A Home in Carlton Landing - The Beth Version

“We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.”
– Marian Wright Edelman

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

A Home in Carlton Landing – 5″ x 8″ Watercolor and Sharpie

This house is across the street from The Meeting House at Carlton Landing.  When my hubby saw this painting, he said “They really need to get a new lumber yard.  They are not getting very straight boards.”  Isn’t he funny.  It is a perfectly straight and beautiful home.  It has just been “Beth-ized”.    The homes that are popping up in Carlton Landing are so wonderful.  When you look inside them, you find all kinds of fun little surprises.  They are truly unique.

About Marian Wright Edelman

American activist Marian Wright Edelman, who founded the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) as a voice for poor, minority, and handicapped children, was the first African-American woman to practice law in Mississippi. She was born in 1939 in South Carolina. Her father, a Baptist preacher, died when she was 14; his last words to her were, “Don’t let anything get in the way of your education.” She graduated from Yale Law School in 1963. Her many awards include the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Vested Bird ATC

“Yesterday is ashes.  Tomorrow is green wood.  Only today does the fire burn brightly.”
–Eskimo saying

Another Vested Bird – 2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor ATC

Here’s a little bird ATC I painted for an exchange.  Have a great weekend!

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

The Meeting House at Carlton Landing

“We can let the circumstances of our life harden us so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us and make us kinder and more open to what scares us. We always have this choice.”
– Pema Chodron

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

The Meeting House at Carlton Landing – 5.5″ x 8.5″ Watercolor and Sharpie

I painted this from a photo I took some time ago.  Now there is little window boxes on the windows and a hand painted sign (by me) hanging on the corner of the building.  Carlton Landing is a wonderful new community on Lake Eufaula that is like the old days, where you knew your neighbors and got together in the common areas to celebrate events or just hang out.   The meeting house will be one of many areas that people can come together.  It’s a magical place and I’m happy to be a part of the team, as their sign lady.

Our Favorite Place is opening on May 3rd!  I am so excited!  My artwork is there, among so many other wonderful pieces of art.  It’s truly a unique gallery and showcase for all things made in Oklahoma.  Go take a peek at their website.

Pema Chodron is a leading exponent of teachings on meditation and how they apply to everyday life.   She is widely known for her charming and down-to-earth interpretation of Tibetan Buddhism for Western audiences.

Pema is the resident teacher at Gampo Abbey, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, the first Tibetan monastery for Westerners and has authored several books, including:

Always Maintain a Joyful Mind (lojong teachings)
Practicing Peace in Times of War
No Time to Lose
The Pema Chodron Collection (audio)
Getting Unstuck:Breaking Your Habitual
Patterns & Encountering Naked Reality (audio)
The Places that Scare You
When Things Fall Apart
Start Where You Are
More info here.

Kitty wants that treat…. pleeeeeeease!

“How pleasant is the day when we give up trying to be young – or slender!”
–William James

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Kitty wants that treat…. right now!  I can smell it! – 3″ x 4″ Watercolor & Sharpie

Susan (Surob) at WetCanvas posted a photo of her cat, Trixie for us to paint last weekend.  I love painting cat eyes.  I think this expression could also say… “Who me?  Those are not my claws in the dog’s nose!  I have an alibi!  I was right here napping…. feel the warmth on my back from the sun?”.

William James,  January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910

William James was born into an affluent family. His father was deeply interested in philosophy and theology and strove to provide his children with a rich education.

The James children traveled to Europe frequently, attended the best possible schools, and were immersed in culture and art, which apparently paid off – William James went on to become one of the most important figures in psychology, while brother Henry James became one of the most acclaimed American novelists.
Early in school, James expressed an interest in becoming a painter. While Henry James Sr. was known as an unusually permissive and liberal father, he wanted William to study science or philosophy. Only after William persisted in his interest did Henry permit his son to formally study painting.
More here.

A bird can’t fly with clothes on, silly!

“Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of the present experience. It isn’t more complicated than that. It is the opening to or receiving the present moment, just as it is, without either clinging to it or rejecting it.”
–Sylvia Boorstein

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

A bird can’t fly with clothes on, silly! – 3″ x 4″ Watercolor and Sharpie

Having clothes and shoes on has certainly impeded this bird’s ability to fly.  He had to climb up on a ladder to see what other birds see from these heights.

The weekly word on Illustration Friday is Heights, and I’m posting this little fellow over there today, too.  The (naked bird) photo I painted it from was posted by Susan (Surob) at WetCanvas and it is her sister’s Blue Fronted Amazon, Blue. 

Sylvia Boorstein

The anthropologist Margaret Mead said that some people have a “teaching gene” and, if that’s true, I think my father, Harry Schor, had that gene and that I inherited it from him. He loved explaining and demonstrating, and so do I. He taught me to swim, to roller skate, to ride a bike, to solve anagrams and to construct crossword puzzles. He taught me about puns and limericks. He was a mathematics teacher by profession and he taught me algebra and geometry at home, years before I learned them at school. My mother was unique amongst the mothers on our street. She had a job. She drove a car. She had passionately progressive political views and the loudest laugh of anyone I knew. I think I’m just like her.

More about Sylvia Boorstein can be found on her website here.

It’s so Hot at these Heights! – 3″ x 4″ Inktense and Sharpie

There are many ways of breaking a heart. Stories were full of hearts broken by love, but what really broke a heart was taking away its dream – whatever that dream might be.
–Pearl S. Buck

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

It’s so Hot at these Heights!  – 3″ x 4″ Inktense and Sharpie

The word of the week at Illustration Friday is Heights.  Susan (Surob) at WetCanvas posted a photo of a squirrel, all sprawled out trying to cool off on a hot day.  I thought it was perfect for this week’s theme.  Check back tomorrow for another one.

Are you wondering what Inktense is?  Inktense pencils are like watercolor pencils, except the color is very intense and after it is dry, it’s permanent, like ink.  Here is a photo with part of the sky still in the pencil form.

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Today is the 20th anniversary of Signs by Beth, LLC!  I can’t believe I’ve had my sign shop for 20 years.  I should be celebrating somehow.  Can’t celebrate with the hubby because he has been wanting me to retire for the last 10 years.  My business is the thing that keeps me away from him.  I can see what he means, but it’s still something to be proud of.  WoooHooo!  There!  Celebrated. 

Heights - Illustration Friday

I had to post the photo again, because when Facebook picks this up, sometimes it posts the last photo and I didn’t want the half done sky to show up on Facebook. 

Pearl Comfort Sydenstricker was born on June 26, 1892, in Hillsboro, West Virginia. Her parents, Absalom and Caroline Sydenstricker, were Southern Presbyterian missionaries, stationed in China. Pearl was the fourth of seven children (and one of only three who would survive to adulthood). She was born when her parents were near the end of a furlough in the United States; when she was three months old, she was taken back to China, where she spent most of the first forty years of her life.

In 1910, Pearl enrolled in Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, in Lynchburg, Virginia, from which she graduated in 1914. Although she had intended to remain in the US, she returned to China shortly after graduation when she received word that her mother was gravely ill. In 1915, she met a young Cornell graduate, an agricultural economist named John Lossing Buck. They married in 1917, and immediately moved to Nanhsuchou (Nanxuzhou) in rural Anhwei (Anhui) province. In this impoverished community, Pearl Buck gathered the material that she would later use in The Good Earth and other stories of China.
More on Pearl S. Buck can be found here.

Alpaca Party and a Proper Lipstick Shade

“Our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pains, losses and disappointments, but let us have patience and we soon shall see them in their proper figures.”
– Joseph Addison

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Alpaca Party – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor and Sharpie

While we’re on the subject of alpacas…. what shade of lipstick goes best on a pink and yellow alpaca?  Bright red, of course!  Nothing is off limits in art.  I can always find my inner goof-ball!  I have a very stressful, busy work life and art helps me not to take myself too seriously! 

About Joseph Addison

English politician and writer Joseph Addison is remembered as a cofounder, along with his friend Richard Steele, of The Spectator, one of the first magazines to cover literature and manners. He was born in 1672 in Wiltshire. He spent four years traveling in Europe, studying politics and writing poetry, and became a Commissioner of Appeals on his return to England. His shyness made public office difficult. His most famous work is the play Cato, a tragedy about ancient Rome. He died in 1719.

Hey, It is a Purple Alpaca!

“True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.”
– William Penn

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Hey, It is a Purple Alpaca!   4″ x 6″ Watercolor

No really…. I do not take drugs.   I don’t even drink.   I just have a vivid imagination.  I painted this from a photo by Crias at WetCanvas.  Yes, the teeth really looked like that. 

About William Penn

William Penn is remembered as the founder of Pennsylvania; the democratic government he set up became the model for the United States Constitution. He was born in 1644 in England. After he was arrested several times for preaching Quaker ideals, he decided to found a settlement in America. He drew up the “Great Treaty” with the Delaware Indians to ensure they were paid fairly for their land and toured Europe marketing the new colony. He died in 1718.

Versace Home in Pink

“The other day a man asked me what I thought was the best time of my life. ‘Why,’ I answered without a thought, ‘now.’”
– David Grayson

I agree, with a resounding NOW!!!  -  I love this time of my life!
--Beth
 

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Versace Home in Pink – 5.5″ x 8.5″ Watercolor & Sharpie


Helen at WetCanvas posted a photo of the Versace home on WetCanvas for us to paint from.  Yes… of course it is white.  What’s the fun in that?  At my house, we are having our pink stucco freshened up this week.  Wanna see?

Beth & Duane's Pink House on Lake Eufaula

So… now does it make more sence that I turned Versace’s home pink?  We had leftover stucco.  he he
Note… I can’t give you any biographical info today on David Grayson.  There are too many of them on the internet.  I don’t know which one said this.  I got it from one of my favorite books in the whole world… Wrinkles Don’t Hurt – Daily Meditations on the Joy if Aging – by the wonderful author, Ruth Fishel.  She also wrote A Time for Joy, another of my favorites.

Congress Hotel goes Yellow

“The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live.”
–Mortimer Adler

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

 Congress Hotel – 5.5″ x 8.5″ Watercolor & Sharpie
Helen posted a photo of the Congress Hotel in South Beach, FL  on WetCanvas for us to paint from.  It is a grand, art deco style, white building.  But of course, I found a sale on yellow stucco and re-did the color for them.  I love the unique architecture of this hotel and it is happier in yellow.

Mortimer Adler, (born Dec. 28, 1902, New York, N.Y., U.S.died June 28, 2001, San Mateo, Calif.) U.S. philosopher, educator, and editor. He earned a doctorate in philosophy from Columbia University (1928) and taught philosophy of law from 1930 at the University of Chicago, where with Robert M. Hutchins he promoted the idea of liberal education through regular discussions of the great books. Together they edited the 54-volume Great Books of the Western World (1952); for Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc., they edited an annual, The Great Ideas Today (from 1961), and the 10-volume Gateway to the Great Books (1963). In 1969 Adler became director of planning for the 15th edition of Encyclopdia Britannica, published in 1974. His many books include How to Read a Book (1940), How to Think About God (1980), Six Great Ideas (1981), and Ten Philosophical Mistakes (1985).

Read more here.