’s father owned one slave and his uncle owned several. In fact‚ it was on his uncle’s farm that Sam spent many boyhood summers playing in the slave quarters‚ listening to tall tales and the slave spirituals that he would enjoy throughout his life.
In 1847‚ when Sam was 11‚ his father died. Shortly thereafter he left school‚ having completed the fifth grade‚ to work as a printer’s apprentice for a local newspaper. His job was to arrange the type for each of the newspaper’s stories‚ allowing Sam to read the news of the world while completing his work.
See more on Mark Twain at marktwainhouse.org.

Laundry Day Watercolor

“Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find the right road.”
– Dag Hammarskjöld



Laundry Day – 3″ x 7″  Watercolor on Masa

I had so much fun painting this little dude.  It’s another photo of a Belize sight from Li.  The fun thing about masa is the amazing texture you can get.  Personally, I am terrible at trees!  Masa gives me more texture than I would have been able to get, when left up to my own tree laziness.  I just don’t have the patience for trees.  They have all those pesky leaves! 

About Dag Hammarskjöld

Dag Hammarskjöld, a Noble Peace Prize winner, was a diplomat who strengthened the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission. Born in Sweden in 1905, he followed his father’s footsteps into national government, where he coined the term “planned economy” before becoming a delegate to the U.N. and a two-time secretary-general. He negotiated the release of Americans captured by the Chinese in the Korean War, worked to resolve the Suez Canal crisis, and was on a mission to the Congo when his plane crashed in 1961, killing all aboard.

Laundry Day

“A mistake is simply another way of doing things.”
– Katharine Graham



Laundry Day – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Gouache

Okay…. I have not lost my mind and I have not started taking drugs.  he he  This was done in response to sundiver’s challenge for the WetCanvas WDE.  She challenged us to paint like Marc Chegall.  I know it’s lame, but I had fun anyway.  I used bits and pieces from six of Wendy’s reference photos.    I should not have used those two big flowers like that, but oh well. 

About Katharine Graham

Katharine Graham, the publisher of The Washington Post, is considered one of her era’s most powerful women. She was born in 1917 in New York. After her father bought the newspaper, she joined the staff as a reporter. Her husband inherited the paper from her father, and Graham took it over when he died in 1963. During her tenure, the paper printed the controversial Pentagon Papers and uncovered the Watergate conspiracy. She won a Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for her autobiography, Personal History. She died in 2001.