This book of original paintings was created especially for a book of slides I saw for sale on ebay. Someone had punched old slides, threaded ribbon through, added some baubles and trinkets on the ribbon and formed a book. I thought it was a perfect idea to use up those old 35 mm slides rather than throw them out. (Who doesn't have scads of 35mm kodachromes lying around? I sure do.) I also love how each slide page retains some of the original owner/photographer's written notes. That's important to me when recylcling something into art - always retain some part of the original owner's 'mark'. As soon as I saw it, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. I bid on it and bought it, mainly so I could see exactly how to re-create them myself, thereby using up a good amount of my own slides that have been kicking around for so many moons. Soon, it was in my possession and I started painting.

Each painting is a very miniscule 1 inch x 1.25 inches. Try painting THAT small!! Most are painted on scraps of Arches watercolour paper. When you're painting this small, you sure don't need to start on a brand new full sized sheet! ;-) Since I never throw my scraps of paper away, I had lots of little pieces to choose from and recycle.

The cover painting is one of tulips. Before I moved to where I am now, I had lots of pink tulips growing in my garden.

The second and third paintings are both of water. I love the water! Beaches, streams, creeks, falls, oceans, lakes. You name it - I love being there beside it, just soaking up the energy.

The second painting is actually a scrap of paper cut from the edge of a painting I bought from my good friend, Ann Buckner in Oklahoma. She had sent the painting with a large border still intact to make framing easier. I loved the feel of the paper and cut this tiny piece off to try out. See the "A"? (It's actually sideways and looks a bit like a "D".) That was written on the paper. I painted over it and it shines through, always reminding me that Ann sent that paper. It's Fabriano soft pressed and is beautiful to work on.

The third painting is of waterfalls. Rocks in waterfalls to be exact, with water splashing over them. It's on Arches paper and has a bit of gouache as highlights of the waves. I'm really happy with the colours I got in the water.

The fourth painting shown is of another of my favourite things - clouds. Masses of visible shape-shifting energy, constantly swirling through the skies.

Each painting was painted with the smallest of brushes, protected with a coat of matte medium, then cut down to size and collaged onto the slide area with mat medium.

When I recycle, or repurpose something like this, I always treasure it so much more than something I've done on brand new supplies. Recycled and repurposed pieces were, at one time, owned and cared for by someone else. If you stand quietly and hold these pieces, you can almost feel their presence. Like the glow of a well-worn patina!

These may not be the biggest items to be kept out of the landfill sites and dumps, but every bit helps and adds up!