Friday, October 26, 2012

Kiss, Please – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Ink

“I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time.”
– Anna Freud

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Kiss, Please – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Ink

I painted this from a terrific photo by Robyn Lovelock at Paint My Photo.  I had such a good time with this.  :)

About Anna Freud

Austrian psychoanalyst Anna Freud was a pioneer in the field of child psychiatry; she also worked closely with her father, Sigmund Freud, in developing his theories. She was born in Vienna in 1895 and fled to London with her parents in 1938, escaping the Nazi regime. When her father became sick with cancer, she took over his studies, becoming his intellectual heir. She founded the Hampstead Clinic to work with children. She died in 1982.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Can You Guess What Eufaula Building This Is?

“Gratitude is our most direct line to God and the angels.  If we take the time, no matter how crazy and troubled we feel, we can find something to be thankful for.  The more we seek gratitude, the more reason the angels will give us for gratitude and and joy to exist in our lives.”
–Terry Lynn Taylor

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Can You Guess Who’s Building This Is?

It’s a pen sketch of a building in Eufaula, Oklahoma.  I just thought I’d send a little tease your way.  :)

Terry Lynn Taylor
 
In 1985, on a hiatus from work on her master’s degree in counseling, Terry Lynn Taylor became seriously interested in angels. She felt that the joy and lightness she experienced growing up in Southern California had turned into seriousness and strain. It was then that she came across the G.K. Chesterton quote “Angles can fly because they take themselves lightly.” She began to acknowledge the role angels play as spiritual helpers in our everyday life, and this realization was the beginning of a major life transformation.

Terry set out to find a book that would help her attract the angels into her life. Not finding one, she decided to write one herself. Messengers of Light sold out the first printing of 10,000 copies in eight weeks, and has since sold more than 500,000 copies.

Terry went on to write eight more books and established herself as the first lady of angel books. She has an absolutely devoted following of angel fans. She has appeared on the Leeza Show, 2 NBC Prime Time Specials (viewed by more than 20 million people), Sonya Live and Strange Universe, to name only a few. She has been featured or reviewed in People, Time, Newsweek, and Ladies’ Home Journal, as well as Body Mind Spirit and many other new age magazines. She publishes her own newsletter with a circulation of 2,000, gives angel “playshops.” She currently lives in Pomona, California.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Peaceful Little Setting – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor

“Calm self-confidence is as far from conceit as the desire to earn a decent living is remote from greed.”
– Channing Pollock

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Peaceful Little Setting – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor

I painted this one from a photo by Robyn Lovelock at PaintMyPhoto.com.  It reminds me of some of the scenery from southeastern Idaho.  Very calming and serene.  :)

About Channing Pollock

American playwright Channing Pollock 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.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Eufaula Memorial Library – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor

“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us.”
–Alexander Graham Bell

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Eufaula Memorial Library – 8″ x 10″ Watercolor

Our library is a hugel part of our community.  There are a lot of programs for children and adults alike.  The Librarian, Margaret Collins, and her staff are doing a wonderful job!

In 1985, Eufaula Public Library became Eufaula Memorial Library and moved into the new building created with funds raised by area citizens.  The Friends of Eufaula Memorial Library group was organized in 1987 to support the programs and activities of the library. Organizers were Mary Wendel, Nadine George, and Marguerite Schmitt. The first meeting was held on February 24, 1988.

Alexander Graham Bell was born on March 3, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland. His education was largely received through numerous experiments in sound and the furthering of his father’s work on Visible Speech for the deaf. Bell worked with Thomas Watson on the design and patent of the first practical telephone. In all, Bell held 18 patents in his name alone and 12 that he shared with collaborators. He died in 1922.  More…

Monday, October 22, 2012

Stormy Sky for Illustration Friday – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Ink

“What is important is to keep learning, to enjoy challenge, and to tolerate ambiguity. In the end there are no certain answers.”
– Matina Horner

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Stormy Sky for Illustration Friday – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor & Ink

Sky is the word this week for Illustration Friday.  I discovered an amazing photographer at PaintMyPhoto…. PixelBloke took the photo I painted this from.  It was so fun to bring it to Bethville.  :D

Sunday, I worked on a couple more historic Eufaula buildings.  One of them is the Armory, which was built in 1936 by the WPA program.  The other on is the Foley Mansion, which was built in 1901 and burned in 1962.   I need to go to the library and find some better photos of it.  It’s amazing!

About Matina Horner
American psychologist Matina Horner is best known for her groundbreaking research in the late 1960′s on smart women’s fear of success, which became known as the Horner Effect. She was born in 1939 in Massachusetts. During her 17-year tenure as president of Radcliffe College, she helped integrate the women’s college into a mainstream presence for women on the Harvard University campus. She has received several awards and serves on the boards of many institutions.

Friday, October 19, 2012

I want to See Inside These Building – 5″ x 8″ Watercolor & Ink

“Some people grumble because the roses have thorns instead of being grateful that the thorns have roses.”
–author unknown

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

I want to See Inside These Building – 5″ x 8″ Watercolor & Ink

This one is from the archives and is painted from a photo by Jakesgram at WetCanvas.  I’d love to have a peek inside… wouldn’t you?  :)

I forgot to set my alarm last night, so I got an extra hour of sleep.  It’ll get me started a little late today, but hopefully I’ll have more energy.  I have a very full day, including 4 truck, 4 banners and a huge slew of other signs.  Then I have 6 jobs to prepare to go to the printer.  (business cards & postcards)  I guess I better get to it.  Have a wonderful day!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Christmas Sock Monkeys

“Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life will reduce themselves.”
–Edwin Way Teale

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Christmas Sock Monkeys

I have been painting  little Christmas things I can add to the building paintings, so that clients can make Christmas cards.  I just stuck these two little toy soldiers on this to show you how fun it can be.  They sorta blend into this building, but it’s just for an example.  I’m making wreaths and swags and trees, for example, to jazz up any card.  Fun!

Edwin Way Teale

Edwin Way Teale, (1899-1980), was a naturalist, writer, and photographer who captured the imaginations and hearts of Americans in his many books about nature. He is ranked with John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, and John Burroughs as one of the best and most influential nature writers in America.  More here…

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

The House of Aingell – Circa l938 - 8″ x 10″ Watercolor & Ink

“When you get into a tight place and it seems that you can’t go on, hold on — for that’s just the place and the time that the tide will turn.”
– Harriet Beecher Stowe

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

The House of Aingell – Circa l938 - 8″ x 10″ Watercolor & Ink

This is the home of Rita Bradley.  She commissioned me to paint this and she gave me some wonderful history on it.  After I painted it, my husband gave me some more insight.  His dad, Fred Parker, who grew up in Eufaula, always thought this was the most beautiful home in Eufaula.  It is wonderful.  The grounds are so well kept and lush that it was hard to get an angle that showed this much of the house.  Off behind that tree is another building, a garage with an apartment over it.

Here is some of the history I got from Rita Bradley:

“It was built in l938 and was home to The Aingell Family. They owned a Drug Store on Main Street and Mrs. Aingell was the Granddaughter of a well known Native American, George Washington Grayson (Chief For The Confederacy).  

Beth, many elderly folks from Eufaula have pointed out to me: The circle of rocks in the front yard. They mean something–I just don’t know what! They have been there from the beginning of property being a Home and secondly The Flagpole (which should be taken down, but not by Me)! I was told, before moving in, that the Aingell’s had on son that was killed in The Invasion of Normandy. To celebrate his life and in remembrance of him, the flagpole was erected and shall stand until a higher being takes it out and or down. I was also told that the old iron railing was from a Historic Building in Eufaula. Just saying. Newsy Notes coming Your Way! Well, it has been there since l938 too. I am told a Jewish businessman rented it for many years from The Aingell Family.”

It was an honor to paint this home and I am really enjoying all I am learning about Eufaula, as I paint all these buildings.  I have only lived here for 20 years and Eufaula emerged as a town in 1872.  The building my sign shop is in is somewhere around 100 years old.  I have never really known exactly, as I lease the building.  I have been in it for 15 of my 20 years in business.

About Harriet Beecher Stowe

American author Harriet Beecher Stowe is known for her novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a rallying cry for the abolitionist movement. When she met Abe Lincoln in 1862, he said, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war!” She was born in Connecticut in 1811. Her brother, Henry Ward Beecher, became a renowned minister. After an unusually thorough education for a woman of the time, she began her career when she won a magazine prize contest. She died in 1896.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Water For Everybody! – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor & Ink

Discover your magnetism!

 ”Plant the seed of desire in your mind and it forms a nucleus with power to attract to itself everything needed for it’s fulfillment.”
– Robert Collier

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Water For Everybody! – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor & Ink

This is for Illustration Friday and the word “Water”.  I had so much fun doing this painting!   The background is loosely based on a photo by Theclosetpainter on Paint My Photo.  The birds are painted from a photo by Robin Lovelock at the same site.   Don’t you just love those birds?  :D

Robert Collier

Robert Collier’s inspirational books have changed the lives of thousands. He was a prolific writer and progressive publisher who strongly believed that happiness and abundance were within easy reach.

Robert “Bob” Collier was born April 19, 1885, in St. Louis, son of Mary Ferguson and John Collier. His mother died when he and his older brother were not yet teenagers. His father traveled widely as a foreign correspondent for Collier’s Magazine (founded and published by his uncle, Peter F. Collier). Robert was educated in a church seminar school and was expected to become a priest, but before taking his vows, he decided against the life of a clergyman and headed for West Virginia to seek his fortune.  More about Mr. Collier here.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Fresh Water Delivery – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor & Ink

“It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.”
–Agnes Repplier

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Fresh Water Delivery – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor & Ink

The week’s word from Illustration Friday is water.

I painted this little painting from a photo of a Country Store delivery truck by goody4u at WetCanvas.  The background and buildings were from the mind of Beth, so it must be Bethville.  I had a lot of fun with this!

Agnes Repplier (April 1, 1855 – November 15, 1950) was an American essayist born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her essays are esteemed for their scholarship and wit.