Time in a Frame - again

Here are two very different pages. On one I use the new rubber stamp I cut of the eye. I liked the chapter heading so made the page to play off that starting point. The old man portrait is very slightly altered. He looked like and eagle to me - I just needed to add the nose/beak. isn't he a handsome fellow?

Time in a Frame - even more

This picture of the girl inspired me to get out my sewing machine and threads. Also a little purple tulle. The photo of the hanging of Lincoln's assassins is one I did awhile back. By painting out a lot of the background, the central images stand out all the better. I used thread for the nooses and added the ravens. The portrait of the man is only slightly altered with white gesso and black paint. Here is the link to earlier pages.

Time in a Frame - more pages

My art pal Jackie and I have been passing this book back and forth, with each of us doing a few pages at a time. It's been so hot in the Valley that I'm sort of stuck inside - no gardening for me in the heat! So, I've been adding pages in the book. Here are a few new ones. The blue man has a hand extended onto the preceding page. He was meant to be a mummy. I planned to paint him except for the face - right into the background, then shade around him and highlight the lines of the tape with stains. But - I love blue masking tape and could not bring myself to paint it out. Who says mummies have to be wrapped in white? On the opposite page there was a quotation I liked. "Stretched his hands, enforcing silence - Said 'Be motionless, I beg you!' Mystic, awful was the process. All the family in order Sat before him for their pictures.?"

The three spooky fellas need a caption - maybe someone will suggest something? Please.

Time in a Frame - new pages

I've been down in the studio with the doors wide open so the dogs can come and go, and the fresh air can pour in. Temperature in the 80's today, and as sunny and bright a Fall day as one could ask for. Here are the next couple pages I did today. The gentleman shown in the previous post now is transformed! And on the page across from him is an old mining photo which is altered to look like a ride down to Hell. The children are lined up to get their tickets when you see the two pages side by side. The photo of the woman is a typical Victorian portrait which has now been altered by layering white paint over her face, gluing on the skeleton head and finding a little tiny fork in my embellishing stash box. I used the page preceding her portrait to cut bars so it would look like she is imprisoned. this page is opposite the creepy house shown below.

New Project - Time in a Frame

One of the things I look for wherever used books are sold - are old books with lots of photos I can play with. In this case, I found a book of 19th century photographs. I really bought it to cut out some of the images of impoverished people for another altered book in the planning stage. And some theatrical images which are very expressive.

Because it is close to Halloween I checked Ebay to see what artist Gus Fink is up to. He spookifies (is that a word?) old photos as well as draws weird pictures. My friend Jackie and I each have an original Gus Fink in our collections, but now I can't afford his prices, so I am trying my hand at making some images along his style. He has inspired this book. Jackie and I will be exchanging this book. We'll each work on a few pages and then we'll switch artists. Just the two of us, as we do with found words books. This time it's a found images book. These are some of my first pages. I just thought it up yesterday, so you will see that I believe in following your muse! If you are inspired to do something, for heavens sake - just do it. The art you make when nudged by your muse will be fresher and better than the work you do when you think it out and plan it for weeks or months. And - if you don't like it, you can throw it away, or cut out the pages you don't like. The book goes to Jackie tomorrow when we meet for lunch.

The house picture was very pale with light background, but it seemed spookier to put black background with black gesso and some light touches of white gesso. The little mice are from a Martha Stewart punch I found at Michaels on sale.

The wagon was also on a very light but busier background, so to isolate the wagon I painted out the background, cut some slits in the top and put in pieces of cut up skeleton image.

The spooky soldiers have been isolated with white acrylic paint, and then altered. The werewolf looking guy looks like my dog Lulu. Shhh!!! don't tell her. The gravestone rubber stamp was in the $1 bin at Michaels this week.

The man with the line of children in front is part of a 2 page spread. I'll show the other side later. This is not done yet. The Eskimo children now have their faces painted out, and clothes colored in with colored pencils. The Man is actually a well bred gentleman. I cut around the children and put the man behind. He may turn into the devil by the next time you see him.