Art Licensing Information: Artist Spotlight

Friday, October 23, 2015

Artist Spotlight - Beth Parker

Tell us a bit about yourself: Did you go to school for art? Are you self taught?
I am self taught. A great learning experience for me was participating in the All Media Art Event at WetCanvas.com. Every week, I churned out a lot of paintings in a bunch of new mediums, with each being finished in 2 hours or less. It stretched me creatively and gave me a great community. I have always gravitated to a style that people recognize as Bethville. "Art that makes you wiggle your butt."

Do you work in just one medium? Several?
My favorite mediums are watercolor and acrylic. I have recently fallen in love with polymer clay and I find that when I try new things, they sort of cross pollinate, if that makes sense. I love mixing things up in a way that carries one medium into another.

What inspires you / where do you get inspiration from?W
I get a lot of inspiration from living in a small town. I like turning complicated things into simple, less serious versions of themselves. A patron at an art show once studied a small town painting for a long time, then proclaimed, "I know what's going on here. Someone just told a joke and your buildings are laughing." I loved that so much! It's not uncommon to see a paisley cow or a quilted pig in my art somewhere. I get a lot of joy from making people happy.

What are you working on now?
I have been asked to do a coloring book from my small town paintings and I'm working on three welcome signs for our town, based on one of my watercolor paintings. I have owned a sign shop for 23 years and these signs are very exciting. A local nonprofit group got a grant to do the signs and they selected the painting. I am also adding collections to ArtLicensingShow.com. I'm working on new collections all the time.

Anything else you would like to share with us?
I like to keep busy. I have a lot of irons in the fire, because it keeps me creating and learning. Being self employed for over 23 years has taught me to diversify and to not be afraid to switch gears when the market or the client dictates it. My art is in Our Favorite Place, a made in Oklahoma gallery. I have an Etsy shop for my jewelry and a Society 6 presence for prints. The last two are new this year.

Are you an early riser? or night owl?
Absolutely an early riser. I have a studio in my home and I spend at least an hour on my art every morning before I go to work. (On weekends, I get a little more time to create.) Morning is my favorite time of day.

What is your favorite food?
Ice cream. If coffee was a food, I'd have to pick that. I love my coffee!