Egret Art

Since I talked about getting to photograph the

egrets soon, someone asked about some of my

artwork of the birds. This one is a watercolor

with high contrast between the white bird and

the dark background. (sold)

This piece is a colored pencil drawing. The

techniques used with watercolor and colored pencil

are very similar. Both mediums are transparent, so

color can be layered, and the color built up, working from

light to dark. The layering helps the colors to glow. I also

used a dark background here to show the contrast

between the white bird and his surroundings.

This piece is sold as well!

Had a lot of fun today at the Downtown Garage

Sale in Winnfield...sold lots of stuff! and visited

with lots of people. We may do it again in the

fall. Will let you know.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Nesting Time

These are such "Louisiana" images...white egrets.

They are not my photos, but I will have a chance to

take some in a couple of weeks. Every spring, huge

numbers of these birds nest near Lake Martin in

south Louisiana. Just this week in the gallery, a couple

from New York came through on

their way to do some birdwatching.

I filled them in on Lake Martin, and they were going

to add it to their agenda. I have planned several times to

try and go photograph them, but it never has worked

out. I am going to try again. Hopefully the weather

will cooperate, and I can get some good shots. I

am also going to stay with a Cajun friend in his home

on a bayou where he feeds the alligators, raccoons,

and owls. He is a real character, and I am looking

forward to spending some time with him and hearing

his comical Cajun stories. Hopefully I can remember

a punchline or two, and share them with you.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Olympic Invitation

We have scheduled the reception for Daniel

Rockett's show. Here is the invitation. If you

are in town, please make an effort to come by

and meet the artist and view the show. The

show will hang through May.

I am saddened today by all the losses throughout

the South. The devastation is incomprehensible.

I am familiar with many of those cities, and my

heart goes out to those families and communities.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers

I have been working on these flag designs in

color tonight, playing around with the color

scheme of pink and brown. I will scan them in

and add the text on the computer. I will keep

playing with them until I arrive at one that I

love!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

New Exhibit at the Gallery

There is a new show at the gallery through the

month of May. Mr. Daniel Rockett, the Talented

Visual Arts Teacher, is exhibiting a collection of

pencil portraits titled, "Olympus". The subjects of

all of the drawings are students and young people

in the community. There is a twist to the portraits,

however, as each of the titles suggests. They are

each named for one of the Greek gods, and the

viewer must decipher the meaning of the connection.

He had each student represent one of the gods in

some way, through their pose, their prop, or their

activity. You must know your Greek mythology well

to determine all of the meanings hidden in the drawings.

Since Mr. Rockett was one of my students (a long time

ago!!), I believe the whole "riddle" idea must have

rubbed off on him!

The show can be viewed during shop hours, 10-5

Monday thru Friday, and 10-3 on Saturday. There will

be an artist's reception on May 5 from 3 pm to 6 pm.

Everyone is invited to come and view these beautiful

and intriguing drawings.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Flag Day

I'm getting back to working on some of my

licensing designs. I am working on some flag

designs to submit to some companies that

manufacture them. One of the companies does

not carry any baby announcement flags, so I

thought I would do a series of designs for baby

girls and baby boys! These are just some

preliminary sketches. I have several more underway,

and will post as I go along.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

He is Risen!

" Without Easter, there would be no hope of heaven.

Without the hope of heaven,

there would be no salvation.

Without Easter, the world would be in chaos and darkness.

Jesus' death and resurrection means we can be reborn,

to live better, to do better,

To shine light into the shadows.

Hallelujah! Happy Easter!"

by Joanna Fuchs

I egret to inform you...

Do you ever get ideas while driving? I spend a lot

of time behind the wheel, with time to think. I had

the idea to paint on the glass of one of these old

windows recently...something "Louisiana"...

so I tackled it today.

I bought several of these old windows just the other

day at a junk shop...this one would be perfect. The

glass is really old and slightly wavy, very cool. I

washed it off really well, careful not to knock off all the

old chipped paint. I started on the bird inside the

house, and then decided to move outside when it

got really messy (me slinging and dripping paint,

and old, chipped paint crumbling to the floor)

I added the details (not many) last, and then

sealed the whole thing: the wood with a heavy

coat to seal all the chipping paint, and the

painted glass with a spray sealer. I may

mount another piece of glass over the painting

to protect it, and give it a shadow box effect.

Still thinking about it...but I like the way it

turned out. too much fun...

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Egret "Through the Looking Glass"

$150

Born to Fly

I finished up this quirky bird collage tonight.

I decided to paint a bird's nest in the remaining

wooden panel. It is done in acrylic and sealed.

I liked how the grain in the wood suggested

branches, so I went with it. I added the blue

eggs because I love robins...and "Robins Egg

Blue" is one of my favorite colors! I am still

working on a couple of these, but I have to

clean up my mess before everyone comes here

for Easter!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Style and Inspiration

As artists, we are constantly seeking inspiration.

Someone lent me this book this week, A Life of

Style, by Rebecca Moses. What a nice, refreshing

look at style in our lives, and where to find inspiration.

I like the illustrations as well..very delightful.

Some excerpts:

1. By opening our minds to new ways of thinking...

by being honest about the things we love and don't love..

by being brave, by getting rid of negativity, by opening our

eyes, hearts, and spirits to new positive thoughts, by

discovering and embracing our own uniqueness...and by

searching for inspiration.

2. Inspiration is food for our spirit.

3. Read, read, read...books, magazines, newspapers.

4. Travel, explore, see movies, dine, socialize, do flea markets,

and antique fairs

"Creative people pull from all sources: books, theatre, travel, music,

art, photos, film, political events, etc. All of these things enter our minds

and challenge our vision and thoughts. Inspiration makes us grow."

As I seek to work on art pieces and collections, I am constantly

seeking inspiration. I find it everywhere. And Rebecca Moses

does too. And you can too! Be observant, look around at your

world, and you will be inspired as well. Now, if I could just find

that paintbrush?!....

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Birds of a Feather

This is another of those quirky construction collages...
this one with a bird theme. The base is a piece of an
old blue wooden door. There are two gingerbread
corners, and a piece of 100 year old beaded board across
the bottom. Some of the collage pieces include some
copies of vintage bird postcards I bought on Ebay; some
reproduction vintage French labels; a couple of copies of
some vintage flower cards I bought at a flea market in
Paris, and some bits of paper. Just fun.. I am going to
do something with the blue area that is blank. The wood
there is rather brittle. I am thinking of making it into a
chalkboard or mirror. ...have to think about it. Will let you
know what I decide.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Cats Times Three

Finally finished all of these cat portraits...whew. I added

some pastel in their fur; it softens up the colored pencil

lines, and helps blend it all together. I will mat them and

they will be ready for the customer.

I am going to get back to working on some of my art for

licensing. I am planning to approach some of the licensing

agencies, and see if they would be interested in any of my

work. So I am getting it organized and catagorized in order

to present it effectively. (that can be hard for us "right brained"

people...) I have no problem creating it...it's the marketing

part that is a struggle. But I am determined to at least get

some of it out there, and see where it goes!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Next on the List

When I finish with the cat drawings (soon), I need

to start on a pencil drawing of Molly. I have to do it

before Mother's Day.

I would show you pics of the garden tour, but since I

left the disc out of my camera! there are not any. And

they would have been beautiful! oh well...

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Headed for the Garden

I am on my way to paint in the Minden Garden

Tour today. I will be at the Pixley home in Homer,

on Main Street. I spent most of the day yesterday

helping Allison finish her book. Those are a couple

of the pages. It is wonderful, and we uploaded it

all to Shutterfly last night. She will try to put it

all together this weekend, and it should go to print

Monday! She was very pleased, and I think it is

great. We may make some copies available in the

shop.

Have a great day! See you in the garden!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Cat Days of Spring (not Dog Days of Summer!)

Still working on these cats....lots and lots of black fur.

Will hopefully finish soon!!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

A Time to Learn

I have mentioned before that I teach some art

classes on Wednesdays at my studio inside the

Pea Patch Gallery. I have a variety of students

right now. Allison is a senior in high school currently

working on her Senior Project: a class that requires the

student to research a project, write a paper, and complete

the project with the aid of a mentor. The project

must be something they currently do not know how to

do, but it must be able to be completed by the end of

the semester. I am serving as her mentor, and she is

writing and illustrating a children's book. She has finished

the story, and is working on the illustrations now; doing

them in pen and ink and watercolor. Each page will then

be scanned, and the text will be added using Photoshop.

We will then upload it all to Shutterfly, and actually print

a copy.

She has written an adorable story about a lightening bug

who is "bullied" by the other bugs, and is embarrased by

his glowing light. But he is able to save another bug

trapped in the dark with the use of his special light. He is

then the hero, and learns to appreciate the unique

abilities that God has given him, and agrees to "let his little

light shine!"

The other two students, Katherine and Brianne, are drawing

and coloring some cartoon characters with pen and ink and

colored pencil. They are enjoying learning from Allison as

she works on her project at the same time.

Classes are held on Wednesdays from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm,

and they are $10.00 a lesson. Children, 10 and up, are welcome.

No drawing or art experience is necessary, and adults are

welcome too! Call the gallery if you are interested. Classes

will be scheduled until the end of May. I will put together a

summer schedule tba.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Pea Patch Gallery 318-628-3560

Black Cats Times Two

I have one more drawing to do of these

two cats. This is the preliminary sketch of

them. I am doing it in colored pencil, and I start

with the lightest values that will be underneath

all of the darker greys and blacks. When you add

some other layers of color, it gives a richness and

depth to the drawing that would not be there if I

just colored them all black. There will be some blues,

purples, and browns mixed into their fur.

For info on Pet Portraits:

sheltongail@hotmail.com

the Other Cat

I still have these cat portraits to do. I worked on this

one tonight, and it is just about finished. I still have to

do one of the two cats together. I do have a great

photograph of them, so I will try to start that tomorrow.

for info on pet portraits:

sheltongail@hotmail.com

11 x 14 Pet Portrait $125.00

The Art of Gardening

Did some outdoor shopping over the weekend. This cute

place is called the "Secret Garden" in downtown Covington.

She has some really nice plants and some creative container

gardens.

Faith, Love and Believe angels decorate this grouping.

This is the Tchefuncte River that runs through the area. There

are some beautiful homes and boats along the shore.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

The Gallery Scene

I am down in Covington, LA for the weekend, and
I am visiting a couple of galleries here. These are
from the Brunner Gallery, a contemporary art gallery
in the historic downtown area. I have observed a lot
of abstract art lately; I believe the decorator's are
using it in the newer homes and corporate buildings.
And I just have a few comments about it. If it is well
done ( good design, center of interest, contrast, etc), I
do not have a problem with it. Some well done abstract
work can be very pleasing. However, if it has poor design
elements, sloppy craftsmanship, weak color sense, etc...
I do not consider it a "good" piece of art work. And sometimes
collectors or buyers get talked into buying something that
is recommended by the decorator, etc, simply because "they"
say it is the latest thing...the next new artist, etc.

I tell buyers in my gallery, that they must love the art work,
no matter what the type, subject matter, or artist. They are
going to have to live with it, and it should be something they
will be happy to wake up to every day~! And as for the matter
of where to put it..if they truly love it, they will find a place for
it. And the other advice I give them, is to buy the original if
they can afford it, instead of the print. Original work is going
to last longer, and hopefully become an investment piece.

Anyway, there is my two cents worth on the gallery scene.
Any questions, please feel free to let me know!!

sheltongail@hotmail.com