View from 4 Paws Cabin - Watercolor on Masa

“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

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

View from 4 Paws Cabin – Driggs, Idaho

This is the view from the beautiful little cabin I stayed at, in Driggs, Idaho two years ago.  I wish it was available this year, but it’s booked the whole month of August.

This is painted in watercolor on masa paper.  You wad this paper up, get it wet, then spread it out and drop watercolor into it.  After it dries, you attach it to watercolor paper with matte medium and let it dry again.  Then you do your painting on it.  Fun!

I learned about it from Leslie White.  You can see her “how to” post here.

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 on April 17, 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 on September 7, 1962.

The Leaping Green Spirits of Trees - Paint Out

“Everyone who enjoys thinks that the principal thing to the tree is the fruit, but in point of fact the principal thing to it is the seed. — Herein lies the difference between them that create and them that enjoy.”
–Friedrich Nietzsche



Watercolor on Textured surface – 6.5″ x 11″

Linda Halcomb is hosting a paint out today on her blog.  The theme is “the leaping green spirits of trees”.  I figured this would be a wonderful time to try something new.

Leslie White has been making some wonderful paintings using a paper called masa.  I didn’t do what Leslie does,  but I was in fact very much inspired by Leslie when I did this.  Thursday, I grabbed some yellow tissue paper, like you put in gift bags, and I tore off some large pieces and wrinkled it up.  I taped off the edges of a piece of 240 lb cold press  watercolor paper with painter’s tape.  I brushed Mod Podge all over it and started applying the tissue  with more Mod Podge, ending with a final coat.
I let it dry over night, then placed it under books another 24 hrs to flatten it.  Saturday, I started to dab watercolor on it, and to my amazement…. it worked.  I actually thought the watercolor would bead up on the slick surface, but it didn’t.  YAY!

I know there are problems here, such as no real depth past the stairs.   (But I had so much fun.)    If you have any hint on how I can fix this, just let me know in your comment.  I’d appreciate that.  The reference photo is by impshlady at WetCanvas.

Be sure to go look around at the other artists that participate in Linda’s Paint Out.  The links can be found here.

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

(October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900) was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist. He wrote critical texts on religion, morality, contemporary culture, philosophy and science, displaying a fondness for metaphor, irony and aphorism.

Fall Berries – Watercolor

“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”
– Michelangelo Buonarroti



Fall Berries – Watercolor

As much as I like these fall colors, I’m ready for an explosion of beautiful fresh spring colors, aren’t you?

My thoughts go out to all the people in Japan, suffering from the effects of the recent tsunami.  It’s headed toward Hawaii and the US west coast.  I hope it loses it’s potency before then.  That is just too scary to fully imagine.

About Michelangelo Buonarroti

Michelangelo Buonarotti, the Renaissance sculptor and painter, is considered one of the world’s greatest artists. He was born in Tuscany in 1475. He apprenticed to a painter at age 13, infuriating his father, who considered art menial work. By age 25, he had sculpted one of his finest works, the Pietà, in St. Peter’s. Working alone, he took four years to paint more than 400 figures on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. He also designed St. Peter’s dome and is perhaps best known for his iconic statue of David. He died in 1564.

Yupo Pasture

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”
– Anatole France



Yupo Pasture
10″ x 8″ Watercolor on Yupo

Those two acrylic paintings took so long to do that I am going to post an old painting today.  I usually manage 5 paintings a week, but not this week. 


I like the peacefulness of this scene.  In total contrast, I am literally ga ga!! I have been commissioned to do a 2′ x 4′ version of my Little Pink House painting!  I am so thrilled!  It’s going to Florida and I am “butt wiggling” happy!  (I finally shot a price to her and she was very happy with it, so now it is real.)

About Anatole France

Anatole France was the pen name of Nobel Prize–winning French author Jacques Anatole François Thibault. He was born in 1844 in Paris. His father was a book dealer, and France spent his life among books, including 14 years as assistant librarian to the French Senate. His novels, including the Contemporary History series and The Gods Are Athirst, often use allegory and religious symbolism as vehicles for moral questions. He died in 1924.

The Haunted Ship - November 2, 2009

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."

– Franklin D. Roosevelt

The Haunted Ship

5" x 8" Watercolor & Prismacolor pen

A little leftover from Halloween, that I did for WetCanvas over the weekend.

The WDE (Weekend Drawing Event) is a lot of fun. I participate nearly every weekend. We attempt to complete our paintings, drawings, etc, in two hours, so it helps me to become a little braver and looser than I used to be. To add to that, I have made some really good friends over there. Go by there and see. It's fun.

About Franklin D. Roosevelt

Four-term American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, known as FDR, pulled America out of the Great Depression and led the country during World War II. He was born in New York in 1882. His political career halted when a bout of polio paralyzed him from the waist down, but after learning to walk with leg braces, he became governor of New York and then president. His New Deal initiatives included Social Security, jobs programs, and collective bargaining. He died in 1945.

The Blushing Donkey - July 7, 2009

"Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment."


– Ralph Waldo Emerson


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The Blushing Donkey
4" x 6"
Watercolor on Illustration Board

Irena Sendler - May 5, 2009

"Love what you do. Believe in your instincts. And you'd better be able to pick yourself up and brush yourself off every day. While life is not always fair, it is manageable. It's a matter of attitude and confidence."

Mario Andretti

4" x 6" watercolor, attached to 5" x 7" canvas

Irena Sendler

There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the WarsawGhetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an ' ulterior motive ' ... She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.)

Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids.) She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.

During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi ' s broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely.

Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most of course had been gassed. Those kids she helped were placed into foster family homes or adopted.

Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize ... She was not selected. * Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming.

May she rest in Peace.