Shells on canvas
Miniatures are a great way to be creative when you don't have a lot of extra time. "This one is a photo of daisies in water, along with paper & shells, on canvas"
Miniatures are a great way to be creative when you don't have a lot of extra time. "This one is a photo of daisies in water, along with paper & shells, on canvas"
Pansies
Acrylic on canvas done with brush and pallet knife. The inspiration comes from the dramatic contrast in colour value from the pansy flowers right from my garden. I didn't choose the cool colours for the background as much as they chose me; sometimes you just know what feels right and this cool background contrast with the warm coloured flowers is exactly what I wanted.
(36x54inches)
PRICE $ 950.00/ can.
White Mountains
This work was done in acrylic on canvas, from my memories of hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. It is owned by another hiker, who shared the experience and just loves the painting.
(28x34inches)
Madonna
This is the newer piece. It is a composition of Brianna and me; a conte drawing on top of acrylic on board that seems to pull the viewer into the scene.
Stephani's Roses
Stephani's Roses, the garden variety, were a gift from her grandmother. For this painting, I used raw stretched canvas and watered down acrylic paint; adding water to the painting as I went. As long as the work is wet, the paint spreads over the canvas . Once the acrylic is dry, it becomes permanent and fixed. The original work is available, and can be purchased directly from Shelly Gifford Studio. Enquire here for pricing.
Wild Cat -- Book Cover Photography
Wild Cat by Jacques Poulin. Cover design and text design by Tannice Goddard. Cover art and photography by Shelly Gifford.
Kassi Cowles has written a review of Wild Cat in The Silhouette, McMaster University's Student Newspaper:
"The androgynous spirit of the elusive feline, perched on the balance of beauty and aggression, seems an apt metaphor for Jacques Poulin’s novel Wild Cat. ...
The metaphor of the elusive feline is central to the text: the characters feed and nurture their cats as a gesture of routine and the human need to domesticate what is untamed. The cat, however, comes to mean something far deeper to the text: instinctive and androgynous, it becomes a symbol of death. The title, then, seems ironic, as the characters and images are so serene. But the ‘Wild Cat’ emerges in the end. The details and outlines of Jacques Poulin’s novel fade quickly, but the depths, colour and emotions of the story remain long after it is finished."
The Part-Time Vegetarian -- Book Cover Art
The Part-Time Vegetarian: An Alternative to a Traditional Vegetarian Diet by Louise Lambert-Lagacé and Louise Desaulniers. Cover design and text design by Tannice Goddard. Cover art by Shelly Gifford.
"In this groundbreaking guide to healthier eating, renowned nutritionists Louise Lambert-Lagacé and Louise Desaulniers teach you delicious ways to incorporate the best vegetarian foods on the market. With more than 50 mouth-watering recipes, this book will help you reap all the benefits of vegetarianism - and you can still eat meat!"
The Part-Time Vegetarian won Silver in the Cuisine Canada Culinary Book Awards in 2002, in the category for French language cookbooks.
I used watercolor crayon for this cover, on watercolor paper. I used the crayons without water for the majority of the work, but for the final details I used brush and water. The subject being vegetarian cooking, led me to use a "fish tail" on the cover rather than a roast of beef or anything with a face :) The fish tail seemed more visually appealing and works with the looseness of the style. I also wanted to show an abstract figure in the work that would express an air-like free quality. The colors I chose are very important; red and yellow stimulate the appetite. The flowers are orange blossoms.