Altered Books

I took an old book and altered it by gluing pages together and then covering them with gesso. This will be my art poem book. I already did the front cover by first cutting a hole into the front which creates a little round window to the second page where I wrote the words 'My Poem Book" I then covered the outside with two coats of gesso and then used some tissue paper and podge to cover it completely. I glued 3 X 3 pages together which gives a nice firm surface to work on and then also slapped some gesso over the pages. I now have a complete blank book which is unique ! I drew the cat and flower on watercolor paper first and then colored them with watercolor pencils. On the background I used oil pastels and then took a brush with a little bit of turpentine washed all over the page. I then wrote the beginning and introduction of my book with a waterproof black felt tipped pen.