A Bridge Over Still Water

The little town of Breaux Bridge is right off

of I-10 in south Louisiana. We spent part of

our time here during my recent photography

tour. It is the home of the Crawfish Festival

which is held the first full weekend in May.

It is also full of antique stores, gift shops,

cafes, and charm. They also have an Art Walk

that I have participated in a couple of times.

It is a great day trip for anyone interested in

good food and good times!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Two Birds of a Feather

Here are my two photography assistants, ha!

That's Mr. Bob in the blue, and Mr. Duhe in

the red. They helped me find the birds and

scenery along Blind River, right outside of

Lutcher, LA. Mr. Duhe owns a camp along the

river, and there is no better guide or naturalist

I know of. And Mr. Bob arranged the trip for

me, and just loves to go anywhere, anytime!

So, these are my two "birds of a feather"... along

with the others pictured here.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron...they roost during

the day, and are active at night. (I can identify...
being a night person myself!)

Purple Gallinule...on a branch. This bird is usually

found on the ground, in the marshes, walking on
the lily pads. It is unusual to see them in a tree.
They have beautiful colors in their feathers. He
was stretching and preening...just taking a break.
You can see his large feet..helps him walk on the
plants on the surface of the water.

I will have several of these photos available

for sale in the gallery soon. If there is a

particular photo you are interested in, please

email or call the gallery. I am planning a

"Louisiana" show in the fall, so I will be working

on pieces from time to time in the next few

months, along with licensing projects and

commissions.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Pea Patch Gallery 318-628-3560

Lake Martin Tour

THE best pic I took....what a shot. This is
a great blue heron, very majestic!

This is an osprey...a large bird of prey,

beautiful.

These are yellow crowned night herons...

and their nest with two little ones. We

watched them feed them...too cool.

This is an anhinga. He does not have any oil in his

feathers, so when he gets wet, he has to dry them

in the air and the sun.

Lake Martin, not a breeze stirring, the water like glass...

This is Bryan Champagne of Champagne

Swamp Tours of Breaux Bridge, LA. We

toured Lake Martin on Monday morning.

He took us to great places all over the lake,

and we saw all kinds of birds. Great day!!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

First Day at the Swamp

These photos are from a few hours at Lake

Martin this afternoon. I drove down to Breaux

Bridge today and made my way over to the

lake. These birds were around the edges of

the lake. And the beautiful sunset was amazing.

One of my traveling buddies, Mr. Bob, is with

me. We plan to take a private swamp tour

early in the morning. We hope to see some more

birds, but may not be able to photograph the

rookery. The tour guide told us that the Wildlife

and Fisheries department has put the area under

protection. We'll just have to see what we can see

tomorrow!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Sweet Magnolia

I believe there is no sweeter symbol of
Spring in the South than the magnolia. We
planted two of them right before our daughter's
wedding, and they are in full bloom this year.
I have been reminded of the movie, "Steel Magnolias",
when I have viewed the devastation in the South
this past week. There is a line in the movie: "That
which does not kill us, makes us stronger." My heart
goes out to those in Tuscaloosa and the other towns
so torn apart by the weather. I hope that they will
indeed be made stronger through their adversities.
And somehow, I believe with God's help and grace,
they will.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

I'd like to give away a print of this photograph.
Whoever leaves me the first comment, will
receive a free 8 x 10!

Reception Complete

The gallery hosted an opening reception this

evening for Daniel Rockett's show, "Olympus".

Many of his students and their families came

by.

One of the high school students admiring the work

along with the artist.

Daniel with his parents, Vickie and David Rockett.



Daniel and his grandmother...one of his
biggest fans.

The show will hang through the month of
May. The gallery hours are 10-5 Monday-Friday.
10-3 on Saturdays.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Literary Light

I mentioned awhile ago that I was helping one

of our graduating seniors do their senior project;

here is the finished product! Congratulations

Allison...it looks great. She wrote the story about

a firefly, Wattson, who is bullied for being different

(a very current topic!). He is embarrassed by his

light, and becomes discouraged. When a caterpillar

is trapped in a dark log, however, it is Wattson who

comes to the rescue. She tied in the scripture in

Matthew about "letting our light so shine before

men, so they can see our good works." It is a

precious little story, and she did a great job on the

illustrations as well.

She is printing them on Shutterfly and selling them.

They are $30, and she can take orders for them. They

would make a great gift, or you might like to donate one

to your library or preschool. You can let us know at the

gallery if you are interested. Way to go Wattson!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Let Your Light Shine! $30 each

It's a Girl!

Finished up these flag designs late last night. I

am working on some boy designs now. I am planning

to submit some of these to a flag company in the

hopes they will want to license the designs and

manufacture them. I have not heard from the

Christian publishing company that I submitted some

of my scripture photos to...maybe they will let me

know something soon. keeping my fingers crossed!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

My Pad or Yours?

There is a pond near my home that is dotted

with these wonderful lily pads. As I was driving

by yesterday, I noticed they were blooming.

Since I am always drawn to flowers of any kind,

I pulled over, and took some photos. Monet

would be proud...

I am still signing up people for the Peru/Machu Pichu

trip next April. There are still many spots left, and

I encourage you to get in touch with me if you are

interested. I can answer any questions you may have,

and get you registered if you choose to join us. It

will be a great trip, and well worth your time and

money.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Several years ago I planted some hollyhocks in

one of my flower beds. I had always admired

them, especially when I traveled out West.

They were all over Santa Fe and Taos, and I

wondered if I could get them to grow in Louisiana.

Well, they did. And they come back every year.

The pink flowers are the current blooms on

the stalks. The first year they bloomed, they

were yellow, and I photographed them and did

the colored pencil drawing you see here. But

since then, they have been a different color every

year....same plant. One year they were peach.

And the last two years, they have been pink.

I do not know how this is possible, but they are

beautiful. I may have to draw some of these

pink ones.

I sold the original colored pencil drawing seen

above, but I do have prints available.

"Hollyhocks"

14 x 24 print $65.00

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Egret Art

Since I talked about getting to photograph the

egrets soon, someone asked about some of my

artwork of the birds. This one is a watercolor

with high contrast between the white bird and

the dark background. (sold)

This piece is a colored pencil drawing. The

techniques used with watercolor and colored pencil

are very similar. Both mediums are transparent, so

color can be layered, and the color built up, working from

light to dark. The layering helps the colors to glow. I also

used a dark background here to show the contrast

between the white bird and his surroundings.

This piece is sold as well!

Had a lot of fun today at the Downtown Garage

Sale in Winnfield...sold lots of stuff! and visited

with lots of people. We may do it again in the

fall. Will let you know.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Nesting Time

These are such "Louisiana" images...white egrets.

They are not my photos, but I will have a chance to

take some in a couple of weeks. Every spring, huge

numbers of these birds nest near Lake Martin in

south Louisiana. Just this week in the gallery, a couple

from New York came through on

their way to do some birdwatching.

I filled them in on Lake Martin, and they were going

to add it to their agenda. I have planned several times to

try and go photograph them, but it never has worked

out. I am going to try again. Hopefully the weather

will cooperate, and I can get some good shots. I

am also going to stay with a Cajun friend in his home

on a bayou where he feeds the alligators, raccoons,

and owls. He is a real character, and I am looking

forward to spending some time with him and hearing

his comical Cajun stories. Hopefully I can remember

a punchline or two, and share them with you.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Olympic Invitation

We have scheduled the reception for Daniel

Rockett's show. Here is the invitation. If you

are in town, please make an effort to come by

and meet the artist and view the show. The

show will hang through May.

I am saddened today by all the losses throughout

the South. The devastation is incomprehensible.

I am familiar with many of those cities, and my

heart goes out to those families and communities.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers

I have been working on these flag designs in

color tonight, playing around with the color

scheme of pink and brown. I will scan them in

and add the text on the computer. I will keep

playing with them until I arrive at one that I

love!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

New Exhibit at the Gallery

There is a new show at the gallery through the

month of May. Mr. Daniel Rockett, the Talented

Visual Arts Teacher, is exhibiting a collection of

pencil portraits titled, "Olympus". The subjects of

all of the drawings are students and young people

in the community. There is a twist to the portraits,

however, as each of the titles suggests. They are

each named for one of the Greek gods, and the

viewer must decipher the meaning of the connection.

He had each student represent one of the gods in

some way, through their pose, their prop, or their

activity. You must know your Greek mythology well

to determine all of the meanings hidden in the drawings.

Since Mr. Rockett was one of my students (a long time

ago!!), I believe the whole "riddle" idea must have

rubbed off on him!

The show can be viewed during shop hours, 10-5

Monday thru Friday, and 10-3 on Saturday. There will

be an artist's reception on May 5 from 3 pm to 6 pm.

Everyone is invited to come and view these beautiful

and intriguing drawings.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Flag Day

I'm getting back to working on some of my

licensing designs. I am working on some flag

designs to submit to some companies that

manufacture them. One of the companies does

not carry any baby announcement flags, so I

thought I would do a series of designs for baby

girls and baby boys! These are just some

preliminary sketches. I have several more underway,

and will post as I go along.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

He is Risen!

" Without Easter, there would be no hope of heaven.

Without the hope of heaven,

there would be no salvation.

Without Easter, the world would be in chaos and darkness.

Jesus' death and resurrection means we can be reborn,

to live better, to do better,

To shine light into the shadows.

Hallelujah! Happy Easter!"

by Joanna Fuchs