No Toucan, just a Toucanet

One of the birds I wanted to see in Costa Rica
was a toucan. I have seen several in zoos, and
photographed them, but I wanted the thrill of
seeing one in the wild. We never did see one,
but I saw this great toucanet. It is smaller than
a toucan, but more colorful. It does have a
large colorful bill, too. I was excited to see him,
and I snapped a couple of pictures. I did this
little watercolor.

Toucanet orig wc 8 x 10 $35.00
sheltongail@hotmail.com

Later Gator

A break from Costa Rica art today....I have

company in town; my brother and sister-in-

law and a friend from San Antonio. I took

them to Natchitoches, LA today to tour

around. We went to the Bayou Pierre

Alligator Park (very cheesy, but oh, so

much fun). That's my brother and his

wife up to their necks in alligator garb; a

little tri-colored heron in a willow tree;

one of the many gators there; and a

great sign. We saw lots of other animals

too...goats, turtles, snakes, raccoons, emus,

and peacocks. It was a real adventure, and

we all had a great time.

That is a colored pencil drawing of a gator

that I drew from a photo that I took at the

park several years ago.

"Later Gator" orig colored pencil 22 x 30

$650.00 sheltongail@hotmail.com

Reading your palm

There were lots of palms along the beach
and I enjoyed sketching and painting them.
This is a small postcard size watercolor.
I am working on a large painting of the
coconut palm, but I am not very far along.
Will post when have something to show!

Small palm wc $5.00
sheltongail@hotmail.com

Reception at the Schepis

Tonight was the reception at the Schepis

Museum in Columbia for my "Destinations"

show. The staff of the museum did a

beautiful job with the refreshments, and

the crowd was enthusiastic and supportive.

I did have some great sales, and the museum

bought two for their permanent collection.

They said that they really enjoyed having

it there and that it was one of the best

exhibits they have had. They had a lot of

positive response, and I enjoyed discussing

travel destinations and trips with some of

the viewers. I got some tips on Montana

and Yellowstone, which is on my "to do"

list.

I am working on some more Costa Rica

stuff, mostly a coconut palm tree painting.

Will post some tomorrow.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Falling for Water

I saw some beautiful waterfalls in Costa Rica.
I saw some in Hawaii also, but I was able to
hike right up to these, photograph them, and
even splash around a little. I did this little
watercolor while there of one of the many
waterfalls we saw. It is rather challenging
in watercolor because there is no white
paint, so you just get to paint the shadows,
and colors of the rocks, etc. I did several
of these and some members of the group
tour purchased them.

Waterfall Watercolor 8 x 10 $35.00
sheltongail@hotmail.com

Not just Fruit...

I saw such wonderful flowers in Costa Rica...

some I have never seen before (just like some

of the fruit). I believe this is a plantain bloom,

but the others I have no idea. If anyone can

tell me, I would appreciate it. I was in such

awe of the diversity and complexity of God's

marvelous creation.

Costa Rica Fruit

Yesterday I posted a painting of a great little
market in Costa Rica in the town of Liberia.
This is a photo of the unknown fruit...if anyone
can tell me what it is, I'd appreciate it.
The sketch is from my journal that I did while
on the trip, of the same market.

I have a reception this Thursday at the Schepis
Museum for my "Destinations" show. The show
ends this coming Saturday, so it is like a "closing
reception" instead of an opening one!? Anyway,
I talked to them, and they said that I would be
pleased with the number of sales and the positive
response. I am anxious to see what did sell, and
meet and greet those interested in my work.
Will keep you posted.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Gone to Market

We stopped for lunch one day in Liberia, a
town in western Costa Rica. This little
market was down the street. There was
a young man helping to run it, and he was
so proud that I wanted to take pictures
of his business. He told me to take the
young woman's photo, and she turned
her face..she was embarrased, and a
little shy. They had beautiful fruit and
vegetables, some I have never seen
before. I will post some of the photos,
and someone can tell me what they are!

Liberia Market orig wc 11 x 14 $150.00

Home on the (mountain) Range

Still painting scenes from Costa Rica...this little
home was near the Doka Coffee plantation that
we were able to tour. You can visit their website
and purchase some of their wonderful coffee:
www.dokaestate.com The plantation is 4500
feet above sea level, and has rich volcanic soil.
The average temperature is 78 degrees, and is
perfect for growing the arabica beans. They
clear the forest to plant the coffee. Then they
either plant trees back among the coffee plants
or banana plants. Trees offer shade; the coffee
grows better in the shade. And the banana
plants draw the underground worms away
because their roots taste better than the
coffee roots! The coffee beans are harvested
from October to February, all by hand, and
mostly by Nicaraguans.
I don't drink coffee myself, but it sure did
smell wonderful...

Home on the Range orig wc 9 x 12 $45.00

Costa Rica Store

Been painting again tonight...this little store in Costa
Rica. There were lots of them in the small towns;
not unlike the small deli and grocery stores in
New York City on every corner. I love the
universal Coca Cola sign..I guess it is the same
everywhere....and they sure did taste good!

Costa Rica Store orig watercolor 8 x 10 $45.00

Costa Rica House

I bought a small oil painting while in Costa Rica at
a gallery called Galeria Onirica in La Fortuna.
It was painted by an A. Hernandez. Tonight I
was playing around and decided to copy it in
watercolor. This is the result. I saw many little
bungalows like this while in the country.

If you would like to see some of the people on the
trip, view photos, and read comments, you can
visit the site: www.goaheadcostarica2008.ning.com

Costa Rica Home orig watercolor $45.00

Working Vacation

This is a page from my sketchbook journal that I
do on each trip. I was sitting out by the pool at our
luxurious resort, painting the palm trees that
surrounded the pool. One of our group members
walked by and commented, "I guess this is what
you would call a "working vacation". Amen.

I will do a larger version of this as a finished painting.

More Photos

(I must really like that red flower...it keeps showing
up!) anyway, here are some of the sunsets...which
were breath-taking. And one waterfall..we saw
several.
I hope I can get to paint several of these photos in
the next couple of weeks. But they are also available
as photos for now!

costa rica photos 8 x 10 $35.00
sheltongail@hotmail.com

Costa Rica Photos

I am working on getting some of my photos printed.
(I took over 750!). these are just a few of the favorites
so far.
The top one is Arenal Volcano, an active one, that we
heard rumble and watched, as rocks rolled down in
clouds of smoke and ash.
The second is a scene from the Pacific coast.
The hummingbird was resting on a branch at a local
woman's home who fed them with feeders all thru her
yard.
And the flower is just one of thousands we saw.

Photographs 8 x 10 $35.00

Market Day-La Feria

Early in the trip, we drove through the outskirts
of San Jose, and saw one of the Sunday markets.
Referred to as La Feria, the farmers bring in their
produce and crafts, and set up in the street to sell
their wares. I love colorful markets, and have
painted lots of them. I only got to see this one
through the windows of the bus, and I did this little
quicky watercolor.

La Feria orig watercolor 8 x 10 $30.00

Costa Rica Group

This is my group that I took to Costa Rica. The three

in the front row, Mary Lee, Mary T., and Linda travel

with me all the time. On the second row is Dr. George

and his mother Virginia, and three women from

Winnfield. That's me in the back, with a pair of sisters,

and one of my former art students. We all had a great

time. They all had a very adventurous spirit, and joined

in all the activities. We can't wait for the next trip?!

Back from the Jungle

I am back from our adventure in Costa Rica...10 great
days of traveling, sketching, meeting neat people,
eating, sightseeing, painting, hiking, and resting!
I saw wonderful sights, heard intriguing sounds,
experienced thrilling adventures, and loved it all.
I will post more about the trip each day.

This little watercolor is of a typical Costa Rican
home. We saw lots of them through the windows
of our bus as we traveled through the countryside.

More tomorrow...need to sleep!

Costa Rica #1 orig watercolor 8 x 10 $30.00

Postcard Parrot

Another Costa Rica postcard...going to go in the
suitcase.

Hop to It

I am getting ready to go to Costa Rica with my
group, and tour, sketch, paint and take photographs.
When I go on these trips, I usually paint some small
watercolor postcards, like this one of this tree frog.
I will paint several more while I am gone.

for info on group tours and painting trips:
sheltongail@hotmail.com

Bloomin' New York

I love flowers, and I am always attracted to
them, wherever I go. These were all in New
York City: the top one was blooming in Bryant
Park, and the others were all in flower markets
in or near Grand Central Station. These would
make great subjects for some paintings or
drawings, and I may get to them later this summer.

Gone to the Dogs

This is a commission pet portrait that I had to
do quickly for a client. It is a very distinguished
schnauzer...a surprise gift for the owner. Hope
she likes it.

for info on pet portraits:
sheltongail@hotmail.com
www.peapatchgallery.com