Memories are like rusty, brown shadows

Hi everybody!

For the past few days I have been playing around with this little canvas, (6x6") on which I have used many photos of my family - great aunts and uncle, my mother, my great grandmother, a distant cousin and even one of me, which is hiding behind the layers, I covered the canvas with strips of old book paper and painted it with gesso, and then applied various photos by transferring them with gel medium. When it was dry, I rubbed  and wiped some parts off to make them more faded, and then added the next layer, together with some random stamping (some large numerals from TH). After that I put on the top layer, using a mix of gel transfers and images printed onto paper. This was once again wiped and rubbed, partly crackled, and then inked and rusted round the edges. Finally I added the fragments of the old letters, and stamped the dragonfly, which I embossed with copper EP. I wasn't too happy with it at first, as it did not stamp perfectly over the other layers, but then I decided that the partly broken and fragile look fitted well to the rest of the canvas. It did take a long time for such a small canvas, but I am happy with the results. Memories fade and become indistinct, and are layered and merged together, but they are still all there. I once asked my great Auntie Fanny what memories were, and she said that they were like rusty, brown shadows that never went away, therefore the title of this piece.

I am linking to Paint Party Friday and to Moo Mania. book pages (which are there, although you do have to look hard to find them under all the layers!)

Yesterday the weather was very mild, it was cloudy, but good 15°, so I enjoyed my walks and clocked up 14,5000 steps.

At the Rhine:

At the little lake - the white blob in the middle is a swan, I couldn't get nearer to take a better photo:

Have a great day you all, take care, and thanks a lot for coming by!