The Photographs' Painter - Flip through of altered artist book with found photos and found paper

This artist book, crafted through the medium of collage and repurposed found photos, transforms a humble children's board book into a vibrant celebration of the past. In particular, this book celebrates monotone images from 1908 that somebody gave life to, with colour. I felt a deep connection to this stranger from the past, who one day sat at their table and painted life into their black and white family photos.
To learn more about my class, visit: www.jackravi.c...
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[@desireeperez208]

These books with poem is fabulous

[@jackravi]

Thank you very much!

[@alicedowntherabbithole4]

Lovely! My late father used to colour the photographs he took and developed himself back in the 40s and 50s. I still have some of them. Perhaps I need to make a book like this! x from north east England

[@jackravi]

What a nice thing to have!

[@annemcdonald5602]

Fabulous! I love how you incorporated the front and back - brilliant!

[@jackravi]

Thank you Anne!

[@brian_medlock_collage]

Lovely....I shall make one in my style....thanks...so inspiring

[@sphinxtheeminx]

I'm very old and can remember the days when photos were special and a real treat to own. Our family album included hand-coloured portraits. Hand-colouring was an add-on, a process offered by the photographer who coloured them himself, and it wasn't cheap. Over the years the colours still seem vibrant, and my ginger hair still clashes with the red cardigan I'm wearing in my picture. The photographer coloured our clothes how he wanted and my mum never forgave him for putting me in red because she had knitted my beige cardi herself. I had mumps at the time, and I look like a mini Winston Churchill.

[@jackravi]

Awww! This is beautiful, and thank you for sharing. Just to clarify, the photos I used in this book were most probably not coloured by the photographers. I have come across professionally coloured photographs before, and I can see the difference between them, and the photos in this book, which were probably hand coloured by children, or family members. Or at least I like that romantic idea better :) Sending love to mini Churchill in a beige cardigan :)

[@debbiecarter6430]

Lovely Jack.

[@jackravi]

Thank you!

[@maramakesjournals2319]

That’s a beautiful book. You, being a lover of old photographs, perhaps subconsciously saw the painted photos as defaced. I’m glad you found the charm instead. I loved the story of your discovery in art class. Wonderful!

[@jackravi]

Thank you Mara, you're making a really good point, I think I judged them too quickly, but going back was such a revelation!

[@maramakesjournals2319]

@@jackravi I was looking through the winter 2023 Somerset Studio today and saw your piece with Jane Chipp. Very excellent! I LOVE the prompts; they’re really tiny stories. I got a ton of inspiration from all of it. Your art piece re the haberdasher really caught my eye. I had already planned to wrap a flattened paper tube with green yarn that I would thread with flower sequins. To look like a patch of flowers. Right now I need green in my life. I really enjoy your art. It always tells a story. BTW while I was watching your video about an altered board book last night, I was picking little bits of shiny paper off a board book. I know I can sand the glossy paper, but peeling is more fun. I am very grateful for inspiration. I always look for ways to make a thing more Mara-like. I love learning! Thanks!💕

[@jackravi]

@@maramakesjournals2319 That's lovely to hear, thank you! I loved our feature on Somerset Studio, it was so beautiful! :) By the way, the Artful Memories Challenge is coming back this year in April and I cannot wait!!!!! You should totally join in, keep an eye out on our IG, or join our newsletter at www.artfulmemoriesbook.com 💚

[@maramakesjournals2319]

@@jackravi Sounds fun!

[@sueparker1466]

Lovely Wonderful

[@jackravi]

Thank you!

[@danaroth1525]

This is so beautiful Jack. Did you move any pages? When I tried this at home, it seemed to be way too bulky even though I use the thinnest of papers to collage with

[@annekerber8391]

LOVE IT 🤎

[@jackravi]

Thank you :)

[@TheCrabbyCrafterlol]

Beautiful! Funny how our knee-jerk reactions can be quite different after some time and additional information. My father was a photographer in the 1960s-70s. To this day when I get a whiff of photo chemicals, it takes me back to the apartment we lived in in Munich (50+ years ago) where he had a small dark room (he was in the US Army, stationed at Dachau). He blew many of his photos up and mounted them onto large boards (2 x 3 feet or so). He also hand tinted quite a few of his photographs. Best of luck at the show, I'm sure this will get snatched up quickly. Your work is amazing. (I share this here, only bc you're such a photography buff: I recently posted a video featuring a few of his pictures: th-cam.com/video/sB7su_pkDcY/w-d-xo.html)

[@jackravi]

Thank you for sharing! What a beautiful story! I'd seen photos that had been professionally coloured by photographers before. But the ones in this book seem more like the work of a young child, or perhaps grandma at the kitchen table :) And I felt such tenderness for them! Lovely photos you've got, and massive! ❤

[@TheCrabbyCrafterlol]

@@jackravi Ohh--thanx so much for watching...they are huge, lol. I love your appreciation for old photos. It's amazing when we can get swept up in something we love. Wishing you all the best