Pastel Demo

I have mentioned before that I still teach art to young students, and I get to do it on Wednesdays. Today I instructed them in a beginner exercise using pastels. I did this small demo for them, step by step, and they followed along. I have found this to be the best method for most art lessons...I do a little, you watch, and then you do a little. I think they called that "guided practice" back in the day.... (all you teachers will appreciate that!) I copied this landscape from a fine book I own on the subject. It is called, "The Poetic Landscape", and it features some lovely artwork. The students I had today are only in middle school, so the simplicity of this was just right for them. They finished their drawing in an hour, and we matted them. And they were very proud; way to go! sheltongail@hotmail.com

Crescent City Collage

An assortment of New Orleans photos...selected, arranged, digitized, and

printed. A couple of vintage postcards thrown in...

An old window frame and canvas painted black; a piece of an old drawer,

and some Modge Podge plus the photos...

Photos collaged along with some textured paper... Mostly done...a few more touches and some final sealing. I will post some pics of the finished product tomorrow. sheltongail@hotmail.com Crescent City Collage 20 x 30 Mixed Media $350 I am looking for some more old wooden windows; if anyone has some, or knows someone who does, let me know. I will buy them...almost any condition! You can call me at the gallery: 318-628-3560

Colleague Update

This is a finished painting by Bernard Poulin. He is a

member of the CPSA, along with me. He sends out

emails with views of his latest finished work. I received

this today, and decided to share it . This is not a colored

pencil drawing..I believe it is an oil painting. He is like

many of the other colored pencil artists I know....they also

work in different mediums. I enjoy working in watercolor,

pastel, pencil, collage, pen and ink, and photography! (too

many to keep straight). Anyway, you can look up some

of his work, and see his excellent draftmanship.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Bernard Poulin/artist

Delivery for Tom

There's nothing better than a Sunday drive...so I took

the chance, especially since I had to deliver two pieces to

the Tom Peyton Memorial show today. It was a cloudy,

rather cool morning, but the drive down to Alexandria was

beautiful. The highway passes through part of the

Kistachie National Forest, and the white dogwood trees in

bloom look like vapor floating in among the pines.

The festival's opening reception is Friday, April 1 at 6 pm.

Larry Leach is doing several events during the event:

1. ColArt Workshop Saturday April 2 1-3pm

2. Artist Critique Sunday April 3 2-5:30 pm

3. The History of Landscape Painting Thursday April 7 6:30

4. Plein Air Painting Saturday April 9 12:30-4:30

You can find out more about any of these at:

www.fumca.org/artsfestival

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Time to Garden

For the last couple of years, I have been asked to

paint in a garden during the Le Jardin Garden Tour

in Shreveport. This year, however, I had a scheduling

conflict. But, they passed my name on to the director

of the Minden Garden tour, and now I am going to

go there and paint this year.

It will be held on the 16th of April. I will be painting

on location in one of the four or five gardens on the

tour. I don't know much about Minden, and I am

going to try to visit ahead of time to see where I will

be.

Speaking of gardening, I did a little of that myself

today. It always feels good to work in the yard, and

just enjoy the outdoors. Our weather here in Louisiana

has been lovely the past two Saturdays (and that is

unusual!) Thought you would enjoy this little photo

of some blooming Bradford pear tree, celebrating the

advent of the season.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

The Pirate of Pigzance

It's Hog Dog Trials time again..and this is my creation.

I cheated and used red duct tape for the stripes ( I didn't

even know it came in colors and patterns?!) That is

supposed to be a doo rag on his head (the ears make it

a little complicated). Those are dread locks (Jack Sparrow),

and he has an eye patch. He looks like a traditional

pirate to me!

for those of you who do not know about the decorated

hogs: Our town hosts the annual Uncle Earl's Hog Dog

Trials, a competition involving hog hunting dogs and

real hogs in an arena. the dogs bay the hogs and receive

points, etc Hog hunters come from all the country and

parts of the world to participate. It is a really big deal....

The Chamber of Commerce rents out the 800 lb concrete

pigs for the businesses to decorate in order to advertise

the festival. And people really seem to enjoy the pigs.

A woman today from Arkansas told me she keeps a

photo album of all the pigs from year to year...what

a hoot!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

"For lo, the Winter is Past..."

This is the sparrow photo I just took the other day,

with the scripture now added, from the Song of Solomon.

And this is one of the crabapple pics I took just this spring
also. Can you tell I love the flowers during this season?
I am busy getting these catalogued and organized in
order to start sending them off to the publishers for
consideration. (If anyone out there wants to volunteer
to be my assistant, I sure need one..lol)

"GloryBee" Scripture Photos 12 x 18 $45.00
available as notecards and smaller prints
sheltongail@hotmail.com

In the Beginning...

Someone asked me this week, "When did I start doing

photography?" Most people think of me as a painter,

or someone who draws; but my photographs have always

come first. I started taking pictures in my teens. And I

bought my first 35 mm camera, a Vivitar, when I was

18. My father split the cost with me (it was $189.00!)

This is me, about 19, on the banks of a stream in central

Texas, shooting some scenery. My brother took this

picture of me, and it is one of a very few where I am in the

picture!

I have always started with the photos, and used them as

references for paintings and drawings. With the advent of

all this digital stuff, my photographs have been elevated into

the "art" catagory as well. It is much easier to take them,

print them, and share them. My brother will be so amused

to hear me say all that....I was dragged kicking and screaming

into the digital age. But I have no choice now, and I have

learned to embrace it.

This is one of the first photos I tried to market and sell. I

just sold another print of this image just last week. It is

somewhere on a quaint corner in Venice.

I am preparing to submit some images soon to some

Christian publishers...will have to see what happens!

It's time for the circle to come full circle I hope.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Venice Lamp Post 11 x 14 $50.00

Blog GiveAway Winner!

I drew a winning name this weekend for this

little French watercolor. Cheryl A is the winner!

I have notified her and she will be able to come

by the gallery and pick up her prize.

Stay tuned....I will be giving away other stuff

soon. Why don't some of you tell me what you

would like for me to give away?! I am open to

suggestions.

Welcome to some of my new readers...I appreciate

your support!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

"Gotcha"

I mentioned I had been trying to photograph some
of our little backyard birds over the weekend. This
wisteria is in full bloom, and I was trying to combine
the two! After reviewing all 50 shots I took, this is
the best one. It was really difficult trying to capture
the birds in the bush...they move really fast! Some of
my pics have little brown blurs in them...too slow.
I like this one, and I am going to add some scripture
about God and sparrows....perfect.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

For the Birds

Spent the day working on this collage...using an old window

frame, a canvas, some old buttons, some beaded board,.....

here's the buttons...I bought a whole sack of them

last year at Round Top Antique Fair out in Texas...

I keep a whole stash of salvaged materials: tin ceiling

beaded board, scrap wood, hinges, door plates, etc....

I just took these yesterday, and decided to incorporate

them in the collage today...no moss grew on these digital

files!

The finished piece is large, 30 x 40. The window

frame is attached to the canvas, which is painted

here and there with a taupe color. I glued the buttons

on last, and I will seal the whole thing tomorrow.

I worked on it outside all afternoon..it was a perfect

day. Welcome Spring!!!

BirdSong Collage 30x40 Canvas

$250

sheltongail@hotmail.com

"His Eye is on the Sparrow"

Got to spend some time this afternoon in the

yard with me, the camera, and the cats. I wanted

to try to get some shots of our backyard birds.

I have located the feeders near the trees and

bushes that I can photograph easily to try and

get some good shots. I took several of some

sparrows and one of the bluebirds. As you can

see however, Dewey had his "eye on the sparrows"

as well. He thwarted some of my efforts.

I will use these for some scripture photos that I

am going to submit to some Christian publishers

soon!!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

At the Bank

My friend sent me a photo of me at the Contemporary

Artist's Guild show reception. That is my watercolor

of some eucalyptus trees in Greece. The show is held in

the lobby of the Capital One Bank down in Alexandria, and

will be up through next Thursday, the 24th.

Being Positve in a Negative World

These are Brianne's butterflies.

these are Katherine's dragonflies

these are my lady bugs....

One of the "art" things I do each week is teach
some beginner lessons to some children in the
community. It is such fun; they are so eager to try
something new each time. This past week, my two
talented 6th grade girls did this little project along with
me. It was a lesson about positive and negative shapes,
and I had them draw the geometric shapes first. Then
they traced the bug of their choice overlapping the shapes.
Then they colored them in, interchanging the postive and
negative values inside and outside the shapes.
I thought they turned out really neat, and I told them
I would post them here.


then, this week, we added the element of color.
This is my example for them...these graphic
dragonflies. They are still working on their's...will
have to share the final results.


for info on Art Classes: sheltongail@hotmail.com
Beginner Drawing Classes: Pea Patch Gallery
Wednesday Afternoons 4-5pm. Ages 10 and up
$10.00 an hour Please call to sign up...thanks!

Back to Tea

"So I must rise at early dawn, as busy as can be,

To get my daily labor done, and pluck the leafy tea."

ballad of the tea pickers Ch'ing dynasty 1644

I have been working on some other tea designs

for the series. I am not satisfied with the others

I have done. I have been in a hurry to get

something done, and haven't invested the time

I needed to in developing a style or look for

the book. These are a little more graphic...and

colorful. I am still working on some. I love the

collage look as well, and I am doing some of those

too....should have some to share for consideration.

I will be drawing a name for the watercolor this

weekend, so send me an email or make a comment

to enter.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Time to Wander

This is my next scheduled trip, and we are beginning

to sign up now. It will be to Peru and Machu Pichu,

and it is scheduled for April 19, 2012. It is 11 days,

and I am flying out of New Orleans (not necessary).

It will be a great experience, and I would love for you

to join us. I will be taking photographs and painting

some, but that is not required! Non painters are

welcome, too.

If you would like more info, get in touch with me and

I can send you a detailed itinerary. I am excited already.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Friends and Winners

One of my favorite pieces from the show. It is a

photograph.

JoAnne and her 2nd place painting of some banyan trees.

My friend Margie Tate's azaleas in oil.


My Santorini watercolor

This is the first place winner. It is a mixed media piece,

and is title Sunset Dream. It is done by a Barry Owen

who lives there is Alexandria. Congrats Barry!

I attended the CAG member show reception on

Sunday afternoon. It was well attended, and I enjoyed

viewing all of the entries.

Showtime in Dallas

"Monkey Business" colored pencil Gail H. Shelton

"Top This" colored pencil Gail H. Shelton

The Colored Pencil Society of America holds its'

annual convention in August. This year's location

is Dallas, TX. In conjunction with the convention,

they host their international juried exhibition. The deadline

for entry is March 31st, so I just finished entering these

two colored pencil drawings for consideration. A juror will

view all the entries, and select about 80-100 pieces from

around 1600 entries. This show is always very competitive,

and hard to get in. I have managed to do it 5 times. But I

have also been rejected several times, too! Hopefully, one of

these two will catch the juror's attention and make the cut.

I also dropped off two watercolors this morning in Alexandria

at the Capitol One Bank building downtown for the annual

Contemporary Artist's Guild Member show. The members

may enter 2 pieces, and these are judged as well, and prize

money awarded. I will go to the opening reception Sunday

afternoon, and see if I win anything. It is always a very

eclectic show...the guild members work in a variety of mediums,

and have a variety of subject matter. I will try to take some

photos to share.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

go to www.cpsa.org to see the organization and samples of

colored pencil artwork...amazing

Irish Bayou

On our way out of New Orleans, we passed

through an area known as Irish Bayou. It is

home to some shrimp fisherman, and I decided

to stop and take a few boat pics. (If you remember

any of my Greece photos, you know how much

I love boats!) Anyway, here's a few. The sun

was setting over Lake Pontchartrain...sounds like

a song!

I am going to draw a name for the watercolor

painting giveaway soon. Get your name in the

hat by leaving a comment or sending me an email.

Good Luck!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Old Man River

On Sunday afternoon, we decided to take the riverboat

ride down to the Battle of New Orleans site. It was a

beautiful day.

We sat near the rear of the boat, and the paddle wheel was

right outside. It was surprisingly quiet after we got underway.

Two of the first landmarks we passed were the Jax

Brewery building which houses shops and restaurants,

and Jackson Square.

This is the Domino Sugar Factory which has been

producing sugar from sugar cane for over a century.

There are lots of docks and warehouses along the bank,

and I loved the character of this one. It would make a

great watercolor!

We left the boat and toured the battlefield site. This

is the Napoleon House, a plantation house located

there at the State Park.

This is the Battle of New Orleans monument and

tourist center. After the historical presentation, we

boarded the boat and traveled upstream back into

town.

This was a relaxing and informative trip. The boat is

comfortable, with a glassed inside viewing area, and

an outside top deck. They serve food and drink, and

have music on board as well. The narration was great,

and I learned a lot about the river and history that I

did not know. And I got to photograph some views of

the river, boats, and the bank that you cannot see any

other way. So, if you are down that way, check it out.

It's a great way to spend a couple of hours away from

some of the hustle and bustle of the city!

sheltongail@hotmail.com