Red Tulips

“I could not, at any age, be content to take my place in a corner by the fireside and simply look on.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt

That quote reminds me of my late mother-in-law. When her husband died, we brought her down to the lake for a few days. After about a day, she said “I cannot sit here and look at this lake one more minute. Take me back to the city.” She was a hoot!  Absolutely a city girl. 

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Red Tulips – 5″ x 7″ Inktense Pencils

My hubby went outside with the chainsaw to cut a few trees.  I didn’t want to take my eyes off him for long with that tool because he is not exactly steady on his feet.  I sat at the window and did this little painting while I was watching him work.  Hey… it was cold out there. 

Eleanor Roosevelt

“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

More on Ms Roosevelt here.

Fresh Tulips

“There are two ways of exerting one’s strength: one is pushing down, the other is pulling up.”
– Booker T. Washington

I love that quote. 




Fresh Tulips – 10″ x 10″ Watercolor

I used the biggest watercolor brush I dared to paint this.  I wanted to do loose and fresh, with very little attention to details.  (for me anyway)  I had a great time!  This is large for me and the size makes it even prettier in person.  The reference photo is from KreativeK at WetCanvas.  Fun!

About Booker T. Washington

Booker T. Washington, the influential American educator, was the first African-American to be invited to the White House; he also had tea with Queen Victoria. He was born in slavery in Virginia in 1856. After emancipation, he worked in the salt mines. When he learned of a school that would accept former slaves, he walked much of the 400 miles to get there. He became an outspoken advocate of education and hard work for African-Americans and founded Tuskegee University. He died in 1915.

Frisky Flamingo – 2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor ATC

“Hope is the feeling you have that the feeling you have isn’t permanent.”
– Jean Kerr



Frisky Flamingo – 2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor ATC

“My name is Miss Fancy.  I am a frisky flamingo and the thing I like best about spring is me.  Don’t you just love my pink feathers?  I also love tulips.  Tulips are pretty!”

We are holding our city elections in Eufaula, today.  I can’t vote, since I don’t live in the city limits, but I have been enjoying the race.  All three mayoral candidates are graduates of Eufaula High School and each one brings unique qualities to the table.  I have a secret favorite, but I’ll keep it to myself and give my complete support to whoever wins.  As a business person in a town where I can’t vote for the mayor or city councilpersons, I sincerely hope for the best and look toward a bright future.

Good luck to all of the mayoral and city council candidates today.

About Jean Kerr

Comedic American author Jean Kerr is known for her wry take on married life in the suburbs in such books as How I Got to Be Perfect and Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, which was turned into both a movie and a TV series. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1922. She often collaborated on plays with her husband, drama critic Walter Kerr. She also wrote a number of plays by herself, including the extremely successful Mary, Mary, which ran for nearly 1,600 performances. She died in 2003.

Three Tulips

“When you have a great and difficult task, something perhaps almost impossible, if you only work a little at a time, every day a little, suddenly the work will finish itself.”
– Isak Dinesen

 

Three Tulips
4″ x 6″ Mixed Media

When I painted this, I loaded it with lots of color with watercolor!  It was flat and stripedy.  (yes, I said stripedy… he he)  I came back and brushed on bits of white and pale colored acrylic.  I liked it much better.  No more stripedy! 

About Isak Dinesen

Isak Dinesen was the pen name of Karen Blixen, the Danish author famously portrayed by Meryl Streep in the film of her best-selling memoir, Out of Africa. She was born near Copenhagen in 1885. In 1914, she and her new husband moved to Kenya to run a coffee plantation. She stayed on after divorcing her husband ten years later, living an unusually independent life. Her book of stories, Seven Gothic Tales, sold well, but Out of Africa made her a worldwide success. She died in 1962.

Purple Tulips in a Row - July 28, 2009

Some of us have gone through life unconsciously expecting others to bring us happiness, to make our dreams come true, and to make us feel good about ourselves. When nothing seems to be going well for us, we blame it on the lack of external support - we're not in a serious relationship, we don't like our job, we don't have the money to venture into our own business.

When we change our perspective - when we know and trust that we are responsible for our happiness, our dreams, and our feelings - we become empowered. No longer is the burden on someone or something that is either unreliable or nonexistent. We'd been giving this power to others; now it's time to take it back, to make and be responsible for our own choices, to value our opinions, and to respect our intellect.Today I will give myself credit for all I am capable of, financially and otherwise.

Karen Casanova

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Purple Tulips in a Row

Acrylic on 6" x 18" x 1.5" Canvas

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