Hippie Chick Postcard

“Anything that you throw comes back. All your actions are echoes.”
–Swami Satchidananda

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Bethville Postcard – Watercolor & Black Pigment Liner

I think this bookmark comes from the hippie chick in me.  What can I say? 

Swami Satchidananda

His Holiness Sri Swami Satchidananda,  the founder of Integral Yoga,^®  is one of the most revered Yoga masters of our time.  Regarded by many as an apostle of peace,  Sri Gurudev serves as an example of  the teachings of Yoga and its goal of Self-Realization.

This site celebrates his life, service, and teachings.

Watercolor Coy Pond Bookmark

Limited expectations yield only limited results.
- Susan Laurson Willig

No one but me determines my course today. My success begins in my mind.  - Karen Casey

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Coy Pond Bookmark – Watercolor & Black Pigment Liner

For some reason, I liked this with all that white on the fish.  Would you have added color?   This is bookmark 11 of 18.   1-8 Were posted in May of 2012.  9-18 were done before work,  during my recent computer fiasco.

Karen Casey -  http://karencasey.wordpress.com/author-bio/

Karen is married, a grandmother, an occasional golfer, and an avid bridge player. She and her husband, Joe, own a home on Prior Lake which is adjacent to Minneapolis, and they recently built a log cabin outside of Lafayette, Indiana which is her home town.

Even more recently, Karen and Joe sold their Harleys. It was a hard decision. Karen loved the freedom of the ride, but lost a friend on a Harley a couple of years ago and Joe was nearly creamed on his bike in Sturgis. It simply seemed like a good time to let them go. They have not lost the desire for adventure, however, and Joe bought a small two-seater Piper Pacer airplane which they fly all over the country. Some might say it’s no safer than motorcycles but at least you don’t have to fight for space in the air like a Harley rider has to fight with cars and trucks on the road. Joe has even begun to build an airplane. He expects it to be a 3 or 4 year project. For you enthusiasts reading this, it’s an RV9. You will know what that is. Karen will be the passenger. That’s all.

Bird on a Vine Bookmark

“Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.”
– Thomas A. Edison

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Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Bird on a Vine Bookmark 10 – Watercolor & Black Pigment Liner

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I had so much fun doing these bookmarks.  The stress level at work was so high that when I painted on these in the early morning hours before work, it set a calm state in my body.  This enabled me to take on all the computer drama with  less anxiety.  Does that make sense?

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I’m getting a new awning at the sign shop!  The frame is coming down today.  I’ll share a photo when the new one goes up.  I’m trading in the old tired forest green for blue. 

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About Thomas A. Edison

Thomas Edison, the American inventor who made his early fortune with the stock ticker and the phonograph record, is credited with inventing the light bulb — although he simply improved upon the original idea by making the bulb burn longer. Edison was born in 1847 in Ohio. He was a dreamer in school; his teacher called him “addled,” and his mother taught him at home. He used the money from his inventions to set up a lab with a number of employees; he held a record 1,093 patents in his name. He died in 1931.

Hearts & Butterflies Bookmark

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
– Aristotle

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Bookmark 9 – Watercolor and Black Pigment Liner

On my last bookmark post, Mary Walker said… “I love the feeling I get sitting on the couch with a stack of three or more art books taking out the bookmark and reading a section popping the bookmark back in and moving on to the next. The weight of the books on my lap and the height it gives me to prop the book I’m reading feels right.”

That just made me want to go over to Mary’s house and read art books.  Doesn’t it sound wonderful? 

 

About Aristotle

 

Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher who is considered one of the most influential thinkers in history, wrote a number of books about science, poetry, and ethics. He was born in 384 B.C. in Macedonia. He studied with Plato in Athens and later tutored Alexander the Great. His death in 322 B.C. was rumored to be caused by hemlock poisoning.

Bookmark Number 8 – Tweetie – Watercolor & Black Pigment Liner

“It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are.”
– e. e. cummings

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Bookmark Number 8 – Tweetie – Watercolor & Black Pigment Liner

I just finished Bookmarks 8 through 18.    Does anyone but me actually read paper books these days?  I love books and I’m not ready to give them up. 
I hope you are having a safe and fun 4th of July weekend.

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. His most famous poem was “In Just-”.

Pink Flamingos in Wading Boots

“There are really only two ways to approach life – as victim or as gallant fighter – and you must decide if you want to act or react, deal your own cards or play with a stacked deck. And if you don’t decide which way to play with life, it always plays with you.”
–Merle Shain.

 

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Flamingos in Wading Boots

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Another bird archive.    I looked for something red, white & blue, but I had no luck.  I figured pink and green would have to do.

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Have a wonderful day and a safe 4th of July!  ~Beth

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Merle Shain (1935–1989) was a Canadian journalist and author. She worked as a feature writer for the ‘Toronto telegram,’ as associate editor of ‘Chatelaine’ [magazine], and as a columnist by the ‘Toronto sun’. She was a host of the CTV Network program, ‘W5′, and served for four years as a member of the board of the National Film Board of Canada. Her books include Some men are more perfect than others, (1973), When lovers are friends (1978), Hearts That We Broke Long Ago (1983) and Courage my love (1988).

A Wild Pink Flamingo Painting

“Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Whoooop!  A  Wild Flamingo Painting

This is an acrylic painting, painted over a failed effort.   The whole thing is pretty weird, if you ask me, but as I share these archives, I am sharing the odd ones, too. 

About Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Ralph Waldo Emerson helped spark the transcendentalist movement with the essay Nature, which described his belief in the spiritual essence of humanity and the natural world. He was born in Boston in 1803. He was a Unitarian minister until he resigned in 1832 to become a philosopher and writer. He suffered the untimely deaths of many of his loved ones: three brothers, his first wife at age 20, and his eldest son at age five. Emerson died in 1882.

Toys in the Tree & a Lavender Bird

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Bird Toys in the Tree

Here is another from the archives.  This place is so busy that I’m really glad I still have all these images…. especially after a hard drive and mother board crash. 

About Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Gandhi, known by the honorific title Mahatma (“great souled”), embodied the power of nonviolent protest to achieve great change. He was born in India in 1869 and awoke to discrimination while practicing law in South Africa. He brought the struggle for equality back to India, rousing the population to demand self-rule from the British. He was profoundly religious, spending one day a week in complete silence; he was also a devout vegetarian. He was assassinated in 1948.

Green Bird Trio in Acrylic

“It’s never too late to be who you might have been.”
– George Eliot

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Acrylic Bird Trio

Another bird archive.  I always liked this one.  It’s funny… going through archives, I sure see a lot of styles.  I think I finally found my true style, but it’s fun to revisit these.  I am wanting to play with my acrylics again. 

About George Eliot

George Eliot was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans, the Victorian author known for her psychologically astute novels set in small English towns. She was born on a farm in England in 1819 and wrote several acclaimed novels, including Middlemarch, The Mill on the Floss, and Silas Marner. She lived with George Henry Lewes for several years, which was considered highly scandalous at the time. She died in 1880.

Here Come the Geese!

“One comes, finally, to believe whatever one repeats to one’s self, whether the statement is true or false.”
–Napoleon Hill

“Our inner dialogue can have awesome power. It often determines the behavior that defines who we are. We do, of course, have some choice as to the direction this inner dialogue will take. It’s as easy to affirm our self-worth with positive messages as it is to tear ourselves down with negative ones. And yet, many of us fall so easily into negative patterns of thought.
As with so many aspects of our life, we become proficient at what we regularly practice. The regular, preferably daily, use of positive affirmations can make such a profound contribution to our well-being and willingness to grow and learn, that it can change the course of our life. All we have to do is develop the discipline to make these positive messages habitual.”
– Karen Casey
 

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2013

Meandering Geese

 

I have always liked this one.  It’s so simple, yet the geese have personalities.

 

My sign shop computer and cutters are all working!!!  Finally!!!    … 

 

The last 2.5 weeks have been testing my ability to remain calm under stress.  I did it, but it was a challenge at times.  Now to play catch up.  Six working days until the 4th of July.  I am always the busiest right before holidays, so let the fun begin!

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More about Napoleon Hill here.

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Karen Casey, Ph.D., a Naples, FL resident since 1991, published Each Day a New Beginning, her first book, in 1982. This daily meditation book for women in recovery has sold more than 3 million copies. The 25-year Anniversary edition of Each Day a New Beginning was released in August, 2006. It was closely followed by The Promise of a New Day, in 1983, another daily meditation book for both men and women in search of serenity. It has sold more than 1.2 million copies. Following on the heels of these two books, Karen has written 22 additional books with more on the way. In fall, 2005 she published CHANGE YOUR MIND AND YOUR LIFE WILL FOLLOW.  In April of 2006 she published ALL WE HAVE IS ALL WE NEED and she published three more books in 2007. SERENITY was released in March. BE WHO YOU WANT TO BE, in April and in December, a companion book to CHANGE YOUR MIND AND YOUR LIFE WILL FOLLOW, called  ITS UP TO YOU: A PRACTICE TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE BY CHANGING YOUR MIND.  In late July, 2010, LET GO NOW: EMBRACING DETACHMENT  was released.  Currently Karen is working on her memoir.  More here.