ALTERED BOOK - A CHILDHOOD MEMOIR

I have been working on an Altered Book of some of my favorite childhood memories. I started with a book I purchased at a library book sale for 12 cents. I glued about 10 pages together for the base of each collage. I have been experimenting with different methods and embelishments. I hope you enjoy some of my memories from 1959-63.

ETOWAH RIVER REFLECTIONS

This was painted plein air at Boling Park on the bank of the Etowah River. It was a beautiful, cool spring morning.........before the humidity and bugs set in. We haven't had much rain in Georgia so the river was down and you could see part of the bank, roots of the trees and fallen logs. The river was very peaceful that day and the fish, turtles, river otter and birds seemed to enjoy it as well!

EDISTO SALT MARSH

EDISTO SALT MARSH 11 x 14, soft pastel on prepared gatorfoam board
The salt marshes are tinted orange and gold in the mornings. The tide was in which made a beautiful contrast with the orange grasses. This location is directly across from the Old Post Office on Edisto Island.

MARSH POINT SAND DUNES

I was a member of a group of plein air artists who visited Edisto Island this past week. The first day was too windy and cold to paint. The second day was perfect and I painted the above painting on the beach of Marsh Point. This painting brings back memories of the smell of the ocean, grasses blowing in the wind and schools of dolphins swimming along the shore. I painted this 11" x 14" painting on gatorfoam board tinted peach and coated with pumice gel. Enjoy!

Homemade Pumice Boards

We learned how to make homemade pumice boards in class on Tuesday. They can be used in place of Wallis sanded paper. In the photo you can see I have tinted several boards red, orange, yellow and purple. I am making these in preparation for my painting trip to Edisto Island April 15th.

The Parr House

Breezy Hill Stables - soft pastel on Wallis paper, 8" x 10"
This is a scene you will pass on Main Street in Woodstock. I always love driving by and seeing the horses grazing in the fields. The rosebuds caught my eye the other day so I stopped to take a photograph. This land has been sold to a developer and soon will look comletely different. I'm glad I can preserve it in this painting.

Watercolor Rendering

A watercolor rendering for a new subdivision of ranch style homes.

HUGH

"Hugh" collage 12" x 12"
This is a collage I made of my father in law using color copies of some of his high school football photographs. His sister made a scrapbook of his high school football career so I also have many newspaper clippings. Their Jackson, TN high school team went on to win the state championship. I use color copies, gel medium and lazertran.

Great Gram

This is a watercolor painting of my husband's grandmother. She lived to 101.
9' x 12" Arches watercolor paper.

Say Cheese

soft pastel on Canson
This is a painting of my oldest son when he was about two. I had a tomato garden at the time and he loved playing hide and seek between the plants. I asked him to "say cheese" and snapped his picture just as a tomato vine fell on his head. I painted this a few years ago.