Swamp Collage

PhotoShop can do some really neat

things to photographs. I had this collage

canvas already (with some Greek photos)

on it. So, I have been playing with some

of the Louisiana swamp photos, printing

them in reds, golds, and browns. I am

going to re-work the collage into a Louisiana

work for the upcoming show. The cypress

trees and moss were in Lake Martin. The

egret was in Blind River. I will post the

finished product tomorrow.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Driving Into Dubois

In three weeks, I am going to be

attending the Susan K Black Foundation

painting workshop in Dubois, WY. As

part of the workshop, we have to bring

two small paintings to exhibit. The

show will be judged, and the pieces are

going to be for sale. I have been debating

about what two paintings to take, etc.

I decided today that these two little

watercolors of some fine old trucks are

going to make the cut. I think they will have

wide appeal, and they would fit in in any

area of the country. So, I am glad that has

been determined, and I can relax about it!!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Birds of a Feather

As I browsed through the pages of my

new Southwest Art magazine tonight,

I came across these fabulous bird paintings

by Frank Gonzales. I thought they were

stunning so I decided to share them. He

is represented by Beals and Abbate gallery

in Santa Fe. These are from his new show,

"Fragments of Nature" opening Sept 30th.

These are acrylic paintings on canvas.
You can go to their website and see more of

his work, and the work of their other artists

as well. Enjoy!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

www.bealsandabbate.com

Preserving Preservation

I am still doing some paintings for the
Louisiana show this fall...and I want to
take a couple of them to Wyoming with
me for the show up there. I am working
on this one tonight...still tweaking.

I did get some great news today: My
poster was selected by the Louisiana Pecan
Festival for this year's festival poster. I
have to go to Colfax next week and sign
a release so they can begin printing.
Exciting!! and there is prize money too!!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Painting the Town

Been painting some little watercolors of

New Orleans tonight. I am inspired by

Robert Guthrie's bright colors. I like the

beignet one..could be a little looser. The

other two are getting there. I need to

be messier!! They are all for sale. And

they will be in the fall Louisiana show at

the gallery (if they don't sell now!)

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Beignets original watercolor $45.00

Cafe Du Monde original watercolor $40.00

Pirate's Allery original watercolor $45.00

French Quarter ART

I spent part of the day today down in the

French Quarter (one of my favorite places

on the planet!) I checked out some of the

art going on...in the galleries, on the street,

and in the windows. The large pelican painting

was in progress, and they had it posted in

the window along with paint and palettes, etc.

It is a great "art deco" style...really cool.

The young artist on the street was hard

at work and certainly concentrating on her

piece.

I noticed the murals painted on the wall

inside this restaurant's courtyard. And I

purchased the little watercolor print at

Gallery Rinard. It is by Robert Guthrie,

one of my favorite New Orleans artists.

The gallery is located at 738 Royal Street,

and their phone is 504-522-6536 You can

see more of Guthrie's work at:

www.robertguthrie.com

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Canvas and Coke Floats

We had our last "Art Party" of the summer

last Saturday at the gallery: Canvas and Coke

Floats. As you can see, we had a great class

with young and old both enjoying the painting

activity and then a nice cold Coke float in the

cafe. They painted a large, bright red crawfish

design on a yellow background. We did it all

together, step by step. I had a crawfish pattern

for them to trace, and then they each had

a canvas, brushes, and paint. The class lasts

about an hour and a half, and then we share

our refreshments.

I will be scheduling some more Art Parties in

the fall. I will post the schedule here and on

the gallery website. I hope some of you will

come and join us...lots of fun.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

pea patch gallery

gone antiquing

I am down in south Louisiana again, and I
got to do some antique shopping today.
There are many shops in the town of Denham
Springs, just outside of Baton Rouge. My daughter
was shopping for a couple of pieces, and we were
able to find just what she wanted, at a great
price. I picked up a few things to use in some
of my crazy collage pieces, so stay tuned to
see how I work them in.
sheltongail@hotmail.com

Beside Still Waters

Another painting of Wyoming...inside
Yellowstone National Park. Will keep
doing some more!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Practice, practice, practice....

I will be attending the SKB workshop in
Dubois, WY in a month. I will be studying
with Stephen Quiller, a renowned watercolor
painter and teacher. We are encouraged to
bring two small paintings, framed and ready
to sell, for a show by all the particiapants in
the workshop. I am torn between bringing
some paintings of the area, or some paintings
of MY area (two vastly different landscapes!)
Since I was in Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, and
Grand Teton just last November, I have lots
of reference photos. So, I may do one of the
western scenes, and then one New Orleans
something. we'll see what turns out the best!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Nothing but Egrets

I finally got around to putting the

finishing touches on these two little

paintings. They will be included in

the upcoming Louisiana images show in

the fall. I will probably frame them.

They make a nice little pair of bird

paintings for a spot on your wall!

I am in the process of cleaning out and

organizing my art room at home...it is

a mess. I am not the most organized

artist. The problem is I have too many

catagories of "stuff"....from materials

and tools, to reference books and photos

(millions of photos...), to equipment, to

artwork, to framing supplies, etc.... I am

not very good at figuring out a system to

keep it all in. But I am tackling it with a

passion...so hopefully, it will all be together

and in place in a couple of days!

Thanks for the info about the flower. I

like the name..."passion". I guess we should

all have one.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Name this Flower?

What is It?

This flower grows wild along the

road near my house.

I pass it when I walk

in the evenings. I thought it only

bloomed at night, but yesterday, it was

blooming late in the afternoon. Does

anyone know what kind of plant this

is? The blooms are fascinating....such

symmetry of design, and varying

shapes and textures. I have wanted to

dig it up and move it to the patio...is that

possible? I am asking all these "botany"

questions...I am just the artist interested

in the beauty of it. I know nothing about

the logistics! If anyone out there knows,

please let me know! Thanks!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

(my brother, the encyclopedia, will

know!!)

Back in the Saddle

I spent the morning in Bossier Parish

doing a watercolor inservice for the art

teachers there. We had a good time. I

tried to share with them some lessons

and techniques that they could use with

their students. I did, however, not miss

the whole "back to school" routine. I remember

trying to sit through some inservice (that

usually had nothing to do with art!) at the

beginning of the school year. But I wished

them all well, and hope they have a great

year with their students.

Now I am going to bed really late, and sleep

really late in the morning!!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

V Vaughn and the Beginning

Oil paintings by V Vaughn


August starts the 5th year of my blog. And I

thought I would give a shout out to who

helped me get started. I met the artist,

V Vaughn at an art show. She is from central

Texas...near some of my old stomping

ground. I absolutely love her work. She

paints in oils, which I have never quite

conquered. But the most interesting thing

about her for me was her blog. I had never

really heard of one before, especially an

art blog. At the time, she was doing a painting

a day, and posting them on her blog. After

reading and exploring hers, I decided that I

thought I could do one as well. And here I am,

still at it! Please visit her wonderful web page

and blog, and check out her lovely paintings.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

v-vaughn art

Demo Practice

I may have mentioned that I am doing a

watercolor demonstration for the Bossier

Parish art teachers this Monday. As part of

the inservice, I am supposed to provide

for them ways to use watercolor with their

students. Since I will have to paint in front

of them, I thought I would do a couple of

practice runs tonight! And since, I am

traveling back to Yellowstone soon to paint

there also, I thought I would try two

different landscapes: a swamp and a beaver

pond in the mountains.

I have purchased some of the Stephen Quiller

supplies...some of his paper and paint. I am

very unfamiliar with the colors that he uses.

I may have to take mine that I am used to!

These two little paintings are done with the

new paint and paper...it will take some getting

used to!! So, I think for Monday, I will stick

with what I know best, and try to give the

teacher's their money's worth.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Natchitoches Art Guild Show

The Natchitoches Art Guild sponsors a juried

show every year in August. They must remove

their art from their gallery walls to make

room for the show entries. I had invited them

earlier in the year to come and hang a show

during the month of August while the art

would be available. So, a few of them submitted

some work, and it is now hanging in our

gallery.

I really like chickens and roosters, and several

of the pieces are that genre. The wire

sculpture pieces are done by Char White.

The oil painting of the rooster is by Margie

Tate from Alexandria, and the parrots

are by Linda Lyles. (you can tell I like all

the birds!) The show will come down on

August 29th, so come by and check it out

this month.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Swamp Pair

Still working on these two paintings.
I added the black; I like it. I still have
to add some details and some outlines.
But overall, they are almost there. I
have several more paintings in mind
using this egret pattern. I can see
them back to back, and three in a row.


We finished hanging the Natchitoches
Art Guild show at the gallery. I will try
to take some photos of it today. It is
a variety of work including oils, watercolor,
collage, and some sculpture. It will be
up through the month of August. Come
by and check it out if you are in town.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Making Some Progress

Worked on these two little paintings

tonight. I am making some progress.

I am trying to decide what color to paint

the area behind the bird. I am thinking

about black. It would really make the

shape of the bird "pop". High contrast

is always a plus.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Focus, Focus, Focus!

I made a list yesterday of all of the

goals and projects that I would like to

complete in the next couple of months.

And, I have marked off a couple already!

And tonight I started on some more artwork

for the Louisiana show coming in the fall.

This will be a pair of acrylic paintings with

the egret motif. I am just laying down some

of the underlying colors..will build them up

as I go.

Projects:

1. Louisiana Show at the Pea Patch Gallery

(opening Nov 1)

2. Two small ptgs for Susan K. Black Foundation

Workshop auction in September

3. Coasters

4. T-shirt design for Christmas

Submissions:

1. Southwest Art Magazine competition

2. Licensing agencies

Engagements:

1. Teacher Inservice: Caddo Parish

Watercolor Demonstration for Art Teachers

Monday Aug 8

2. Art Party "Canvas and Coke Floats"

Pea Patch Gallery Saturday Aug 13

3. Watercolor workshop with Stephen

Quiller Yellowstone Nat'l Park

September 13-19

I think it always helps to get things down on paper,

or at least here on the screen! to stay organized

and motivated. I plan to try to stick with my

short term goals in order to help achieve some

even greater long term ones!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

If it weren't for the last Minute...

"If it weren't for the last minute,

nothing would get done"!

I was having a discussion today with one

of my nieces who is in college. She was

putting off some homework that is due

tomorrow (monday morning). I told

her that a lot of projects never get done

until the last minute. Having a time

deadline seems to stimulate creativity,

heighten your abilities, push you to

get something accomplished. And, so

I decided to take my own advice, and just

whipped out this pecan festival poster/t-shirt

design tonight! They are due tomorrow...

sheltongail@hotmail.com