Penny Richards' photos

Thrifted brown faux-leather purse upcycled with gesso, paint, ink, sharpies, modpodge and krylon. SOLD 11/09.

Tan thriftshop purse upcycled with paint, sharpies, and collage. Image of Sarah Hodge of Salem, from an 1850s daguerreotype in the George Eastman House uploads to Flickr Commons (see below). Quote "A loving heart is the truest wisdom" is from Charles Dickens, David Copperfield . The hearts are cut from a facsimile edition of Dickens' Great Expectations . SOLD, 9/09.

Tan thriftshop purse upcycled with paint, sharpies, and collage. Image of Sarah Hodge of Salem, from an 1850s daguerreotype in the George Eastman House uploads to Flickr Commons (see below). Quote "A loving heart is the truest wisdom" is from Charles Dickens, David Copperfield . The hearts are cut from a facsimile edition of Dickens' Great Expectations . SOLD, 9/09.

Upcycled black purse with gesso, acrylic paint, modpodge, and sharpies. White Heron is based on an image from the Powerhouse Museum uploads at Flickr Commons (see below). SOLD, 9/09.

Upcycled black purse with gesso, acrylic paint, modpodge, and sharpies. White Herons are based on an image from the Powerhouse Museum uploads at Flickr Commons (see below). SOLD, 9/09.

Upcycled black purse with gesso, acrylic paint, modpodge, and sharpies. White Heron is based on an image from the Powerhouse Museum uploads at Flickr Commons (see below). SOLD, 9/09.

Upcycled old black satchel, covered with paint and sharpies, with several layers of modpodge. Painting continues from front to back; I'm holding the cover open to show the whole thing.

Upcycled black satchel, covered with paint and sharpies, with several layers of modpodge.

Upcycled black satchel, covered with paint and sharpies, with several layers of modpodge.

Made in response to this news story: Stephen Hawking both British and Not Dead Painted wooden pins with collage and sharpie elements.

Nell and I participated in the Chalk Art Festival at Redondo Pier today. We didn't win anything, but we had a grand time, and our square seemed to be a favorite with little kids. This is one of them--he was taking my picture, so I took his.

Nell and I participated in the Chalk Art Festival on Redondo Pier today. (That's the Pacific Ocean you can see behind us.) We didn't win anything, but we had a grand time, and our square seemed to be a favorite with little kids. Nell and I sitting with our square, waiting for the judging. The theme was "Dol-Fun," which is how we ended up with a dolphin in a ballpit and wearing a party hat. It's an Amazon River Dolphin, thus the long snout and pinkness.

Nell and I participated in the Chalk Art Festival on Redondo Pier today. (That's the Pacific Ocean you can see behind us.) We didn't win anything, but we had a grand time, and our square seemed to be a favorite with little kids. Nell and I sitting with our square, waiting for the judging. The theme was "Dol-Fun," which is how we ended up with a dolphin in a ballpit and wearing a party hat. It's an Amazon River Dolphin, thus the long snout and pinkness.

Nell and I participated in the Chalk Art Festival at Redondo Pier today. We didn't win anything, but we had a grand time, and our square seemed to be a favorite with little kids. This is the finished square.

Nell and I participated in the Chalk Art Festival at Redondo Pier today. We didn't win anything, but we had a grand time, and our square seemed to be a favorite with little kids. It's hard to see, but this is 45 minutes into the work, after we sketched in all the outlines (including outlines of all the balls).

Hillside Cemetery, Cheshire CT.

Hillside Cemetery, Cheshire CT The two smaller faces represent Anna's children who died young.

Hillside Cemetery, Cheshire CT Many of the colonial-era stones in this cemetery have a variation of this motif--a sun or skull with wings--each is unique