Artwork, travel, and musings by artist, Gail H. Shelton.
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| Sea Shell Design |
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| Market Fest T-shirt Design Here are two things I finished up last night. The sea shell design will be paired with the blue and brown medallion designs to make a collection of products (unless I finish one I like better!) And now I will do some color samples for the t-shirt...different color schemes depending on the color of the shirt. I am thinking red, yellow, green, and blue. Will see where that goes and how it looks. Monday is the deadline for all this..so back to work I go! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| Pen and Ink Watercolor of the Long Family Home (where the Earl K. Long Park is located now) |
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| Matching Sunflower design for Medallions In the course of a day, I do so many art-related tasks. I usually try to start the day with a design project, sketching some ideas, drawing off something to paint that night, etc. When I get to the gallery around lunch every day, I help wait on the customers, prepare desserts, bus tables...etc. Then in the afternoon, I wait on customers in the shop or work on custom frame orders. I might have to un-box an order of gift merchandise, or arrange items in the shop or gallery. Then, late at night, at home, I usually paint or draw something before I go to bed. My days are never dull! And it is a great life for an artist...I am not just isolated in my studio, waiting for ideas, and working all alone! I get a chance everyday to interact with people, talk about my work, serve people a great meal, and custom frame their treasured items. The pen and ink drawing at the top was a framing job I finished today. The customer had two Winnfield prints already, and she wanted this one to add to her collection. It is a print of the Long family home that was here in Winnfield. Huey and Earl both grew up in this house. It burned down, but the park is the original location. I have the prints, in black and white, and I hand-paint them with watercolor. The sunflower painting was done to match the red and gold medallion designs I finished a few days ago. It will all go together on some products I am working on. Will share when it all gets done. I am very excited to be doing my own collection, and can't wait to get it all finalized. woohoo sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| Sketch for Market Fest T-Shirt |
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| Logo designs for Winn Farmer's Market Our local Farmer's Market, now under the direction of the LSU Ag Center, is planning a festival on March 10. They wanted me to help design a logo and a t-shirt for them. These are the initial sketches. The festival will include bluegrass music, corn grinding, a quilting demo, antique tractor show, downtown merchant booths, etc. We are planning to fill a booth with some of our outdoor garden stuff that is coming in soon. I will show them these sketches tomorrow to see if we are headed in the right direction! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| Geometric Medallion designs in gold, red, and green |
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| This is the watercolor border with an added stripe border I have been busy painting these graphic designs to supplement some of the paintings, etc that I plan to use on some manufactured products. The square medallion designs are going to be coasters and borders on notepads. They can also be placed side by side to create a border. While I was designing them, I kept thinking about quilt square designs or Mexican tile designs that I was familiar with. It is always interesting to draw upon visual memories that you have to use as inspiration in your artwork. It just takes some time to think! and sometimes I don't allow enough time in my schedule just to ponder, and imagine. Sounds like another good goal! |
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| Medallions in red, yellow, blue, and green |
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| Without the blue... |
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| Lots of blue, brown and aqua Still working on lots of designs, trying to develop some product lines. These can be used on coasters, cups, journals, notepads, etc, and coordinate with the bird series and the sunflower series. It will all come together eventually...you'll see! Give me till the end of the month, and I will have it all designed....that's a good goal. Now, I just have to manage my time! ha! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| First phase...light colors |
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| the finished painting Decided to do a little watercolor painting tonight. This is a theme I have done many times. I am looking to do a print with red, yellow and blue as the focus colors. This one is the first of many tries! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| Shell Sketches I got back to work today on some artwork, for licensing or manufacturing on some products. I got away from the birds and played around with some shells. just fun.... |
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| Mardi Gras show at the Barnwell |
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| Some of the carnival costumes... |
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| My friend, Karen Harrington, with one of her colorful pieces |
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| A jazz ensemble added their musical touch to the reception |
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| Another one of Karen's paintings |
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| I really like this one of hers |
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| Me and the Sunset at Lake Martin photo The opening reception for the Mardi Gras show at the Barnwell was today. Shreveport artist, Karen Harrington and I are the featured artists in the main gallery. The show will run till Feb 25. The Barnwell Center Hours: Tuesday -Friday 10-5 Sat 10-3 Sun 1-5 sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| White Chocolate Bread Pudding..yum |
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| Roast Pork with Creole Mustard and Honey Plum Glaze |
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| Our dinner guests |
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| Mardi Gras decorations |
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| Blackeyed Peas and Jalapeno Grits |
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| Shrimp Remoulade |
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| Chicken and Sausage Gumbo |
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| I was in Shreveport today to deliver some of these Louisiana-themed artwork for an upcoming exhibit there. |
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| They are preparing a "Mardi Gras" exhibit for the month of February. These costumes, etc are going to be in the center of the exhibit, and the artwork will be around the edges. |
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| Downtown Shreveport is decorated with lots of colorful murals. This one is beside the Revel grounds and depicts some of the area activities |
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| more of the same wall mural... On my way home from Dallas, I dropped off this artwork. The show will open this Sunday, with a reception from 2-4:30 at the Barnwell Garden and Art Center in downtown Shreveport, LA. sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| This beautiful black swan was among the birds that I took the other day in City Park in Baton Rouge. I am always interested in the reflections in the water. In the top photo, he was swimming near the bank, and the dark areas in the water are the trees and shrubs along the bank. In the second photo, he had moved out into the open water, and just the blue sky is reflecting in the water, along with his own reflection. So, depending on what I want in the photo, I can wait while the bird moves around, and get different outcomes from the same photo op. sheltongail@hotmail.com |
