Artwork, travel, and musings by artist, Gail H. Shelton.
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| Had a busy Saturday, in the rain! Drove down to Baton Rouge, and stopped at a few antique stores on the way. I love the "Bayou some Stuff" sign...too clever. We watched the Tigers play, and they won...good job. I'm at home now on another rainy Sunday afternoon. I hope to get some art done, but a nap sounds good too!! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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I think I am finally finished with this drawing. I used some of the new techniques that I learned at the Colored Pencil convention this summer. I used the solvent Gamsol to "melt" the wax in the pencils to blend together the background. I also used a colorless blender for the first time. Usually when I draw with colored pencils, I do not burnish them (use a lot of pressure to make a slick surface). But I wanted the silk of the costume to look shiny, so I used a white pencil to seal it over, and the blender to even it out. Interesting. And then I used some spray fixative; it is supposed to keep the wax bloom away. Wax bloom forms when you do burnish these pencils: the wax on the paper with come to the surface and cause a white, filmy look to the drawing. That is one of the reasons I have never wanted to burnish the pencils. Who knew that the fixative would stop that! I guess you can teach an old dog a new trick! sheltongail@hotmail.com (I am sure this is too much technical information for some of you! But you fellow artists will understand!) "Blue Man Solo" Colored Pencil 15 x 22 $800 |
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I am continuing to get in products that I am having manufactured with my designs. Here is another canvas scripture photo and the matching note cards. The canvases are 11 x 14, gallery wrapped, and sell for $60.00. The note cards (4 x 6) come in sets of 4 with envelopes, and sell for $10.00. These two products will be available at the gallery, and after I attend the wholesale gift market in Dallas in January, hopefully in a gift store near you! I call this line, "Glory Bee Graphics", and I will have several designs in the line. You can see many of them in the gallery now, and several more by Open House on November 8th. Thanks for your support! sheltongail@hotmail.com Glory Bee Graphics Canvas prints: $60.00 Note cards $10 a set |
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I had always heard that as you age, you sleep less. Well, anyone who knows me, knows that I am usually up very late at night, and never up early in the morning. But lately, I have been waking up early in the morning...so early in fact, I have seen the sunrise a few times! inconceivable! This morning was beautiful, and I was able to go outside with the camera and the cats, and take a few shots. It is starting to get foggy in the mornings now, and the Fall is one of my favorite times of year. Enjoy! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| This is the chalkboard paint...a spray paint that turns flat surfaces into chalkboards! cool |
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| I cut a piece of masonite to fit the entire window, and sprayed it with the chalkboard paint. When it was dry, I nailed it to the back of the window frame. |
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| Here is the window so far...wtih the chalkboard behind the glass and filling up the open panes on the end. |
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| And then here is the window with the cupcake art on the glass panes, with the blackboard at the bottom. I will attach a hanger, and seal the whole thing, and it will be ready to go! fun, fun sheltongail@hotmail.com Cupcake Chalkboard $100 |
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| I have sent this design off to be printed on the same jute bags, except for the color. These bags will be brown, and I think they will set off the cupcakes well. I also just printed this out large, and I am going to collage it to a window with a built in chalkboard...should be cute. I don't know whiy I hadn't thought of using my own art on the windows (duh), so I will see how it does, and then I can do lots more! Stay tuned.... sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| I am starting to near completion on this colored pencil drawing. I may leave the bottom corner unfinished. It gives the illusion of movement better than just a solid black surface. The satin surface of the costume has been very difficult...I am not sure I have it right yet. I may tweak a little more. Overall, I am pretty pleased. I loved this photograph, and knew I wanted to do something with it. I love the dynamic composition, and great colors. You will be able to see the original soon at the gallery. I also need a title, if anyone wants to make a suggestion! sheltongail@hotmail.com Peru Blue Man Dancer prismacolor on hot pressed watercolor paper 15 x 22 $750 |
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| Monet Garden Window |
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| Gone to the Beach window |
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| Porch Chalkboard |
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| Cypress Chalkboard |
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| Crystal Bridges Art Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas |
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| A trail in the museum grounds |
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| Rock Ledge trail I am planning a little trip this fall, to see some fall foliage, some art, and hopefully some elk! All of these objectives are going to be found up in Arkansas, just one state away. A friend is going with me, and we are planning to try to see the elk herd that is around the Buffalo River near Harrison, in northern Arkansas. I want to do some photography and some painting, and some sightseeing. I'd like to make it to the new Crystal Bridges Art museum too, over in Bentonville. It was the dream of one of the Waltons (of Walmart), and the pics above show what it looks like. It looks as if the grounds are as impressive as the art collection. Should be a great place to take some pics and get some inspiration! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| I put these cypress panels together with some beaded board strips. I am going to mount a chalkboard behind it, and add some hooks. |
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| I attached these two posts to some old drawer sides with dove-tailed ends. I will probably add a chalkboard to this too. |
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| I know this looks bad...this is the long narrow window with one of my photos of a beach scene collaged onto it. It is still wet. I am going to add a chalkboard in the side opening next to the photo too. I spent some time at the hardware store today...buying chalkboard paint, screws, nails, masonite, etc. I will continue to put all these little projects together, and post them. It will all come together! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| These are some of the scrap pieces I have been collecting. Most of these I found yesterday down in Sunset, LA. |
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| As you see, I had lots of help today. |
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| More bits and pieces.... |
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| These are the windows I bought yesterday. I washed them off today, and they were trying to dry, in the rain! |
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| I am working on this one. That is a photo of Monet's famous bridge in his water garden in Giverny, France. I thought it would look nice in the green window. I am going to add a chalkboard across the bottom panes.....maybe with a corkboard in the middle. Had some time today to work on some of this "junk art". It is always fun to put pieces together, and see what I can come up with. And there are really no rules...so there is no pressure! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| Got a chance to do some junking today...down in Sunset, Louisiana. It is a small town along I-49 north of Lafayette, and south of Opelousas. I was on the way back home from the LSU game. I bought a few wooden windows, some odds and ends, and an old sweet potato crate label. I would like to come back here and go to more of the shops...there are several here. They are having one of those miles long yard sales on Sept 20. And then Breaux Bridge is having their city wide garage sale the first weekend in Oct. Lots of fun in the future! You ought to make some plans to attend. sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| Louie...with me this afternoon |
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| peaceful.... |
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| Wild holly...before the berries turn red lots of beautiful green and blue |
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| Autumn thunderstorm in the distance I have been very busy all week, and haven't had a chance to share. I am working hard at getting my designs on the merchandise, and that is taking a lot of my drawing and painting time. The shop continues to be busy, but this afternoon, I took the time to stroll around the pasture. The fall is a favorite time of mine, and I really can't wait for the leaves to start turning colors. I didn't find any color today, but the peaceful time spent in God's creation was very refreshing. sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| Work in Progress: I manage to work a little on this colored pencil drawing every couple of days. I can only take it in small doses! It is very detailed and tedious. I have to study each part of the costume, and then decide how I can capture the movement, pattern, or combination of the two. It'll get there... I want to conquer it! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| First sketch of this year's t-shirt |
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| Next bag design Enjoyed a relaxing weekend...got to work on some design projects. I do a Christmas t-shirt every year to sell in the shop. I have started playing around with some ideas. And the seashell design will be decorating another bag.... a blue one this time. I hope to get it done quickly (the first one took a long time because I didn't know what I was doing!) sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| Finished framing this today. It was done by a customer who painted it at a palette party |
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| This was done by her daughter, and she wanted it framed as well |
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| A father brought this in, and found it among his son's things. The son passed away recently, and he wanted to frame it. bittersweet.... |
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| I had to mat this today for the LSU Ag department for an art auctionl. It is a pencil drawing print of the Texas AM yell leaders |
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| I also received my original tiger drawing back from the CPSA show in Kentucky. I have it displayed with the two tiger prints I now have available at the shop. |
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| This print is titled, "Majesty"...the unmatted ones are $45, the matted ones are $65, and the large prints are $125 |
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| This is the "Rolling in the Deep" print, too. They are the same price as the others. I spent the day framing and matting a lot of work at the gallery. Saturdays are great days to get caught up! There are always stories with each framing case. It is always fun to see what customers bring in, and sometimes, it is sad. I am happy to get to help them preserve their memories and treasured artwork. The tiger prints are now available for sale. They would make great gifts for Winnfield or LSU fans. I can also custom frame them if needed. Call the gallery or email me if interested. sheltongail@hotmail.com Pea Patch Gallery 318-628-3560 |
