Artwork, travel, and musings by artist, Gail H. Shelton.
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Here are the final chalkboard projects. I trimmed the photos, and placed them around the edges. I attached the chalkboards to the back of the beaded board frames. These are gifts for these graduating senior girls....I bet they are surprised and happy! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| Just a quick project for a couple of graduating seniors. One of their friends wanted some chalkboard boards, framed in the old beaded board. Today, I sprayed the masonite with the chalkboard paint. |
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| This is the beaded board frame that the chalkboards will go in. Then she wants me to add some of their photos onto the chalkboard (around the edges). I should be able to get them done tomorrow. I know I haven't posted in awhile. I have been having trouble with the arthritis in my hands, and it has been hard to do any work. I am doing a little bit of drawing, but it is very slow. Don't give up on me...keep checking back...I will be posting again soon! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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You know that all of us Texans are always proud of our state, and look for opportunities to share that pride. I was surprised to hear from an elementary school in Fort Worth, Texas. The teacher was planning a school Texas program, with the students singing and performing. She had come across my Texas design on Pinterest, and tracked me down through this blog! She wanted to know if I would give permission for them to use my design for their stage decoration. I said, "Of course!", and she sent me these photos to show how they used it. It looks like a great group of kids, and I am honored they wanted to use my design. Hats off to all of you! Yeehaw! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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It's Parade of Pigs time again! Our little town hosts the annual Uncle Earl's Hog Dog Trials every March, and we decorate these concrete pigs to mark the occasion. This is "Frankenswine"...my entry. Hog hunters come from all over to enter their dogs in this contest. It is quite interesting. And amazing to me.. a big city girl living in a small town! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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Did a little sketching this weekend of my favorite smiling face! There have been several photos I have wanted to draw, but this is the first one I have tried. It was fun, and not too difficult. I will probably give it to my daughter sooner or later, but right now, I am enjoying it sitting on my drawing desk! I can do a drawing of your favorite little one too! Email me for info on children's portraits. I am very reasonable, and fairly fast. I can work from your photograph, or I can come and take some too. sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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I am still teaching kids art lessons on Wednesday afternoons. These three did a watercolor today using the wet into wet technique on the sunset, and then dry brush for the trees. I let them choose their sky colors...they turned out very colorful! I take students age 10 and up, and we meet every Wednesday from 4-5 pm. It's $15 a class, and they are not consecutive. You can call the gallery for more info. sheltongail@hotmail.com Pea Patch Gallery 318-628-3560 |
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| Still in progress here...I did some "lifting"....you can re-wet some dark areas with a brush, scrubbing slightly, and the pigment will loosen and can be dabbed up with a paper towel. |
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| Here's a close up of some of the lifted areas. |
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I still thought it needed something, so I added some pen and ink lines and flourishes. I may still add some colored pencil strokes too. I like the colors in contrast with the white birds. I thought the complimentary scheme of purples and yellows would be different. It's just a fun piece...another Louisiana subject. It will be for sale in the gallery, or I can ship! Blue Pelicans Watercolor/Ink 11 x 22 $150.00 sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| Been working on this watercolor of these white pelicans... I like the bright colors. I am not finished...they are "blind" right now...no eyes! But I am going to lift some of the dark reflections and add some details. Will post when I finish...soon! |
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| I did get a chance to paint this bicycle photo...from New Orleans. It's watercolor on Arches cold pressed paper. I used a sponge to make some of the texture in the corners. The bike and the shadow are painted mostly with just black, but I mixed in a little purple and blue. I thought it still needed some tweaking, so I worked on it a little more this morning. |
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| So, here is the finished product. I painted it all again, and deepened the shadow. I punched up the blues, and then added some more splatter on the ground. I like it...it's different for me, but fun! Maybe a bicycle enthusiast will have to have it! sheltongail@hotmail.com Bike Shadows Original watercolor $150.00 |
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| Just been scrolling through some of my New Orleans pics....looking for something new to paint. These are some possibilities. I cropped and saturated them with color. I really like the shadow patterns, especially the first one, the buggy. We'll see what develops! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| I love these winter berries. I don't know what kind of tree this is, but it grows in damp areas, mostly in south Louisiana. I was driving around down there the other day, and wished I could pull over somewhere and photograph them. But everywhere I spied them, there wasn't a place to park, or get out without wading through the water, etc. So, I was disappointed. As I drove toward my house, here in north Louisiana, just down the road, there they were! And the light was beautiful. The ground was dry, So, I excitedly got my camera, and snapped away. I love the color and the contrast against the sky. These would be good for scripture photos, or I can add a bird or bug in a composition. Or I could just look at them and admire one more of God's glorious creations that color this grey season of the year. amen sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| I started this watercolor awhile back, but I have been unable to get back to it. I did add the background stripes and the shadows on her. |
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| So tonight, I was able to get a little time, and do the finishing touches. I added some colored pencil in the background and a few squiggles here and there. I thought it "jazzed" up the piece (ha!). Anyway, I am satisfied with it now, and enjoyed trying something new. As women these days, we "wear a lot of hats", meaning we do a lot of different jobs. At the gallery, we also have a cafe, and I have been filling in with the cooking for the last month. My fulltime cook has had surgery, and she is still at home recuperating. So, instead of painting and drawing, I have been measuring, stirring, boiling and baking! But cooking is quite creative too, and I have enjoyed it. I have always heard that the best kind of work is work you are passionate about. Art is certainly my first passion (although being a grandmother is running a close second!). But I enjoy all aspects of my business...afterall, it was all my idea to begin with. So, I will savor my last week or so in the kitchen, but I was tickled to get to finish this painting as well. And now on a peaceful Friday night, its' hats off!! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| I am still teaching my children's art classes on Wednesday afternoons. These two did some watercolor and ink paintings of a branch with berries. They are sisters, and love to compete with each other! But they are having fun and hopefully learning a lot! For info on classes, call the gallery: 318--628-3560 sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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Oh, the blessings of family! I am a "great Aunt" again, thanks to my niece and her husband, and their new baby boy, Zane. She asked me if I would paint a sign for the baby's room with the meaning of his name. I finished this fun project this afternoon. It is painted in acrylic paint on canvas in shades of pale blue, white and grey. I will get it shipped out tomorrow and on its' way to Texas. I hope to see baby Zane sometime soon! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| I took this photo several months ago down in New Orleans. I love the passion that this musician has...she is so "into" her performance. The audience loved her, and there were smiles all around. I knew I wanted to try to do something with it. |
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| So I started it in watercolor, laying in a wet into wet wash in the background. I decided to use the opposite colors of yellow and purple, since they are compliments. When I took a workshop with Stephen Quiller, he made us do a painting with only two colors, and all the variations you could make with them. I plan to try that with this one...we'll see where it goes from here! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| I had some great sales during the holidays. This pelican is going home to an art teacher in Alexandria, LA as soon as he is framed. |
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| This crab is on layaway, and will decorate someone's wall soon |
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| And this Jazz man was a special Christmas gift for someone who had been admiring it for a long time. |
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| And I finished this egret drawing last night, and it will be for sale up at the gallery. If you are close by, come in and check it out. You might find something that you can't live without! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| I have had a chance to do a little more drawing on this one...the busyness of the holidays kept me away from the drawing table. Now things are getting back to normal, and I should be able to finish this one up soon. I really don't like backgrounds. But this bird would not show up or be as dynamic without the dark background. I wanted the contrast between the white feathers and the dark swamp behind him, I just didn't think about having to fill it all in!! I will keep plugging away, and using the Icarus board to help with the large areas of color. 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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Just making a little progress on this drawing. This time of year is always so busy with various activities. And now I have used up all of my green pencils that I have been using for the background. So, I have ordered some from Cheap Joe's, and I will work on the bird for now. I hope I can capture the luminosity of his transparent wings. The late afternoon light was filtering right through his feathers...just beautiful. I may try this photo in watercolor as well, to see which medium can best capture that quality....or maybe it's the artist who determines that...ha! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
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| Making a little progress on this drawing...just not getting a chance to draw very much. Lots of decorating, shopping, and doing all the things that a wife, mother, and store owner do this time of year! I really like the blue shadows on this bird, and his whole body and wing on the right side is in the shadow as well. So it will really begin to take shape as I move to the right. Stay tuned! sheltongail@hotmail.com |
