Sno-Cone Business in the Snow – 2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor ATC

“The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”
–Mitch Albom

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Sno-Cone Business in the Snow – 2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor ATC

Snow is the word this week for Illustration Friday.   As I painted this, I realized why most Sno-Cone businesses are little buildings on wheels.  he he he  Life is fun, isn’t it?  I can’t imagine my life without art….. and pink paint. 

MITCH ALBOM is an internationally renowned and best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have collectively sold over 33 million copies worldwide; have been published in forty-one territories and in forty-two languages around the world; and have been made into Emmy Award-winning and critically-acclaimed television movies.  More at mitchalbom.com.

Elk and Magpie - 700th Blog Post

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
– Annie Dillard



Elk and Magpie – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor

Don’t you just love this?  I’m talking about the image of the magpie on the elk’s head.  It is painted from a photo reference by Crias at WetCanvas.   I took a few elk and moose photos with me, since I knew I was going to be painting things that are a real part of the Idaho scenery.  I also knew there are more critters traveling about, when the weather is colder.   Me…. I don’t want to be traveling around Idaho when it’s snowing… thanks very much.  Been there, done that. 

When I was in Driggs, I saw magpies often.  They look so cool, because they are stark black and white, with no in-between colors.  Magpies  just look amazing against the green and golden rolling hills of the area.

I did have a great time painting this.  The snow was really fun!   Can you believe it?  This is my 700th blog post! 

About Annie Dillard

American author Annie Dillard rose to fame with her first book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, which weaves theology and meditations on nature into an account of a year spent in the country recovering from pneumonia. Writing the book so fully absorbed her that she forgot everything else; she lost 30 pounds and all her plants died. She was born in Pittsburgh in 1945. She married her college writing teacher but later divorced him. She remarried and lives in Connecticut.

Dressed For Tea - Bird Painting

“Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you sit down quietly, may alight upon you.”
– Nathaniel Hawthorne



Dressed For Tea
Watercolor & Ink

This is another hotel room painting.  I can tell it’s time to leave that room, because I quit painting.  I’m ready to go home.  We checked out of the motel and are heading home this afternoon, even though it’s snowing again.  I’m ready to be in my studio and my own bed.  YAY!

About Nathaniel Hawthorne

The novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), famous for his dense prose and allegorical undertones, is perhaps best known for The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables. He was born in Massachusetts, and his New England upbringing permeates his work. Hawthorne achieved fame late in life: his first work, a collection of short stories, was rejected by publishers, but he continued to write even as he worked at the Salem Custom House.

Toucan

“Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing.”
– William Butler Yeats



Toucan
Watercolor & Ink

Another bird painted in the hotel room during the storm.  It’s amazing how my art took my mind off of all the turmoil taking place outside.  Isn’t it wonderful to be able to do that?

We may venture to our house Friday evening.  We haven’t been there since Monday.  We’re looking forward to spending the weekend in our own home.  They are forecasting snow for Friday, Monday and Wednesday, but not this much.  I hope everyone reading this is safe and warm.

About William Butler Yeats

Irish author William Butler Yeats, known for his mysticism and Celtic imagery, won a Nobel Prize for his plays but ultimately achieved more renown as a poet. He was born in Dublin in 1865. Co-founder of the Abbey Theater, he served as its resident playwright and worked with actress Maude Gonne, who inspired the romantic longing expressed in many poems. He married at age 52 and co-wrote A Vision with his wife, a book with occult roots that explores the mythology in his poetry. He died in 1939.

Simply Green - Little Bird Painting

You’ve got to create a dream.
You’ve got to uphold the dream.
If you can’t, go back to the factory
or go back to the desk.
–Eric Burdon

Simply Green

Watercolor & Sharpie

I’m trapped at the bottom of my long driveway…. again.  It wouldn’t be bad if it was just snow, but we have an unfriendly little layer of ice underneath the snow.   Have I mentioned that I am not a big fan of winter?  I did bring work home with me, but my husband will be clawing at the walls.  He is not very good at being trapped.  :)

I hope my little green bird brings a moment of spring to your life today.

Eric Burdon, Singer, songwriter

Sometimes referred to as a “black singer trapped inside a white skin,” Eric Burdon achieved international fame by belting out bluesy rock numbers with theAnimals in the mid-1960s. His raw, hard-edged vocals were a key ingredient in a number of hits for the band in their native United Kingdom and abroad. After the original Animals disbanded, Burdon made his mark as a vocalist with the black band War.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/eric-burdon#ixzz1BaBfhRrA

Christmas Tree in Red - October 28, 2009

"Calm self-confidence is as far from conceit as the desire to earn a decent living is remote from greed."

– Channing Pollack

Christmas Tree in Red
2.5" x 3.5" Acrylic on Strathmore Canvas Paper

I'm still playing with ideas for some Christmas cards. This was a fun little painting to do. In case you hadn't noticed, I love purple.

About Channing Pollack

American playwright Channing Pollack is best remembered for his work massively redesigning the plot of the film Metropolis after it was shot. He was born in 1880. He worked in every aspect of New York theater, first as publicist for the Shubert family of theater owners, then as a drama critic who was banned from every Shubert theater, and finally as a playwright whose work included the morality play, The Enemy, as well as Clothes and The Fool. He died in 1946.