"In My Little Town"

When I was doing my student teaching (I won't

mention the year!), I had a student named Randy

Fenoli.  He was quite the artist...very creative

and bright.  I taught him to use watercolors that

semester, and we had a lot of fun.

Fast forward to 2011...Randy is the star of "Say

Yes to the Dress" on TLC, and the author of a

new book, "It's All About the Dress".  He has been

an accomplished wedding dress designer for

years, and currently lives in NYC.  He was in

Winnfield today, though, for a book signing

where he graduated from high school.  Many of

his old teachers were there, and lots of family and

friends.  It was a delight to get to see him (we have

seen each other a few other times over the years).

He signed a couple of books for me, and promised to

never forget where he comes from.  amen

sheltongail@hotmail.com

"It's All About the Dress"  Randy Fenoli

Available at most major bookstores and

Amazon.com

Christmas in New Orleans

 My daughter and I down in New Orleans earlier

this month.

 We wanted to be sure and go by the Roosevelt

Hotel downtown to see their decorations in the

lobby.  It is a tradition in the city, and there were

lots of families there taking pictures, etc.

 This is a gingerbread city...with New Orleans

landmarks, and Santa pulled by alligators...too cute

Another view of the lobby of the hotel...

beautiful.

I have been enjoying seeing some of the

"tacky Christmas lights" blogs and reports

on TV, and it made me remember that I

had taken these pics earlier this month.  These

would be in the "classy and elegant" catagory!

If you are near New Orleans in the next few

days, go by and see them yourself....wonderful.

I hope you are enjoying the sights and sounds of

the season where you are.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

On the Down Hill Slide

I am closer to getting these portraits finished,

and I am sure the client will be glad to get

them by Christmas.  I will be glad to!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Next!

This one is on the drawing board tonight...

will post some progress as I go.

(you can tell she is the sister to

the boy from yesterday's drawing...)

sheltongail@hotmail.com

pencil progress

I made some progress tonight on this drawing..
will tweak a little, and finish it up!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Next Portrait

I have three more pencil portraits to do.

The customer did not necessarily want them

by Christmas (whew).  I am starting on this

cute little boy tonight and will post some

progress.

Tigers Times Two

I added this text to these tiger photos, and

they will be for sale at the shop.  Our WSHS

tigers and our LSU tigers have both done

really well this year.  If you want a player's

name or number, or some other custom

lettering, I can do that too.  Go Tigers!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Decorated Invitations

I worked on decorating this wedding invitation

tonight.  It is a gift for the bride from a customer,

and I needed to finish it so I can try to get it

framed before the wedding (Dec 31st).  I used some

pen and ink and some colored pencils to add some

ivy and swirls. 

I heard from the Barnwell Art Center in Shreveport

this week, and they are interested in hanging my

Louisiana show in their gallery in late January and

February.  I told them I would be happy to!  They

have to approve the work and the board has to vote.

I sent some images today, and should hear from them

soon.  I'm excited!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

http://www.barnwellcenter.com/

All Kinds of Art in the Store

 We have been REALLY busy at the gallery...

that is a good problem to have!  Shoppers are

getting serious about putting something under

the tree...here are some more ideas.  This is a

painted metal grouping by Round Top Collections.

It is called "Woodland Santa"...with the adorable

woodland creatures gathered around him.  This

group would look great on a porch or patio, or

inside the front door.

 Here is that finished photo collage on canvas that

I did of the plantation homes and oak trees.  It looks

good with the metal scroll panels on each side...cool

 I do alot of custom framing for customers.  One brought

in this George Rodrigue print of Drew Brees and the Blue

Dog for me to frame, and here is the finished product.

 I still have a few of my Christmas t-shirts left..just

a few, mostly XL.  They are $25, and really cute!

And some of you probably watched as I worked on

this pencil portrait of a little girl named Molly.  Here

it is framed before I delivered to the owner's home

and hung it on the wall...Merry Christmas! 

We have lots of gifts and goodies all through the

store, and we would be more than happy to help

you select something special this year. 

Pea Patch Gallery 

109 S. Abel  Winnfield, LA

71483   318-628-3560

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Streetcars, Homes, and an Ostrich

 The famous St. Charles streetcar decked out for

Christmas...and full of tourists!

 One of the homes on the New Orleans Christmas

Tour was owned by some real animal lovers.  This

young ostrich belonged to them, and it was loose in

the backyard!  She and I got to know each other...

and she gave me a little nibble on my hand...ouch.

These are some of the exteriors of the homes.

We could not take any photos inside.  All of the

homes were at least 100 years old.  They were

amazing, and really put us in the Christmas spirit.

Touring New Orleans at Christmas

I am still down in New Orleans, and today, my daughter

and I went on the Garden District Christmas Tour of Homes.

It was lovely, and each home was very unique.  (I will post

some more pics when I get home tomorrow...).

A Day at the Dome

Our high school football team has made it into the 

State Final, to be played this morning in the Superdome 

in New Orleans!  They are very excited, and I know it is 

a dream come true for most of them.  The last time the 

team was there was 1982, and I was there to cheer that 

team on.  The coolest thing is that there will be members 

and coaches of that team there today to cheer this 2011 

version on!  We are just proud that they made it this far.

Go Winnfield! 

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Girls Times Two

I am going to finish this portrait for this client

before Christmas.  I am continuing to add some

shading and details a little at a time (in between

working fulltime at the gallery, Christmas shopping,

cooking, going to football games out of town!!)

Anyway, enough excuses...I just need to sit down

and draw.  more tomorrow!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

One of a Kind Jewelry

www.dphjewelry.com

I had the pleasure of meeting a gentleman on the plane

to Alexandria the other day.  His wife designs and makes

one of a kind jewelry pieces.  I told him I was very interested,

and he gave me her website (see above).  I really like these...

he said she uses vintage and antique amulets, discs, etc and

strings them with various old and new beads to create some

really unique pieces.  You can check them out on her website,

and you may find a really special gift this Christmas!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Mentor-Final Project

I mentioned that I was participating in the

Senior Project again this semester (I serve

as a mentor to a high school senior to teach

them a subject they know nothing about).

Emily has been learning photography with me

this fall.  It is time to turn in her final project,

and I am printing two of her images for her to

mat and use for her presentation.  I love the horse

and boy image.  She did both of these on her own

time, and then used Photoshop to alter and enhance

them.  I think she did a great job.  Congrats Emily!

I am sure you will get an A (if you don't, let me know...

I may be able to talk to your teacher!!)

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Gameday Animals

 This is the Georgia Dome....where the Tigers played

the Bulldogs....

 There were some monkeys in the audience, too....

 ...and a honey badger doing his thing...

...and a concerned Tiger (just during the first half),

looking on from the sidelines.  Just a bunch of animals

everywhere I looked!!

I was happy to hear that the Winnfield Tigers won

their game as well, and are heading to the SuperDome

to play this Saturday for the State Championship..

congrats to them too!  It must be the "year of the tiger"

...little tigers and big tigers!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

What a Zoo!

Lions, and Tigers and Bears, oh my!

I spent an amazing weekend in

Atlanta, Georgia, cheering on

the LSU Tigers to their victory

over the Georgia Bulldogs...it

was a nerve-wracking ride!

On Sunday, we were able to unwind

a little at the Atlanta zoo,

watching some of the amazing

animals there.  They are one

of the zoos in the nation that

house Panda bears..and these

were more than happy to pose for the

camera.  The lions were majestic

and reminded me of the "Lion King"

movie, perched up on this rock.

And then there were the Siberian

tiger cubs...I had never seen any

young tigers before.  They are

twins, a girl and a boy, and they

are 6 months old.  They played, and

ran, and tackled each other just like

the LSU tigers! It was a joy to

watch them all.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Got the Blues

Another display at the shop...filled with

some blue items.  There are several of

my photographs...two from Greece: the

sea and the mountains, and the

shepherd.  There are some blue and white

cannisters from Mexico (Talavara pottery).

Some old blue willow plates and some

blue jewelry. 

The agapanthus flower photo is from a

trip to California where they were blooming

all along the beach.  I added the scripture.

So, if "blue" is your favorite color, we have

some gifts for you.  Come in and browse,

eat some lunch, and get a start on your

shopping! 

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Cotton for Sale

This is one of our displays at the shop.  There are

some great candles for sale: "Sweet Tea" and

"Front Porch".  The cotton garlands are fun,

and I have a couple of cotton wreaths, too.

There is a small holy family group there on the

first shelf that would make a nice gift.  

This colored pencil drawing is also part of the

display, and the inspiration for it all.  I tried to

tie in a lot of Louisiana aspects throughout

the shop this year.  And cotton is certainly

an intregal part of our state. It all works

together nicely, and you could enjoy some of

it in your home as well!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Cotton   original colored pencil

$75.00 framed

Candles  $21.95

Collage Re-Connection

I started on this collage several weeks ago.

The background is a canvas painted black,

there are two old porch ballisters and an

old window frame.  I printed black and white

photos from the recent trip to the plantation

homes (Houmas House and Oak Alley) and

some of the large oak trees.  And then I added

them into the window openings.  This is the

glue drying that seals and attaches it all. I will

try to post a finished shot later today.  A

customer saw it yesterday at the shop, and

is already expressing interest in it.  woo hoo!

sheltongail@hotmail.com