Frankly My Dear...

If you are a "Gone with the Wind" fan, you

would have loved one of our Atlanta destinations.

On Sunday afternoon, we toured the home of

Margaret Mitchell, the author of the famous book.

There is a small museum with several artifacts,

including her typewriter, and photographs. And

the original apartment where Margaret and her

husband lived while she wrote the novel is on display

with all of the original furnishings, etc. It was very

charming, although she referred to it as "the dump."!

There was also a lot of movie memorabilia, including

the portrait of Scarlett. And I posed with Rhett....

fine and dandy....oh, fiddle de dee.

Tiger Time

We are back from the LSU game in Atlanta,

Georgia. I am not going to say much about the

game itself (if you saw it, you know why!?)

But we had a good time. Here's a shot of the

mascot, Mike the Tiger; the LSU band, and

the team.

Plenty of Fish in the Sea

We had some time this afternoon, and went to

the Georgia Aquarium. Amazing exhibits...

beautiful creatures. Seems there are lots of

creatures here this weekend....hmmm.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Way off the Grid

The planets must be aligned, because the LSU game

and the DragonCon convention are the same day in

Atlanta. Between the crazy LSU fans, and the REALLY

crazy convention goers...it is a site to behold and experience.

The parade came by our hotel this morning, and I couldn't

resist a few shots....beam me up, Scotty.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Game Day

I am traveling this weekend to Atlanta, Georgia for
the opening LSU game, so I will be off the grid.

Go Tigers!!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Misty Morning

This morning I was greeted by this eery fog

settled around the pasture. It reminded me that

the nice warm summer is on the way out, and that

fall is right around the corner. I remember that this

is how many mornings looked as I drove to school.

I am so glad that I can now enjoy this view from the

patio instead of my car!

I am reading this little book called Spa for the Soul,

and this was a passage for today:

"God ordered our lives in rhythms, and part of His

creative concept was that we would take time to rest."

Isa 30:15 says, "You will be delivered by returning and

resting; your strength will lie in quiet confidence."

I know that the students and teachers have all returned

to school, and I am so thankful that I am getting a chance

in my life to rest, at least from the early morning rush

routine. I am still working, but at least it is on my schedule.

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow!"

sheltongail@hotmail.com

I drew the winning name for the pastel drawing, and it is

Caroline (who leaves me comments!) I will get the drawing

ready to ship to you. Congrats!

August Give-Away Winner

I just drew the name of the winner for August, and it

is Caroline. If you will get in touch with me, I can send

the drawing to you! Congratulations!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Pea Patch Gallery 318-628-3560

Greek Eucalyptus

Here's another Greece painting. This beautiful

old eucalyptus tree was right outside our hotel in

Naphlio. I took a late afternoon stroll down the road

and had taken this photograph. I loved the contrast

between the fluffy white blossoms, and the dark green

leaves. The lighting was not bad either. So I knew I

wanted to paint it when I got home.

I am using the "pour" technique again. I am only

using the blues and yellows this time, and they will

blend to make some greens. I used the masking fluid

on the blossoms. I used a very thin brush, and a toothpick

to make the skinny lines and dots. They will all be white

and I can paint freely over them as long as the mask is

on them. pretty cool...

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Final Santorini

Here's the finished painting with some of the

process along the way. I covered the entire

church and shoreline with the masking fluid.

And then I used the "pouring" technique taught

by Jean Grastorf. I soaked the paper and then

poured the three primary colors onto the paper

and let them blend together. The three colors:

red, yellow, and blue, will make beautiful colors

when they run together. Then I removed the

masking fluid, added a few details, and there is

the finished painting. now, on to the next one!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Santorini One 11 x 14 Original Watercolor $150.00

Santorini One

I am working on some of the art for the

Greece show coming up. This is one of

the famous blue and white churches on the

island of Santorini. I had seen photos of

these churches, and always hoped I could

take one myself. We were not on the island

long, and I was running around like a maniac

trying to get the shots I wanted. Luckily

there were several churches very close together. I

think this one is stunning in its' simplicity,

and a good subject for a Sunday.

The little bottle of masking fluid is a very

helpful tool when painting in watercolor.

Because there is no white paint, and the

paint itself is transparent, any white you see

in most watercolors is unpainted paper. The

masking fluid helps to save the white paper.

It can be painted on, and it seals the surface,

so you can paint freely around a certain shape

or area. When dry, you just peel it off, like

rubber cement. I will be using it on this piece

to save all of this painted section so I can paint

the ocean freely around it. We'll see if I can

pull it off!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

11 x 14 original watercolors: $150.00

Birthday Wishes

Whenever someone has a birthday, we

always ask them "what they want."

I have thought about that all day since it is my

birthday today! The things I want are not necessarily

things...I can remember when my mother reached

a certain age, she pleaded for us to not give her

"any more stuff". I have reached that age as well.

So what do I want for my birthday?

1. More Courtesy: I don't know if you have noticed

how rude people are these days, but I certainly have.

So if I get to have a gift, I want more manners, more

graciousness, more common decency.

2. More Time: I used to have a poster in my classroom

that said we all have the same amount of hours in a day

that Leonardo, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, etc had. I do

know that, so maybe I am asking for better use of my time.

I love the scripture that says, "teach us to number our days"

I would like to have more days, and learn to use them wisely.

3. More Faith: As I grow in years, I hope to grow in wisdom,

and faith. I want to learn to trust God during this journey,

and rely on His strength rather than my own.

So, there are a few of the things I would like for my birthday!

Thanks to many of you who wished me well today. I appreciate

your friendships and your love.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

(the photo is part of my studio)

Sunnyside Up

I finished up this sunflower design and

page today. I changed the vase to red,

the other one looked too "country".

I like it, but I like sunflowers. They always

look happy or cheerful.

There's a local man here who plants hundreds

of them along the highway near his home.

They are the large ones, and they are beautiful.

I have never been to Tuscany where they

bloom, or to the south of France where Van Gogh

painted his famous ones. Maybe soon...

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Fun in the Sun

I have been working on these sunflowers tonight,

and I am almost finished. The pot needs a little more

work, now that I see it in the photo! sometimes that

helps flaws show up. Anyway, I will do some coordinating

designs to go with this drawing, and then print out the

sheet for the portfolio I am putting together.

( I guess the "focusing"is working!)

I have started some more Greece art, too, and will have

some of that to post tomorrow.

I matted the give-away pastel today, and it is on display in

the cafe if anyone would like to see it. The matted size is

19 x 16. I will draw a winning name from among the list of

followers. And I will do it on Sept 1, so there is still time to

sign up as a follower. If you have any trouble doing that,

you can let us know, and we can do it for you.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Licensing Assignment

As far as staying focused on my licensing

project..this is the art I worked on for part of

the day today. I teach a private pastel drawing

lesson each week to a student, and today I

worked on this as a demo while she was drawing

as well. I will add it to the flower section of my

presentation when I am finished. It is part of the

series that the geranium I posted last night will be

a part of. Trying to stay focused! Now that the

studio at work is organized, it may help a lot!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Gail Shelton art

For info on Private Art Lessons:
Email or Call the Gallery: 318-628-3560

Fall Cleaning or (Very Late Spring Cleaning)

Most of you know that I own and help operate

the Pea Patch Gallery in downtown Winnfield.

I have a studio and a framing area as well in the

back of the building. This August we are starting

our 19th year in business! wow Anyway, I never

have had everything like I wanted it (what perfectionist

ever does?!) But I am a lot closer now that we all

have been working on organizing, installing shelves,

cleaning out, and arranging in the frame area and

the studio. I was able to get some shelving and some

other storage pieces, and move some things around.

And it is going to be so much nicer to work in.

( I certainly didn't do it all by myself...thanks to all my

loyal employees ( and some of Steve's) for helping!)

In the framing area, we added the shelves for the matboard,

my biggest storage problem. I re-arranged the set-up,

and it is very organized now. In the studio, we added the

storage shelves for completed artwork ( I literally have

about 100 pieces now arranged by subject matter: cityscapes,

landscapes, animals, still life, florals, birds, "Riddle Pics",

etc. I still have the classroom area, my computer instruction

area, and lots of storage for supplies and books. I am still

going to tweak a few things, and should be all finished by the

1st of September. I am thinking about having a "Studio Tour

Art Sale" ...art makes great Christmas gifts.

If you come by the shop for lunch or to shop, feel free to

walk through the studio area...I promise it will be clean and tidy!

sheltongail@hotmail.com
We do all kinds of custom framing, and have lots of matboard

and frame moulding to choose from. Bring your project by

for us to frame up for you. That always makes a great gift, too.

glory of summer

My grandmother always grew geraniums on

her front porch in rectangular concrete planters.

As a kid, I always thought they had the funniest

smell, but I loved the way they looked. And they

defined "summer" for me. I stayed with her

some in the summers, and those flowers were

always blooming. Red, red only..that's the only

ones she planted. I saw these geraniums while

I was painting at the garden tour this past spring.

It will be part of my "Flower Power" collection.

(I am staying focused on licensing stuff..!)

Thanks for the encouragement from a few of you!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

3 to 5 Veggies a Day

a couple more veggies....still working on some more.

I heard from another licensing artist today who is

helping me wade through these unknown waters...

She has already gotten a manufacturing contract!

How exciting! She told me that I will need to have

about 12 collections of around 4 or 5 designs, or

themes. I wrote down a whole list, and now I just

have to make myself work systematically through

them. That is so hard for me...I get pulled in all kinds

of directions.... commissions come along and side-track

me. Juried shows seem to call my name....my suitcase

beckons to me from the closet! I need to focus...need

to stay motivated...maybe if I can share the journey

with my friend, I will stay on track.

that's all for now...I have to go do the ironing!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Sketchy Fruit

I spent the whole afternoon cleaning and rearranging

my studio at the gallery. I am still not finished, but I

made a lot of progress. I ran across these little fruit

sketches in the process. They are watercolor and

colored pencil. I would like to work them up into some

licensing designs. Fruits and vegetables are always in

style!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Texting Rooster

Been playing around with this rooster design
just for fun tonight. I did the watercolor and
scanned it into Photoshop, and then added the
text. Will play around some more with it.

I learned how to do Photoshop when I took a
sabbatical from teaching school when I was
42. I attended Northwestern University and
took an advertising design class that taught
Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. It was all new to
me then, and I drove the TA crazy with my
questions. The instructor, however, was my
age, and we got along because I understood
his references and humor. I was by far the
oldest in the class, but I got an A!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

LIfe is a Bowl of Cherries

Here's another scripture photo for the

Greece show. We stopped at a fruit stand

outside of Kalambaka one morning, and our

tour director bought us all some of these

delicious cherries. I thought this scripture

would accent them nicely.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Fruit of the Spirit Poster 12 x 18 $35.00

notecards $4.00 each w/envelope