A time of Thanks

Hope all of you have had a wonderful day of

thanks. It was a beautiful fall day here in the

South....sunny and cool. We enjoyed food and

fellowship with the family.

"Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift"

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Another pair of eyes

I have been working and working on this little girl.

I think this is the final draft. I have drawn it completely

three times! It is close to the likeness now. My daughter

is coming home tomorrow, and she will look at it, and

tell me what needs changing. Sometimes it takes another

pair of eyes...

For info on children's portraits:

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Final Canvas

Finished this up last night...will pass it along today.
I like it. It can be hung either way..I will let her
decide.
Will have to get back to drawing a couple of
portraits now. Will keep posting the results.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Progress on Canvas

Still working on this canvas for Susan. The colors

don't look right in the photo...but they match the quilt.

Anyway, it's lots of fun, and I am enjoying the

diversion. (I put the pencil portrait on the back

burner...it is driving me crazy). Will try to finish

this up tonight.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Susan's Canvas Commission

It is hard to find a gift for a daughter in college.

So why not get an artist to do a custom painting?

I was commissioned to do this large, 30 x 40,

canvas by a mom for her daughter for Christmas.

That is her pillow from her bed, and I am doing

the painting with patterns from the fabrics.

I can do custom paintings to match just about

anything. If you have a need for something for

your child's room, a bedroom, den, or kitchen,

just let me know, and I can work something up

for you. I can do some sketches and give you an

estimate. They are quite reasonable, and will be

an original work of art, unique and a very special gift.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

30 x 40 Acrylic on Canvas $175.00

Painted Invitations

These are two more painted wedding invitations

that I finished for customers this week. I will

frame them, and get them on their way. Makes

a nice gift...if you have an invitation and want

a unique keepsake, I would love to do it for you.

Painted Wedding Invitations

$20.00

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Christmas Portraits

I have started working on portraits for Christmas.

This is the first one...it is still in progress. Will have

to tweak it a little more.

These drawings are very reasonable, and can be

done in time for Christmas from your photo.

for info on Children's portraits (and pets or houses)

email me:

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Sundown Reflections

I have loved watching the sun set for most of my

life. It is always such a peaceful time, and a time

for reflection on the events of the day. This

was the sunset from my back porch this evening.

One of the reasons I love to see the sun set, is I

believe I am one day closer to Heaven. I have some

very special people waiting for me there, and I look

forward to seeing them, especially during this time

of the year. Our youngest daughter, Hillary, died on

Thanksgiving day 20 years ago this year. And

every sunset brings me that much closer to that

happy reunion. A lot to be thankful for...

sheltongail@hotmail.com

A coffee Monday

I am at the shop, and we are all dragging today...

it is a dreary, cold Monday, and we all need some

coffee!!

An "Open House" Invitation

My Sunshine's gifts and Cyndi's cute pink and green stuff

Caroling quartet from FBC

favorite things in "Favorite Things" booth

A Bitz of Glitz...Jodie's jewelry

Uniquely Yours decorative accents

Raelene Pell's photography

Monday's Child booth with lots of toys

some adorable sock monkeys and friends

More watercolors and our mercury glass tree

Some of the Paris artwork in the gallery

Our country French tree, with lavender sachet ornaments

Christmas Open House 2009 has come and gone! It was

Thursday night, from 5-9, and 13 downtown businesses

were open, decked out, and ready to start the season.

We had a great time at the Pea Patch. I tried to take

a photo in each booth: I have 9 dealers in my building,

each with their own unique merchandise to offer.

We served our peas and cornbread in the cafe, along

with some samples of jalapeno jelly, "reindeer food",

and chow chow. If any of you would like a detailed

description of any of these, just leave a comment, and

I will fill you in! We had a huge crowd, and everyone

seemed to have a wonderful time.

The shop is open Monday-Friday from 10-5, and we

serve lunch from 11-2. We are open Saturdays from

10-3 (no lunch on Sat). Come and see all we have to

offer, and get a jump on your Christmas shopping!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Lake Claiborne

One of my missions today was to get some fall

photos for some of my scripture prints. Lake

Claiborne was my first stop. It is west of Ruston

Louisiana, and there is a very nice state park there.

It was literally deserted...a few boat trailers were

parked. I guess the fishermen were already out

on the water. It was very peaceful and beautiful.

There was some color in the leaves, and these are

a couple of my favorites from the morning photo

shoot. It's a tough job...

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Murals of the Day

It was a beautiful fall day today, and I took to the

road. I left early this morning, and drove north.

I stopped at Lake Claiborne, then Magnolia,

Camden, and finally El Dorado, all in Arkansas.

These wonderful murals were in Magnolia and

Camden. I always admire murals; I have no concept

of what it must take to paint one. The scale of the

whole thing would boggle me, let alone the logistics

of ladders and scaffolds, weather and wind, bugs

and onlookers. Our little town contacted an artist

one time, and he wanted $50,000 to do one...

maybe I need to look into it!!

Fall Out

I snuck away today...down the road to the town of

Winnsboro. They were having a 25 mile garage sale,

and I wanted to check it out. I also wanted to see some

pretty Fall foliage. I found some...along some of the

swampy areas on the way.

I didn't find much at the garage sale..but I didn't get

to go far. Winnsboro is a nice little town, very clean.

I enjoyed my short time away.

I am sneaking off tomorrow as well. I think I will make

a round up into Arkansas, and check out the foliage, and

shop for some antiques. Should be nice...

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Celebrate...dance to the Music

These are some of my happy family members at

the wedding. It was so much fun to see everyone

else having so much fun! I will post some more.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Painted Invitation

I finally got around to painting Hannah's wedding

invitation. One of my dearest friends wanted to

give it to her, and I will frame it also. I decided to

do it in autumn colors, instead of the wedding

colors. I figured they will have lots of wedding

photos in their home with all that purple, so this

will be a little different.

If you have received an invitation, and would like

for me to turn it into a hand-painted gift, please

let me know. I only charge $20, and can do any

flower or color scheme. Or if you have an old one

from a special wedding, I can do it as an anniversary

present, etc.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Painted Wedding Invitation $20

Monet Bridge Collage

I finished this large photo collage tonight of Monet's garden.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Monet Bridge Collage $250.00 24 x 36

600 Post Give-Away.. and the winner is...

600 posts...wow! I know these look wierd; they are

greeting cards before being folded...these are just two

of many I am printing up for the Paris show. I had

decided to do a give-away of one of the cards (they are

5 x 7, printed on art card stock, and frameable). And

I drew a name from the followers, and Brian Hindelang

is the winner!! So, Brian or Karen, you can let me know

which card you would like. I can print any one of the

photographs or even one of the paintings on the card.

Thanks for being a loyal follower! I appreciate your

support.

shcltongail@ hotmail.com

"Let Them Eat Cake"

Here's to Cake!! The classically beautiful white

traditional bride's cake: white cake with toasted

almond frosting; and the wonderful LSU groom's

cake: chocolate through and through. yummy!

Let's Dance

I heard a statement this week about the act of dance:

that it enables "joy rising" in us. I felt an overwhelming

sense of joy as I watched my beautiful daughter dance in

the arms of her new husband. I hope it will be a precious

memory for her and our guests that night, and that joy

will continue to rise in their lives together.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

At Last...some Wedding pics

When you are used to taking all the pictures, it is a

different situation when you have to BE in the picture.

So, you have to wait for someone else to get the shot.

My brother in law, sent me some of these wedding

shots, and I will start to post some now. Thanks, Mark.

There is one of the happy couple with the two of us.

Then there is my whole side of the family, a lot of

Hindelangs. And that is Hannah with her Winnfield

cousins, and her grandfather. These are just a few.

I will put up some more.

Stay tuned...

sheltongail@hotmail.com