Artwork, travel, and musings by artist, Gail H. Shelton.
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| Been working on this pelican painting. First step is to paint the pelican in detail on the dry paper. Then I covered him in the masking fluid. That has to dry completely. When dry, I wet the paper, and added the blue washes in a splashy style. When that is all dry, I will peel off the masking fluid. It is a whole lot like rubber cement. Then I will tweak the pelican if needed....stay tuned!! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| As a bonus for doing the inservice in Lake Charles, I was also booked for a solo show in one of the galleries there. It is coming up quickly in September, about 6 weeks away. It is a medium sized space...about 20-25 works. I decided I needed to do several more Louisiana subjects to be included. I have a lot, but need some new ones too. I did these skies last night, and now will add either a bird, or landscape, or a shrimp boat...haven't decided. I am fascinated by the sky. I have always wanted to do a show of just skies, and call it, "The Skies Have It"...!~ Will post these when I am finished. sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| After Christmas, it is always depressing after all the decorations are taken down. The gallery was empty today, and I was ready to put something back up. |
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| So I decided to put up some of my artwork and photos from my travels... a "Destination: show. These are from Greece. |
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| These are my photos of Paris...from the flower markets on the Seine; the sailing boats in front of the Louvre; an embellishment on a building on the Champs Elysee, the Arc de Triumphe, and finally Monet's famous bridge over his garden ponds. |
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| And this is the "great wall of China"! ...some photos and a couple of colored pencil drawings. |
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| Costa Rica was one of my favorite trips ever. these are from there. There's a colored pencil drawing of a bird of paradise bloom, photos of ferns in the rain forest and some coconuts along the beach. I will probably add a few more along the way. I have to frame a few more. I have a lot more; I may add some walls out in the middle of the gallery space. The new year is fast approaching, and with it comes new ideas and new projects. I have some plans...will try to post more often, and share what I am working on. Thanks for your support. sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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Sally Lightfoot Finished this crab watercolor! It was so fun! I LOVE the primary color scheme... red, blue, and yellow. Do you think God was thinking about that when He made them? This is a mature crab; we saw lots of them. The immature ones were very dark...grey or black with lots of spots. They don't get this bright coloring till they are full grown. They were stunning. And they were very entertaining to watch...tiptoeing (is that a word?) across the sand or lava. I went ahead and left the background white, because I wanted that nice blue shadow underneath. I also added some colored pencil on several areas to add some texture. It is about 22 x 13, and is for sale. $200 It will be on display up at the gallery after I get it matted. sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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MOTHER'S DAY GIVE-AWAY Here's close-ups of the little watercolors I painted in the garden at Minden yesterday. The irises are at the top, then the little pot of flowers, and the lemon tree at the bottom. I think I will give these all away. Leave me a comment before Mother's Day, and I will give all three away. They are 8 x 10, matted and ready to frame. So, leave me a comment or email me (some people have trouble with the comment section?!), and I will put your name in the hat. There will be three winners this time, and I will give the first name I pick, first pick of the paintings! Just a little Mother's Day "happy"! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| My watercolor and the pot of flowers that inspired it |
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| Dutch iris with their matching watercolor |
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| The backyard |
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| The location on the Trails and Trellises Garden Tour in Minden where I was assigned to paint. |
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| I sat on that bench, and did my thing. |
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| And a lemon tree with my little watercolor! |
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| Trails and Trellises I spent the day in Minden, Louisiana today at the garden tour. I was asked to come and participate again by painting on location in one of the gardens on the tour. It was a beautiful day, and I left early to make the hour and a half drive to the city of Minden in north Louisiana. The home was lovely, and I found the perfect spot on a comfortable bench. I set up all my painting gear, and managed to do several little watercolors of what I could see around me. I got to visit with lots of people as they came through, admiring the plants and garden features. It was a fun and relaxing day. And I have some really pretty photos of flowers to use as references for future artwork...great deal! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| Got the booth at market all set up today! Now we are ready for business, in the morning, bright and early at 8:30! I will let you know how it goes...wish me luck sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| I teach a watercolor class on Tuesdays to a couple of students. This is my demonstration piece for today's lesson: using the masking fluid to mask off the white areas. |
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| When the masking fluid is dry, it peels right off! It is kind of like rubber cement, and it saves the white paper underneath. We were able to paint the wet, loose blue wash right over the masked white bird. |
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| Watercolor palette we were using |
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| This is Dana's painting..not quite finished. We will have to finish it up next week. She did a great job! |
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| mine...will post when I am finished! I am enjoying getting to paint with some students.... one of my favorite things to do. I love these white egrets...they are so "Louisiana". sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| Final Costa Rica Paintings |
