Hannah-completed

This is the finished drawing of my daughter, Hannah.

I hope to do a few more pencil drawings in the next few

days.

It is cold outside, and the three cats are wanting to

come inside. They can see me at my drawing desk

through the window, and when they see me get up,

they go and line up at the back door. That's Huey,

Dewey, and Louie, from right to left.

www.peapatchgallery.com
sheltongail@hotmail.com

Back to Basics

There is nothing more basic in art than drawing with a
pencil. It was my first love, and I still enjoy its simplicity.
I have been enjoying doing some pencil drawings just for
fun. This is my daughter, Hannah, when she was about
3. (she is 24 now). I guess the end of another year has made
me sentimental. And I thought if I had drawn my friend's
child, I should draw my own!

I recalled a song I know about getting back to basics, and
the lyrics are perfect for a new year, too.

"We need to get back to the basics of Life:
a heart that is pure, and a love that is blind;
a faith that is fervently grounded in Christ;
a hope that endures for all time."

I don't know everything the new year will hold,
but these are good goals to start with. I hope to
work on them, as well as some artwork in the coming
days.

Happy New Year! sheltongail@hotmail.com

Portrait of Mattie Claire

I have been taking a break from my artwork,
but certainly haven't been resting! As any woman
knows, we "do" Christmas. Between the shopping,
wrapping, decorating, grocery shopping, cleaning,
cooking, and entertaining, I haven't exactly had a
minute to myself. But we all had a great time, and
celebrated the Savior's birth well.
I have been working on this portrait of my good
friend's little girl, Mattie Claire, for a few days.
It is just in pencil, which I love to work in. Her
hair is done mostly with an eraser. This is the second
drawing I have done of her; they own the first one,
a gift from her husband for Mother's Day. I wanted
to do this one to use as a competition piece in some
shows I have coming soon.

I have to take some work over to the gallery in
Natchitoches, LA on Saturday because I am the
featured artist for the month of January. You can
check out their website:natchitochesartguild.org

For info on children's portraits, email me:
sheltongail@hotmail.com

Jonquils in December

This is another Christmas gift for someone.
This is her favorite flower, and her sister
had me paint them for her.
I love flowers. They are just remarkable,
and there are so many varieties. They
are just one more reminder of how awesome
God's creation really is.
For info on commission work: portraits of
children, animals, houses and buildings, etc
www.peapatchgallery.com
sheltongail@hotmail.com

A Time to Sign

I just got back from spending a couple of days in

the little town of Boerne, Texas. I was selected

to draw their annual Christmas Festival Poster,

and I went out there to make an appearance,

and sign some posters.

Boerne is a small town about 30 miles north of

San Antonio. I grew up in San Antonio, and had

been to Boerne several times. They have really

worked hard on their historic downtown, and

today, it is a charming and wonderful place.

Those of you who follow this blog will remember

that I worked on the poster for a couple of weeks.

I spent most of Friday meeting and greeting the

merchants up and down Main Street and signing

their posters. And then Friday evening, I signed

some more in the Gazebo in the park. It was a

lot of fun, and I made a lot of contacts.

Those other photos are of Main Street, and a

little string ensemble playing along the street.

I am holding a poster, and resting my hand!

For more information, you can go to their

website: www.ahillcountrychristmas.com

(My website: peapatchgallery.com has been

down for a couple of days, but the problem

has been addressed, and they assure me it

will be back in a couple of days...sorry for

the confusion. Please try it again in the

near future!!)

sheltongail@hotmail.com

a little tweeking...

I thought I was finished with this portrait,
but decided to tweek some more. I darkened
the shirt, and the background, and worked on
his features a little more. I think the likeness
is pretty good, and I hope they will like it.

I am going to Boerne this weekend to sign the
poster that I did for them. You can see the
finished poster at:www.ahillcountrychristmas.com
It should be a lot of fun, will keep you posted.

for info on all kinds of portraits:
www.peapatchgallery.com