1950 Chevy Truck in Red

“When you bring your attention to the things you are grateful for in your life, your brain actually works better.”
–Daniel Amen

Copyright Beth Parker Art

1950 Chevy Truck in Red – 3″ x 4″ Watercolor

Here is my second attempt to practice painting a truck.  It was kinda fun, even though I overdid the sharpie a bit.    This weekend, I am hosting the WDE in the All Media Art Events forum at WetCanvas.    It’s fun!   Go check it out and play with us.   Artists from all over the world will be doing art based on the photos I put up for references.  

About Dr. Amen

Daniel G. Amen, MD is a physician, child and adult psychiatrist, brain imaging specialist, bestselling author, Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and the CEO and medical director of Amen Clinics, Inc. (ACI) in Newport Beach and the San Francisco area, California, Bellevue, Washington and Reston, Virginia .

ACI is the world leader in applying brain imaging science to clinical practice. ACI has the world’s largest database of functional brain scans related to psychiatric medicine, now totaling more than 70,000 scans, and the clinics have seen patients from 90 countries.

Dr. Amen is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, where he teaches medical students and psychiatric residents about using brain imaging in clinical practice.  Source:  AmenClinics.com.

1950 Chevrolet Pickup

“We have a lamp inside of us, the lamp of mindfulness, which we can light anytime. The oil of that lamp is our breathing, our steps, and our peaceful smile. We have to light up that lamp of mindfulness so that light will shine out and the darkness will dissipate and cease. Our practice is to light up the lamp.”
–Thich Nhat Hanh

This quote is from my newest little book called Wrinkles Don’t Hurt – Daily meditations on the joy of aging mindfully. I am loving this book by Ruth Fishel, who also wrote another great one called A Time For Joy.

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2011

1950 Chevrolet Pickup – 3″ x 4″ Watercolor

I am doing all these paintings with buildings in them and the streets are suspiciously empty.  I decided to practice painting vehicles, which I am terrible at.  I wouldn’t mind them so much if they didn’t have tires.  The perspective, shadows, placement, etc, of tires are just bewildering to me, as you can see in this little painting.  The front passenger side tire is in the wrong place somehow.  I like the rest of the truck, I think. 

Thích Nhất Hạnh ( born October 11, 1926) is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist who now lives in France.  Born Nguyễn Xuân Bảo, Thích Nhất Hạnh joined a Zen (Vietnamese: Thiền) monastery at the age of 16, and studied Buddhism as a novitiate.  Upon his ordination as a monk in 1949, he assumed the Dharma name Thích Nhất Hạnh. Thích is an honorary family name used by all Vietnamese monks and nuns, meaning that they are part of the Shakya (Shakyamuni Buddha) clan.  He is often considered the most influential living figure in the lineage of Lâm Tế (Vietnamese Rinzai) Thiền, and perhaps also in Zen Buddhism as a whole.  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Funky Street Lamp

“Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.”
– Lin Yutang

Funky Street Lamp – 3″ x 5.5″ Watercolor

I had a lot of fun painting this.  The funny part is that when I finished it and showed it to the hubby, he said… “That would have made a better Christmas card.”  This was a mere 18 hours after I dropped 45 Christmas cards in the mail… with a magpie sitting on the head of an elk in the snow.  You know… snow… Christmas…     Gotta love him! 

This was cropped from a large night  city photo from Phlugel at WetCanvas.

About Lin Yutang

Chinese author Lin Yutang wrote more than 35 books in English and Chinese, including My Country and My People and The Importance of Living, which brought him international fame. He was born in 1895 in the Fujian province in China. He created a Chinese-American dictionary, an indexing system for Chinese letters, and translated many classic Chinese texts. Written in a humorous, accessible style, his books bridged European and Chinese cultures. He died in 1976.

House of Bones or Maybe a Fairy Princess Castle

“A child’s world is fresh, innocent, new, full of wonder and excitement. It is unfortunate that for many of us that vision for what is awe inspiring is dimmed as we grow older. If I had influence over the good fairy who blesses all children, I would ask her gift to each child in the world be this: a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last through all the years of their life.”
– Rachel Carson

 

House of Bones – 5.5″ x 8.5″ Watercolor

Phulgel from WetCanvas posted this photo and she said… “This is called Casa Batllo and is called the house of bones. It is a Gaudi house and represents a dragon being slayed by sir George.   The piece like a chimney is the hilt of his sword. The roof is made of the bumps of his spine and the tiles are his scales. The balconies are the skulls of his victims and the bottom row of windows is supposed to be his mouth. The entire house is covered in mosaic stones.”

I had a great time painting this and to me, it looks like a fairy princess could live inside.  No dragons, swords or bones.  Just fairy a princess and maybe a handsome prince. 

Rachel Louise Carson – May 27, 1907  -  April 14, 1964

Rachel Carson, writer, scientist, and ecologist, grew up simply in the rural river town of Springdale, Pennsylvania. Her mother bequeathed to her a life-long love of nature and the living world that Rachel expressed first as a writer and later as a student of marine biology. Carson graduated from Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham College) in 1929, studied at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory, and received her MA in zoology from Johns Hopkins University in 1932.
She was hired by the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries to write radio scripts during the Depression and supplemented her income writing feature articles on natural history for the Baltimore Sun. She began a fifteen-year career in the federal service as a scientist and editor in 1936 and rose to become Editor-in-Chief of all publications for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
More:  http://www.rachelcarson.org/

Cats Interrupted

“Attitudes are nothing more than habits of thoughts; and habits can be acquired. An action repeated becomes an attitude realized.”
– Paul Myer


Cats Interrupted – 5.5″ x 8.5″ Watercolor

This is my own version of some cats in a photo by Phlugel at WetCanvas.  I added the colors and the mouse, of course.   The look on the cat with the purple tail reminds me of a cat who was intently minding their own business, when they were suddenly interrupted by the photographer.  This was fun.

Paul Myer -1928 – 2009
Born in San Mateo, California in 1928 to a German immigrant father and a mother of Scottish descent, Paul J. Meyer possessed an unyielding urge to learn, to excel, and to be innovative in all his endeavors.

Always considered a person with an idea ahead of its time, Meyer became interested in the principles of personal growth, development, and success at an early age. He was particularly interested in the process of goal setting, as this process was in tune with his keen desire for personal achievement. By using goal-setting principles in his chosen career of professional sales, Meyer became a millionaire by the age of 27.

More importantly, however, Meyer held the firm belief that all people, regardless of their gender, personality, social standing, or level of education, could develop the necessary characteristics to achieve and live a lifetime of success. To this end, Meyer founded Success Motivation® Institute, Inc. in 1960, a company dedicated to motivating people to their full potential.® This company brought into reality Meyer’s long-standing dream of providing practical, effective materials to help people achieve their goals and enjoy greater success.  Source:  pauljmyer.com

Early Bird & Liebster Blog Award

“Our greatest danger in life is permitting the urgent things to crowd out the important.”
– Charles E. Hummel



Early Bird – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor

I had the most wonderful surprise this morning.  I received the Liebster Blog Award from Trisha over at  creatingreciprocity.    I really enjoy Trisha’s blog.    She shares ways that she finds that can help us live together as one.  She says it really well here.   Go see Trisha’s Liebster Blog post.



Trisha writes… Go raibh míle maith agat is Irish for Many Thanks. In fact it literally means “may you have a thousand good (things)”.   The Liebster Award appears to be somewhat mysterious, but it also appears to exist as a means of encouragement.

It’s intention seems to be to create more and more and more connections between people – which is a wonderful – and wondrous – thing.   Trisha received this award from Amy and the spirit of the award must be working, because I have already subscribed to Amy’s blog, Radical Amazement.

Acceptance of the award requires that the recipient pass it on to five other bloggers, with less than 200 followers.  This is the hard part.   I follow some amazing art blogs, but I thought I would recognize some blogs outside my regular little group, so that they (my blog buddies) may enjoy getting out of our comfy little neighborhood, too.

Kana’s Chronicles -  Kana writes wonderful posts revolving around real life.  Her writing is heartwarming and genuine.   Kana says it best… “I am… a writer, an explorer, a coffee-drinker, a recovering addict, a barefoot linguist, a book-dragon (“bookworm” doesn’t cover it), a raconteur, a minister, a sailboat skipper, a research diver, a tattooed scholar, a pirate, a poet, a spiritual adventurer, a photographer, a cartographer, a joyful wife, a mom (and Granny), an island-girl at heart… A list-maker! ”   She hasn’t been blogging very long and she is drawing quite a crowd.

friendtoyourself- Sana Johnson-Quijada MD  found me, I think.  She commented on one of my posts and when I read some of her posts, I was hooked.  Here is what Sana tells us about her blog… “  I am a psychiatrist, writing on being a Friend to Yourself.  My passion is partnering with others to bring worthwhile tools on self-care into practice. I started this blog as a way to create a community of people interested, likewise, in becoming their own friend. I write about a wide variety of topics of interest, and I consider the reader comments even more important than my own posts!”   I love getting Sana’s posts and she really gets some great dialog going with her followers.

Asmalltowndad’s Weblog – Okay, okay… Ryan is in my little blogger group and he is an amazing artist, but he is included here for his wonderful love of family and the importance of the things that really matter.  Ryan can be a bit of a kook, and it’s part of the fun.  He can also bring tears to your eyes with his observations.

L. Gruger Art and Travels – Lindy has a wonderful blog.  She posts her beautiful art along with poems, musings, and photos of her adventures.  Lindy has a very positive spirit and her blog always brightens my day.

Little Dabs -  A blogger friend, Leslie White, told me about Little Dabs.  Wilhelmina writes amazing poetry and stories.  She and her husband fill the pages with art, too.  If you’re too tired to read her poetry, she includes a link where  you can just listen to her recite it.  I enjoy these posts very much!

I have not asked any of these wonderful bloggers if they will accept this award, but it is my genuine hope that they do.  (Side note – some of these people may have more than 200 followers, but I can’t tell.)  ((hugs))

Have a terrific Friday and a wonderful weekend! 

Horse Quilt

“Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak… because in your life you will have been all of these.”
– Mac Anderson

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2011

Horse Quilt – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor & Sharpie

It’s been a while since  I have sewn any critters.  I enjoyed doing this horse, who’s photo was  provided by Lisilk at WetCanvas.

The tree is up in the sign shop lobby, the ornaments are finished for my handmade ornament exchange and the packages going to people far away are wrapped, packed in boxes and ready to go.   I just need to fill out the insides of my Christmas cards and get them in the mail,  since the envelopes are already addressed.   I wonder what it is that husbands do during the holidays.  Hmmmm… he’s not baking… no, not wrapping… nope, not putting up any trees or hanging any lights…. shopping?… definitely not…  Oh, I forgot…. he went to the liquor store.  That’s it!  Now if I only drank liquor.   No matter what, my hubby is my hero, my calming influence and my best friend, so he does do a lot.  Can you imagine being my calming influence?  That’s a pretty big job.  

MAC ANDERSON is the founder of Simple Truths and Successories, Inc., the leader in designing and marketing products for motivation and recognition. These companies, however, are not the first success stories for Mac. He was also the founder and CEO of McCord Travel, the largest travel company in the Midwest, and part owner/VP of sales and marketing for Orval Kent Food Company, the country’s largest manufacturer of prepared salads.

His accomplishments in these unrelated industries provide some insight into his passion and leadership skills. He also brings the same passion to his speaking where he speaks to many corporate audiences on a variety of topics, including leadership, motivation and team building.

Mac has authored or co-authored twelve books, which have sold more than 3 million copies published by

Simple Truths. They include:
212°…The Extra Degree
Charging the Human Battery
Customer Love
The Nature of Success
Change is Good…You Go First
The Power of Attitude
What’s the Big Idea?
The Essence of Leadership
You Can’t Send a Duck to Eagle School
The Best of Success
Learning to Dance in the Rain
Motivational Quotes

For more information about Simple Truths, visit www.simpletruths.com.
I own about 20 Simple Truths books.  Many of the quotes I share with you each day come from those wonderful books!
– Beth 

Chaos

“A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.”
–George Moore

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2011

Reign of Chaos – 4″ x 4″ Watercolor & Sharpie

This is another pet of Jean’s (Just Chaos) from WetCanvas.  This is an older photo of Chaos as a puppy.

Well, I guess I have resisted long enough.  It’s time to put the Christmas tree up in my sign shop lobby.  I have been so busy that I have been putting it off.  It’s a cute little tree and it will probably put me into the spirit of the holidays. 

George Augustus Moore (24 February 1852 – 21 January 1933) was an Irish novelist, short-story writer, poet, art critic, memoirist and dramatist. Moore came from a Roman Catholic landed family who lived at Moore Hall in Carra, County Mayo.   He originally wanted to be a painter, and studied art in Paris during the 1870s. There, he befriended many of the leading French artists and writers of the day.
Source:  Wikipedia

Annie the Dog

“Before you agree to do anything that might add even the smallest amount of stress to your life, ask yourself: What is my truest intention? Give yourself rime to let a ‘yes’ resound within you. When it’s right, I guarantee your entire body will feel it.”
– Oprah Winfrey

 Copyright Beth Parker Art 2011

Annie – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Sharpie

Another photo reference by Just Chaos at WetCanvas.  Jean has the greatest animals.  This is her dog Annie.  She has a hairless cat, a  bull terrier, a greyhound, a mule and many more that I can’t remember.   She finds beauty in all the animals the world might be missing out on.  It’s so fun when she hosts the WDE (weekend drawing event). 

I love today’s quote, especially this time of year.  We are all out bustling around, trying to do a million things at once.  I started my shopping in October and just need to wrap and make the trek to the post office.  Christmas card envelopes are addressed, but that’s as far as I have gotten on that project.  I am trying not to stress myself out this year, as I have in previous years.  So far, so good. 

Oprah Winfrey

Through the power of media, Oprah Winfrey has created an unparalleled connection with people around the world. As supervising producer and host of the top-rated, award-winning The Oprah Winfrey Show, she has entertained, enlightened and uplifted millions of viewers for the past two decades. Her accomplishments as a global media leader and philanthropist have established her as one of the most respected and admired public figures today.

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/pressroom/Oprah-Winfreys-Official-Biography#ixzz1flUzujpa

Funky Old Truck – 4.5″ x 7.5″ Watercolor

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”
– e. e. cummings

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2011

Funky Old Truck – 4.5″ x 7.5″ Watercolor

I painted this little truck from a photo by Just Chaos at WetCanvas.  It was hard not to use my sharpie on it, but decided it was cute enough without it.

Last week was a tough week.  I tried to paint in the motel room, but the sadness surrounding my mother-in-law’s funeral was just too overwhelming.  When we returned home, we were exhausted.  Sunday, we decided to just rest and try to get our strength back.  Jean’s photos were the perfect diversion, so I painted 5 little paintings.   It was nice to just be quiet with my thoughts and my paints.  I am so lucky to have my art. 

About e. e. cummings

The writer who became known as e. e. cummings was an experimental poet whose idiosyncratic typography complements the music of his poetry; he published more than 900 poems, two novels, and four plays. He was also an accomplished painter. He was born in Massachusetts in 1894 and entered the ambulance corps in World War I but ended up in a detention camp after expressing his pacifist views. He died in 1962. “In Just-” was his most famous poem.