Thrift Store Altered Art

So, yes, I’ve jumped on the band wagon.  The principle is: find some old/bad/unloved art from a thrift store. Buy it, and then add your own addition to the image, turning into something completely different. And hopefully more interesting.

When a friend of mine Susanne was looking for something to hang on her empty wall, this method came to mind. Her and her husband are big into robots.  So I hit up the local Savers and found the perfect framed lithograph from the 70’s. It was only $3. Perfect!

The design of the robot was based on an image I love “Come, Come Little One” by Szymon Biernacki. Since this was really just an experiment, I didn’t anticipate how much I would love the final produce. Therefore I failed to take a before picture. Whoops.  But I was able to find the original image online (the version I bought had been cropped down to a much smaller portion of the photo):

 

I loved the result so much.  It was so much fun to add these guys into the picture, and the challenge of matching the color tones and style was delightful. Then another friend Erin gave me the idea: TARDIS.  I hit up Goodwill on my way home from work, and picked up another few images.

The original art was a photo print of a painting by Gregory F. Harris.  I used acrylics to add in the TARDIS and K-9 and sealed the whole thing with varnish.  Print available here. Before and after:

I am hooked. I foresee many more of these in my future. Oh yes.  I am bursting with idea. And it combines two of my favorite hobbies. Painting. And “junking” as my Grandma would call it.

Here are some other artist’s thrift store alterations.