Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Greek Eucalyptus










Here's another Greece painting. This beautiful
old eucalyptus tree was right outside our hotel in
Naphlio. I took a late afternoon stroll down the road
and had taken this photograph. I loved the contrast
between the fluffy white blossoms, and the dark green
leaves. The lighting was not bad either. So I knew I
wanted to paint it when I got home.
I am using the "pour" technique again. I am only
using the blues and yellows this time, and they will
blend to make some greens. I used the masking fluid
on the blossoms. I used a very thin brush, and a toothpick
to make the skinny lines and dots. They will all be white
and I can paint freely over them as long as the mask is
on them. pretty cool...

Monday, August 30, 2010

Final Santorini









Here's the finished painting with some of the
process along the way. I covered the entire
church and shoreline with the masking fluid.
And then I used the "pouring" technique taught
by Jean Grastorf. I soaked the paper and then
poured the three primary colors onto the paper
and let them blend together. The three colors:
red, yellow, and blue, will make beautiful colors
when they run together. Then I removed the
masking fluid, added a few details, and there is
the finished painting. now, on to the next one!
Santorini One 11 x 14 Original Watercolor $150.00

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Santorini One



I am working on some of the art for the
Greece show coming up. This is one of
the famous blue and white churches on the
island of Santorini. I had seen photos of
these churches, and always hoped I could
take one myself. We were not on the island
long, and I was running around like a maniac
trying to get the shots I wanted. Luckily
there were several churches very close together. I
think this one is stunning in its' simplicity,
and a good subject for a Sunday.
The little bottle of masking fluid is a very
helpful tool when painting in watercolor.
Because there is no white paint, and the
paint itself is transparent, any white you see
in most watercolors is unpainted paper. The
masking fluid helps to save the white paper.
It can be painted on, and it seals the surface,
so you can paint freely around a certain shape
or area. When dry, you just peel it off, like
rubber cement. I will be using it on this piece
to save all of this painted section so I can paint
the ocean freely around it. We'll see if I can
pull it off!
11 x 14 original watercolors: $150.00

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Birthday Wishes


Whenever someone has a birthday, we
always ask them "what they want."
I have thought about that all day since it is my
birthday today! The things I want are not necessarily
things...I can remember when my mother reached
a certain age, she pleaded for us to not give her
"any more stuff". I have reached that age as well.
So what do I want for my birthday?
1. More Courtesy: I don't know if you have noticed
how rude people are these days, but I certainly have.
So if I get to have a gift, I want more manners, more
graciousness, more common decency.
2. More Time: I used to have a poster in my classroom
that said we all have the same amount of hours in a day
that Leonardo, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, etc had. I do
know that, so maybe I am asking for better use of my time.
I love the scripture that says, "teach us to number our days"
I would like to have more days, and learn to use them wisely.
3. More Faith: As I grow in years, I hope to grow in wisdom,
and faith. I want to learn to trust God during this journey,
and rely on His strength rather than my own.
So, there are a few of the things I would like for my birthday!
Thanks to many of you who wished me well today. I appreciate
your friendships and your love.
(the photo is part of my studio)

Friday, August 27, 2010

Sunnyside Up


I finished up this sunflower design and
page today. I changed the vase to red,
the other one looked too "country".
I like it, but I like sunflowers. They always
look happy or cheerful.
There's a local man here who plants hundreds
of them along the highway near his home.
They are the large ones, and they are beautiful.
I have never been to Tuscany where they
bloom, or to the south of France where Van Gogh
painted his famous ones. Maybe soon...


Fun in the Sun

I have been working on these sunflowers tonight,
and I am almost finished. The pot needs a little more
work, now that I see it in the photo! sometimes that
helps flaws show up. Anyway, I will do some coordinating
designs to go with this drawing, and then print out the
sheet for the portfolio I am putting together.
( I guess the "focusing"is working!)
I have started some more Greece art, too, and will have
some of that to post tomorrow.
I matted the give-away pastel today, and it is on display in
the cafe if anyone would like to see it. The matted size is
19 x 16. I will draw a winning name from among the list of
followers. And I will do it on Sept 1, so there is still time to
sign up as a follower. If you have any trouble doing that,
you can let us know, and we can do it for you.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Licensing Assignment


As far as staying focused on my licensing
project..this is the art I worked on for part of
the day today. I teach a private pastel drawing
lesson each week to a student, and today I
worked on this as a demo while she was drawing
as well. I will add it to the flower section of my
presentation when I am finished. It is part of the
series that the geranium I posted last night will be
a part of. Trying to stay focused! Now that the
studio at work is organized, it may help a lot!
Gail Shelton art
For info on Private Art Lessons:
Email or Call the Gallery: 318-628-3560

Fall Cleaning or (Very Late Spring Cleaning)





Most of you know that I own and help operate
the Pea Patch Gallery in downtown Winnfield.
I have a studio and a framing area as well in the
back of the building. This August we are starting
our 19th year in business! wow Anyway, I never
have had everything like I wanted it (what perfectionist
ever does?!) But I am a lot closer now that we all
have been working on organizing, installing shelves,
cleaning out, and arranging in the frame area and
the studio. I was able to get some shelving and some
other storage pieces, and move some things around.
And it is going to be so much nicer to work in.
( I certainly didn't do it all by myself...thanks to all my
loyal employees ( and some of Steve's) for helping!)
In the framing area, we added the shelves for the matboard,
my biggest storage problem. I re-arranged the set-up,
and it is very organized now. In the studio, we added the
storage shelves for completed artwork ( I literally have
about 100 pieces now arranged by subject matter: cityscapes,
landscapes, animals, still life, florals, birds, "Riddle Pics",
etc. I still have the classroom area, my computer instruction
area, and lots of storage for supplies and books. I am still
going to tweak a few things, and should be all finished by the
1st of September. I am thinking about having a "Studio Tour
Art Sale" ...art makes great Christmas gifts.
If you come by the shop for lunch or to shop, feel free to
walk through the studio area...I promise it will be clean and tidy!
sheltongail@hotmail.com
We do all kinds of custom framing, and have lots of matboard
and frame moulding to choose from. Bring your project by
for us to frame up for you. That always makes a great gift, too.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

glory of summer



My grandmother always grew geraniums on
her front porch in rectangular concrete planters.
As a kid, I always thought they had the funniest
smell, but I loved the way they looked. And they
defined "summer" for me. I stayed with her
some in the summers, and those flowers were
always blooming. Red, red only..that's the only
ones she planted. I saw these geraniums while
I was painting at the garden tour this past spring.
It will be part of my "Flower Power" collection.
(I am staying focused on licensing stuff..!)
Thanks for the encouragement from a few of you!

3 to 5 Veggies a Day


a couple more veggies....still working on some more.
I heard from another licensing artist today who is
helping me wade through these unknown waters...
She has already gotten a manufacturing contract!
How exciting! She told me that I will need to have
about 12 collections of around 4 or 5 designs, or
themes. I wrote down a whole list, and now I just
have to make myself work systematically through
them. That is so hard for me...I get pulled in all kinds
of directions.... commissions come along and side-track
me. Juried shows seem to call my name....my suitcase
beckons to me from the closet! I need to focus...need
to stay motivated...maybe if I can share the journey
with my friend, I will stay on track.
that's all for now...I have to go do the ironing!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Sketchy Fruit


I spent the whole afternoon cleaning and rearranging
my studio at the gallery. I am still not finished, but I
made a lot of progress. I ran across these little fruit
sketches in the process. They are watercolor and
colored pencil. I would like to work them up into some
licensing designs. Fruits and vegetables are always in
style!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Texting Rooster


Been playing around with this rooster design
just for fun tonight. I did the watercolor and
scanned it into Photoshop, and then added the
text. Will play around some more with it.

I learned how to do Photoshop when I took a
sabbatical from teaching school when I was
42. I attended Northwestern University and
took an advertising design class that taught
Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. It was all new to
me then, and I drove the TA crazy with my
questions. The instructor, however, was my
age, and we got along because I understood
his references and humor. I was by far the
oldest in the class, but I got an A!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Friday, August 20, 2010

LIfe is a Bowl of Cherries

Here's another scripture photo for the
Greece show. We stopped at a fruit stand
outside of Kalambaka one morning, and our
tour director bought us all some of these
delicious cherries. I thought this scripture
would accent them nicely.

Fruit of the Spirit Poster 12 x 18 $35.00
notecards $4.00 each w/envelope

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Pepper for Portfolio

I had a chance tonight to work on another
page for my licensing portfolio. I have lots
of these pepper paintings, and I just picked
up several from a friend in Texas. So I
decided to work them up into some possible
licensing designs.
I do the peppers with a Sharpie, and then
wet the inside shape, and fill with watercolor
that bleeds and blurs inside the shape. I add
the green stems, and then the little black
pepper dots. I did the stripe designs with some
Dick Blick Studio markers (which I love), and
then put the page together in Photoshop.

Dog Intermission






Someone called today, and needed this dog
portrait asap for a gift by the 22nd. She emailed
me the photo, and I got it done tonight. It is
only 8 x 10, and she wanted pencil. I had done
two other dachsunds for her last year.
I finished this collage today, too. I added some
other columns on top of these, mounted with
foam core..making it dimensional. It doesn't
show up in the photos, so you will just have to
come to the Greek Art show opening in November,
and see it in person!
I sold some art over the weekend, and it is always
so nice to have someone want to own my work.
I sold a Paris photo collage to someone who had
just visited Paris, and wanted a gift for a fellow
traveler. And a long time collector came by to
browse and left with two to add to his collection.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Column Construction





Progress on the column collage..some more of the
process.
Photo 1: the final design and the paper pieces
arranged and layed out
Photo 2: the Modge Podge process lots of glue
on front and back....adheres it to the
canvas
Photo 3: More Podge all over, and then wait to dry

The Modge Podge will dry clear, and acts like a
sealer. I will cover the whole thing with it. I did
paint the canvas first with some brown paint. Should
be all finished tomorrow. Any questions?
I teach Collage Workshops...if anyone has a group that
would be interested, please let me know. I can
come to you, or we can have one in the studio.
3 Column Collage 24 x 36 $300

Scripture Photo -Greece


I started on the scripture photos for the
Greece show today. This is the first one
I wanted to do.
We were in the bus on the way to Metsovo,
when this group of sheep appeared on the
side of the road. We saw the sheep
dogs first, and the bus slowed to let us take
some pictures. Our tour guide let us get off
the bus, but told us to be quiet and quick...
she wasn't sure what the dogs might do if they
thought we were a threat to the sheep. And then
the shepherd appeared, walking slowly up behind
the sheep, carrying his staff. I think he was stunned
to see a dozen tourists with cameras pointing at him
standing beside a huge purple bus...but I got this
shot, and it is one of my favorites from the trip.
He finally figured out we were taking pictures of him,
and gave us this final little wave...perfect.
Scripture Photo: The Shepherd and The Sheep
12 x 18 fine art print $65 Notecard + Envelope $4.00

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Evolution of an Idea












I thought it might be neat to share some of
the process of a finished work: in this case,
a photo collage using some photography,
my computer, large format printer, collage
paper, some paint and a canvas.
I liked this photo of three columns (on the
temple of Apollo on the Acropolis). But that's
pretty boring...so, once I saw the gold, brown,
and red collage papers, I thought about using
these columns, only in those colors. So, I digitized
the photo using Photoshop, and printed large
prints of each column. I am in the process of
working out the complete design using the papers,
and some acrylic paint, etc. It will be assembled
on a large canvas, and all glued in place. Stay

Friday, August 13, 2010

Loose Ends





Lots of stuff happening today....
1. Paula came by and picked up her free
watercolor. It was the give-away for
July. It is a painting of a window in Corfu, Greece.
She was happy!
2. I finished a collage with those cute papers I
posted last week. It has 2 of my Greece watercolors,
copies of the old money, stamp, and paper on canvas.
3. I also finished the pastel of the bay in Mykonos,
which will be my give-away in August.
I am working on a pencil portrait at home for a client.
And then it is back to Greek artwork. I will get some
of my photographs enlarged soon, and get them done.
There are so many that I would like to do..it will be
hard to just pick a few. I already have the whole
gallery layout planned, and I have gotten in
the Greek Christmas ornaments, ribbon, decorations,
etc. They are all aqua and royal blue. It should be
really pretty. And it will be here before we know it!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

An Open Mind


I wish I could say this is my painting, but it
is not. Let me start at the beginning...

At the gallery, almost every day, I have
someone tell me that they know an artist:
(their child, brother-in-law-, neighbor's
ex-wife...etc, you get the idea) For some
reason, I think they feel like they always
need to share that with me. Anyway, most
of the time I just file that info away, or I
might look them up just for fun. Well, today
this nice gentleman came in for lunch, and
on his way out, said to me, "My sister is an
artist in Baton Rouge...do you know Carol
Creel?" Since I am so out of the loop living
in this rural place, I said no I did not. And
he said, "Well, she is a watercolorist, and
she is really good." and he gave me her
website. Well, by golly, she is REALLY good!!
This is one of her pieces. Check out her site:
www.carolcreel.com I was so pleasantly
surprised...you never know what you might
learn, and I need to keep an open mind.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Bicycles and Brewery-Blue Star












I did a post the other day about the Blue
Star Art Center in San Antonio, and I had
some other pics I wanted to share. We had
lunch in the Cafe and Brewery, and the
food was good. They do brew their own beer
and there are several that you can taste.
I am standing in front of a modern sculpture
made of various blocks and pots..kinda interesting.
They also rent bicycles there to ride on the
riverbank, and I really loved seeing the
colorful ones for rent. If you are in town, it
is a good place to go and visit; there are several
art galleries and shops there as well.
Blue Star Art Center
San Antonio

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Note-Worthy



I decided to photograph a set of these Greek
notecards that are ready now. There are 8
cards (two of each design) along with the
envelopes. They are $15.00 for the set. If
you would like a different combination, I can
do that. They feature some of the Greek
photography printed in black and white.
They are about 6 inches square.
I also have Venice, London, and Paris designs
available. same price. Great gifts!
Greek notecards Set of 8 $15.00

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

New Greece GiveAway


I am still working on this pastel drawing, and I
have decided to make it the give-away for August.
It is 11x 14 on pastel paper, drawn with pastels
and colored pencil. I will mat it and display it at
the Pea Patch Gallery. I will draw a name from
my followers at the end of the month, and give this
artwork away.
I will be doing a lot more work from the trip to be
included in a show this fall.