Collette and book pages

This is a photo I altered this summer at an Altered Photo workshop given by Kelly Kilmer in Westford at Ink About It. It was a fun two hours and met some lovely, funny artists. I've altered photos before but not for a long time and needed a jolt and some inspiration and was pleased that Kelly was going to be in the area. We needed to bring photos we'd like to alter and I found this one of my aunt's dog Collette. She's a toy poodle who was very sweet, adorable, funny and independent. When she visited this was her chair. It is a children's outdoor plastic chair that I painted to look like the sky with fluffy white clouds, my little bit of heaven in the garden. When we sat outdoors she proudly sat in this "her" chair. The photo was very washed out but it is the only one I had of Collette. I scumbled green and white paint on the grassy area but then the chair and dog were washed out. You can't see the clouds very well so I just streaked the blue over the chair and then painted Collette. She was fluffy white. I'm thrilled as it shows her personality, her favorite chair and reminds me of all the times she came to visit.


Kelly was also teaching a bookmaking class in the afternoon but I didn't have the funds for that. She had us make a book to hold our altered photos and I had taken a bookmaking class at the SMFA and thought I could make my own. This group of pages started out as just pasting papers onto an 18x24" old piece of drawing paper. I had put it away after as I didn't know what I was going to do with it. After the workshop, I was inspired to get it out. I gessoed the page and cut it up into approx. 5 1/2x9". I added watercolor and loved how it came out. The only thing I wish I'd done is collage the other side before cutting it up and both sides would have been a surprise. Next time.