Artwork, travel, and musings by artist, Gail H. Shelton.
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| Stopped by Lake Martin again yesterday on my way home...just beautiful. The birds were gorgeous in the fading light...golden edges and illumined feathers. A spoonbill landed on the tree not far from me. And the sunset was stunning. A peaceful end to a worship day. sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| Spent a few hours around the French Quarter today...such a beautiful day. This artist is named Michael Smiroldo, and he does great watercolors of the musicians in New Orleans. I own one of his wonderful paintings, and he and I had a nice conversation today about art, design, and life! |
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| St. Louis Cathedral...in the sunshine! |
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| This clarinet player gave it her all for the crowd today... made me smile |
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| This painting was in progress in the window of a gallery today as well. Neat |
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| And this really made me smile...a window display selling these great headbands....cheese! |
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| Robert Guthrie I am so sad today to learn of the death of Robert Guthrie, a renowned watercolor artist from New Orleans. I have always LOVED his work...so colorful and playful. He captured the spirit of New Orleans and anything he painted with such joy and exuberance. I own one of his prints, of a shotgun house in the French Quarter. I wish I had bought one of his originals. He was found dead at his home earlier this month, and they believe he died of a heart attack. He was only 56 (which is my age as well.) I think if is hard for me to think about an artist never being able to create anymore...of their artistic endeavors ending, way too soon. There are so many ideas still in my head... I so want to have the chance to do many more works of art. I pray I have the opportunity. His work is being carried by Gallery Rinard in New Orleans on Royal Street. I am planning to go as soon as possible to buy a couple of prints, and maybe an original, if there are any left! Rest in Peace. sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| Started on a new project, with a new toy! I finally ordered the Icarus Drawing board by Ester Roi. It is a glass drawing board, that has an adjustable heated side. Using the wax based pencils on the heated surface makes them soft and easy to blend. |
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| This is a small drawing, 8 x 9, but it went really fast. It is so easy to draw and get color on the paper. It also helps my arthritic fingers as well! I do not have to use very much pressure to draw, and that is great! |
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| Final stages here....I added the shadows, details, and then the background. I cropped it off to tighten in on the blue glove (which I had to make up), and to lesson the background. There is still the white area across the top, and I have to decide whether to leave it white or not. Ester's invention is quite revolutionary. She markets them to colored pencil and oil pastel artists all over the world. You can visit her website to view her amazing artwork, and see her product. www.esterroi.com "Mardi Gras Madness" colored pencil 8 x 9 $100.00 sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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"Let it Bee" Polychromos and Prismacolors on Arches Hot pressed paper 15 x 22 $900.00 I finished this drawing this weekend. It was a lot of fun. I have never really done a fuzzy, out of focus background before. It was a challenge at first, until I figured out what I needed to do. The white flowers are a mixture of so many different colors: purple, grey, blue, gold. All of those colors will blend to create a shadow on a white surface. It is often influenced by the other colors being reflected by the white surface. The white that you do see is plain paper. I use an electric eraser to clean up the white areas...they can get kinda smudged as you are working. sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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Wow! I have always wanted to see these egrets nesting down at Lake Martin at the rookery there. I had a chance to drive down there today, and I was able to see them and take some photos. They are absolutely beautiful...their snow white plumage and lime green eyes among all the grey branches and trunks. There are hundreds of them, scattered all through the swampy area around the lake. They can be seen from the nearby road that runs by the lake. The wind was really blowing, and some of their feathers were flowing in the wind. They were busy making their nests. The males were breaking branches from the trees, and taking them to the females to add to the nest. There was a great deal of sqawkiing and chatter going on too. They are quite vocal, and with so many so close together, it was very noisy. Just another great reminder of God's wonderful creation... hope your Sunday was filled with worship and wonder. sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| Took a nature walk today....to see the signs of spring! |
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| This is my wisteria....poised to bust open any minute with big beautiful purple blooms |
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| This tree is starting to do something...with these neat little tassels... very oriental |
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| This is a scary face in a tree!! |
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| This is a fern that was nipped by the very late freeze we had recently |
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| And this is yellow jasmine...it grows wild in the woods around my home. And it is full bloom all over the place. I love the color yellow...it is a "happy" color. Many of these photos are the small things....tiny details that you have to really look for to be able to notice. I love doing that. It is like a treasure hunt, which I used to do with my parents. We would go for walks, and try to find "treasures"...whether we were at the beach, or the lake, or just out in the country. It might be a piece of a shell, or a pretty rock, or a turkey feather (which I found today). They taught me to be observant, and to notice the fascinating details found in nature all around us. And it can be a time of gratitude and appreciation for all that God has blessed us with all around us. It is also a skill that is useful as an artist. A lot of my work involves detailed work just like these photos. I hope that you enjoy all of it! Thanks for your support! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| I have made a little progress on this drawing. I just have the last little right hand corner to do. It has been fun trying to make the background look out of focus. (That is how I see without my glasses on!) I will continue to tweak a bit...going back and tightening up details, and adjusting values. |
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| These are some wild pear trees that are blooming near the house as well. They are almost bloomed out...these are the last little petals hanging on. |
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| Welcome Spring....we have been waiting for you! We have had some gorgeous weather this week... I am so grateful. I am sure we will have some more cool weather, but I am enjoying it for now! You can still leave me a comment to be entered in the free giveaway of the cardinal drawing. I will pick a winner from the comments at the end of the month. If you can't get the comment section to work, just email me, and I will enter your name. sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| I did get a chance to do a little drawing this weekend. This is progressing slowly...I get lost in the details! |
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| I added a little bit more dark background, and tweaked the blossoms some...adding some darker values and details. This tree is out my front door, and this year the blooms were stunning. In fact, all of the pear trees all over town have been prettier this year than anyone can remember. They say it is because of the extremely cold winter we have had. That is probably true. Sometimes we get to experience real beauty only after we have gone through real adversity. Amen. sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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Sign of the Times: I finished this little canvas tonight as a gift, ordered by a customer as a baby gift. The bedding has lots of pink checks and gingham. They are also using some lime green and teal. So, I hope the sign is a hit! And if you would like something similar, just let me know. I can do names, words, sayings, etc. on canvas or wood. Prices are reasonable. sheltongail@hotmail.com 318-628-3560 |
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Pigs on Parade It's time for the Hog Dog trials again! And I got some GREAT help today painting my pig. My students agreed to paint it today, and they had so much fun. It is going to be "Pea Patch Pig...with the letter "P" and a patch of fabric. So, that's what they painted today....just the letter and the patch. I will come back and add the finishing details. The tutu pig was finished today, and is "Hog Wild". There will be many more finished this week...will try to keep posting. (For those of you not familiar with this tradition: Our little town hosts the largest hog dog competition in the world every March. Hunters with dogs come from everywhere, and enter their dogs in a hog baying contest, where they must keep the wild hog pinned in the corner, etc. The businesses paint these concrete hogs downtown to help celebrate...just for fun) sheltongail@hotmail,com |
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| Managed to get out in the yard last weekend...still no sunshine, but a few flowers peeking out. These yellow jonquils are always the first to bloom. This would make a great watercolor. |
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| Tulip magnolia and friend |
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| Paper whites...charming |
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| More jonquils or daffodils, and a free-loader |
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| And this is my Bradford pear tree...always beautiful in the Spring. It is just budding out, and the bees are already hard at work. |
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| I started drawing this one....may take me awhile! Just getting started...working on color combinations. There will be many more layers, details, and some blending with the solvent. More to come.... sheltongail@hotmail.com If you haven't left me a comment on this blog for the giveaway this March, it is not too late. Just leave a comment, and I will put your name in the hat. Thanks! |