Painting a Pot of Peppers in Watercolor on Masa

“Warm, eager, living life – to be rooted in life – to learn, to desire to know, to feel, to think, to act. That is what I want. And nothing less.”
– Katherine Mansfield

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

 Paint a Pot of Peppers – 10″ Watercolor on Masa Paper

Happy New Year!   I hope you had a safe and memorable New Year’s Eve.  I was asleep by 10, but I was at home with my husband, who I love more than I could have ever imagined, so my night was perfect.  I painted this little painting on Sunday.  I had a great time!

Over the weekend, I did 6 little paintings from references by Crispur2005 at WetCanvas.  It was a great way to change the year over from 2011 to 2012.  Not a hangover in sight. 


Katherine Mansfield stares out of her photographs with a direct gaze that challenges the observer. Courageous, contradictory, self-willed, single-minded, argumentative, elusive, in both her life and her work, she has always defied the attempts of posterity to pin down the qualities that fascinated her contemporaries. Bertrand Russell admired her brain and would have liked to seduce her; Virginia Woolf said she ‘stank like a civet cat that has taken to street walking’ but admitted that she loved her ‘I suppose in my own way’, and that Katherine was the only writer whose writing she was jealous of. Christopher Isherwood and Aldous Huxley were among a number of writers who borrowed not only her words, but also her character for their novels. D.H. Lawrence used her as the model for Gudrun in ‘Women in Love’. He and his wife lived in a ‘menage a quatre’ with Katherine and her husband which ended in such animosity that he afterwards sent her a postcard saying ‘You are a loathsome reptile; I hope you will die’. His wife Frieda also disliked Katherine but acknowledged that she ‘knew more of the truth than anyone else’.  Source:  www.KatherineMansfield.net

Party Peppers

“If one scheme of happiness fails, human nature turns to another; if the first calculation is wrong, we make a second better.”
– Jane Austen

 
Party Peppers
5″ x 7″ Watercolor

The fun part about painting peppers in their shine!  Oh, and the way some are red and green at the same time, or yellow and red.  They are just fun to paint. 

About Jane Austen

Jane Austen (1775-1817), the British writer whose sparkling, socially incisive novels remain extremely popular two centuries after her death, is best known for Pride and Prejudice, which she called her “own darling child.” She started writing solely for her own family, and her novels, including Sense and Sensibility and Emma, were initially published anonymously (or “By a Lady”). Nevertheless, she won fame later in life, and she earned the high honor of burial in Winchester Cathedral after her death in 1817 at age 41.

P is for Peppers - October 7, 2009

"According to the laws of aerodynamics, the bumble bee cannot fly."

There are times when we must go beyond all logic and take a chance with what we feel. These are the times when everything and everyone shouts No at us, and yet something deep inside says, "Go for it!"

We must go with our own convictions, our own conclusions. Life is too short for us to be led by the conclusions of others when we do not agree that they are right for us.

I am filled with the strength and energy I need today to follow my own truth. I am willing to take risks today and find out for myself what works for me in my life.

Time for Joy Daily Affirmations by Ruth Fishel

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P is for Peppers
2.5" x 3.5" Watercolor & Pen

This is one of my favorite little ATCs. I'd like to do some more peppers, in acrylic perhaps.

ArtNowforAutism is doing a reverse auction to raise money for autism research. The first two days, the artwork was all $90 each. Today, they went to $60 each. They will stay there today and tomorrow. On the 9th and 10th, they will be $30. Check it out. There is some beautiful artwork there. They raised $2660 in the first two days. I'd love to see all of the donated artwork sell.

Ruth Fishel, is a therapist, retreat and workshop leader, and author of several books, including "Precious Solitude," "The Journey Within, A Spiritual Path to Recovery," a pioneer book on meditation, spirituality, and recovery, and the best-selling "Time for Joy." She also teaches "Stop! Do You Know You’re Breathing?" a program she developed for teachers and health care workers. She now co-directs Spirithaven, Inc., which she co-founded in 1989.