Camera Ready

Here is the finished camera ready logo.
I finished it up tonight after working at
the gallery today. I also ran over to
Natchitoches late this afternoon to pick
up my Christmas poster entry. I did not
win, but they told me that the judges
really liked it (they probably told everyone
that!) I have a sneaky suspicion that you
have to live in Natchitoches to win...I will
investigate that when the winning poster
is unveiled. I am going to start working on
a design for the Louisiana Pecan Fest now..
they wanted me to submit something. At
least I know you don't have to live in Colfax
to win!

sheltongail@hotmail.com
I can design a logo, business card, letterhead,
etc for you. Email me for quotes and ideas.

OOh...AHH...Fireworks

A large part of the Natchitoches Christmas

Festival involves fireworks, shot off in the

downtown area over Cane River. It is quite

a spectacular site.

This is one section of the poster I am working

on for the contest...so, how do you paint

fireworks?! I just used some small dots of

paint in cascading lines, and added the sparkles.

I guess it passes for fireworks!

I am continuing the rest of the design, and will

post the finished poster soon.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Hodge Podge

Another section of the Christmas poster I

am working on....

I stopped to watch the beautiful sunset....

One more section of the poster I am

painting... a little at a time...

And then I stopped to print this for Mr.

Rockett...a reproduction of one of his

drawings. It seems both parents want to

buy the original?! And he didn't want to

have to draw another one (I wouldn't either)

So, I photographed the drawing, and

printed it on my large format printer.

One of the parents was willing to buy a

print. I think it looks great...very nice

drawing.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Let there be Lights

I am continuing to work on this Christmas

poster. Painted these lights tonight...the

city of Natchitoches is known as the "city

of lights" because of this festival and the

myriads of lights they put up all through

the downtown area. It is quite a scene...

very impressive. If you have never seen

the lights during the Christmas season,

you should plan to go this year. They turn

them on late in November, and they are

on through the end of December. spectacular!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Switching Gears

I took a break from working on the

coasters tonight, and started working on

this poster. It is for entry in the annual

Natchitoches Christmas Festival poster

contest. I posted the sketch awhile back,

and now I am starting to block in the

painted areas. I am using acrylic paint on

a piece of watercolor paper.

The annual festival poster has been a

tradition for 30 years. The selected artwork

becomes the property of the Natchitoches

Arts Council, and they print the posters for

the festival. I know many people in the

town collect the posters, and the originals

are on display at the City Hall Annex on

Fourth Street in downtown Natchitoches.

This is the first time I have ever entered.

I have seen the winning posters for many

years, and know many of the artists represented.

I know it seems early to be dealing with

Christmas themes, but believe me, it will be

here again before we know it!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Natchitoches Christmas Fest Poster

Sketch for Christmas Poster 2011

Rough color sketch

The annual Natchitoches Christmas Festival

sponsors a poster contest every year. For

those of you who don't know, Natchitoches is

the oldest city in the Louisiana Purchase,

and it is full of history. Their Christmas

festival is one of the top 100 events in the

nation. And this is the small town that Oprah

visited a few years ago, on the request by a

local guest on the show.

I am playing around with some poster ideas.

Here is a sketch, and then the colored version.

Will keep refining and playing with the theme.

The deadline is not until June 24.

sheltongail@hotmail.com