In Flight - WIP

Last week, I returned to a canvas that I started back in December. It sat for a while. I just really doodled with the color. I wasn’t sure where it was going and I was working completely intuitively. Unfortunately, for all the time it sat there, I cannot find a photo of it before I revisited it. So, you’ll just have to believe me when I say it changed significantly. Like I often do, I worked intuitively, with an idea in mind, but not making myself focus on that. If something else developed then I’d help that to happen. And that is what happened in this case.

What did it turn into? Well, to me, it looks like someone flying over the darkness. It was over a desert at one point. I’m not sure it’s done yet. I think the face needs some detail, but maybe not. I’m planning to let it sit for a few weeks to see what I think when I step away from it for a while.

Como sketch based on a photo from our trip to Italy

And, while I was working through all the photos to create the posts about Italy, I thought it was time to use those photos for my art. I started to sketch from the photos. I created the sketch to the right from one of the photos. It’s done with watercolor and pen and ink. I tried out some new things, since that’s what I do in my journals. It was good practice for what I decided to do next.

Yesterday, I met Dave for lunch at his office. I think I’ve mentioned before that the majority of my art goes into his office or into our home’s decor. In this case, I had visited him and he needed something with more color. This time, he didn’t want medical art, just something with color. I love it when he asks for things like that. It gives me a chance to just do whatever! I immediately came home and pulled out two 10″ x 10″ canvases.

Menaggio alleyway - WIP - first day

I planned to just use my acrylic paints but I had no direction from there. I decided to try something different for me. Using photos as inspiration, I started sketching out an image of a Menaggio alleyway. The way the buildings were all connected and created the streets in Menaggio was charming. So, I started with a rough sketch that ended as you see on the left. I let it sit and moved on to the next canvas.

Verrano Ferry Station - Day 1

I sketched an awning that is the entrance to the Verrano ferry station. I didn’t want it to be literal, but I wanted to start with the idea of it. I created some buildings behind it based upon the different buildings I saw when we were there. It ended like the image to the right last night.

Menaggio alleyway - WIP - second day

So, this morning, I was all excited to get back to work on these canvases. I started with the Mennaggio alleyway and grabbed a black watercolor pencil to create some detail, including the delineation between buildings, adding a door and adding in some windows. I’m not sure about the placement of the door. I might need to push it back further into the painting for balance, but we’ll see. It’s not finished yet, but it’s done for today. I’ll likely pick it up tomorrow again for the third pass.

Verrano Ferry Station - day 2

In between allowing the layers on this to dry, I worked on the Verrano painting. It has changed drastically since yesterday. I lightened the center building, added more depth to the awning and changed some of the colors there. I even added some definition in the trees and balanced out the blue that is on the left with some blue tone in the building on the right. Like the other one, it’s not done yet. I still need to add in some details and it will be going through a third pass, as well.

I’m really enjoying these paintings. I’m trying hard to keep a balance between the inspiration and some abstraction. It’s a change for me from completely abstract or drawing from life – sort of a hybrid, but I’m glad I’m trying it.

More tomorrow!

Car and truck in front of us in our traffic jam on the Autostrade from Florence to Milan

Before we get to Milan itself, we have to talk about the drive from Florence. It was supposed to be three hours. But we got into a traffic jam. on the Autostrade on the way there. It took an hour for us to get through it. While we sat there, I did what I always do when we have time. I drew! I don’t often try to draw cars and trucks, since they’re so complicated and I have trouble getting the parts to fit together on paper, but I was really with this one!  I was, however, much happier when we started moving and heading to Milan.

First two levels of the Duomo, Milan, Italy

We got lost on our drive into Milan, but we finally found our hotel. We stayed at a very trendy hotel, Hotel Straf. The first thing we noticed was the crowd of people outside the hotel – on cusions and ottomans that were on the sidewalk and in the street that was closed off to traffic. I was concerned.

We were tired, we wanted a cozy hotel room where we could sleep and relax. We found this hotel as we find most of our hotels, through the Frommer’s guides. It was listed as a “find”. Well, it was, um, different. Very dark and sparse – in the lobby, the doors, the walls, the furniture were all black. If I hadn’t seen someone go in to the elevator, I would not have known it was there!

Corner of the Breakfast Room, Hotel Straf, Milan, Italy

When we got to our floor, there were no doorknobs. There were instructions on the key envelope describing how to open the doors. Not homey at all! We were tired and hungry. Luckily, there was room service, which we called as soon as our luggage arrived.

This was the art in our room at the Hotel Straf

The room’s decor was quite sparse, too. Concrete floors and walls, black furniture (if you want to call a slab of wood furniture), and a large painting in black and off-white.

The next morning, we went for breakfast downstairs in the hotel. There was, well, some interesting techno music playing very loudly. The room was sparse – incredibly sparse.

Milan's Duomo with its Gothic feel

The techno music was jarring. It was an interesting way to start off the morning, even if it’s not our choice of how to do so. We shall never forget Hotel Straf for its trendiness and sparse industrial feel.

Center door to Milan's Duomo

We walked around Milan, exploring. Near our hotel was the Duomo, another amazing structure. I, of course, had to draw it and did! We were across the Piazza Duomo at a cafe when I drew this. It was interesting to draw it from so far away, with so much detail I inevitably missed. But I got a feel for it. As we got closer, though, I realized just how much artistry went into this structure – sculptures, frescoes, niches… Every time I looked at it up close, I noticed something else I hadn’t before.

Piazza Del Duomo, Milan, Italy

There was, however, quite a bit of incongruity in this part of Milan. There, next to the Duomo was a huge screen. On the screen, advertisements flashed. It seemed so out of place and I didn’t quite know how to talk about it. So, instead, I took the photo to the left.

Modern Sculpture next to Duomo, Milan, Italy

And you may see below it and to the left in the corner there is a red statue. It is outside of one of the museums, there was a large red modern sculpture that interested me. As we got closer, I saw that it was not just a red sculpture; it was also interactive with very dark music and dark text all over it. As we got closer, I noticed that there were steps leading into the sculpture so you could walk through it. We didn’t spend a lot of time there, but its incongruity next to the Duomo was intriguing.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II Historic Centre

We walked around the shopping area near the Duomo and just did some window shopping. There was nothing we couldn’t live without, with the exception of a new artist’s journal from the Fabriano Boutique. Otherwise, we just enjoyed our one full day in the city by walking around. We had a flight the next morning out of Malpensa and needed to go back to the room to pack. We decided to grab dinner at a little restaurant a few blocks from the Duomo, where the menu looked good. The restaurant was the Royal Cafe, and the food was excellent! A great way to spend our last evening.

Street View from the Royal Cafe, Milan

You can see some photos of our trip that I’ve not highlighed in the past few posts by going to my flickr set. Thanks for joining us on our trip!

View from our hotel room in Piazza della Signoria

Goodness! It appears to be taking me longer to tell you about my trip than it did to actually take it!

So here we go!

Onward to Firenze (Florence)! The drive to Florence was uneventful, which we like. The drive was beautiful. We stayed at a lovely Bed and Breakfast, Residenza d’Epoca in the Piazza della Signoria. Each room has its own decor and flavor based on an artist. We stayed in the Leonardo room, overlooking the Piazza. What a fabulous view! (see right) Just behind those statues is the Uffizi.

Carousel at Piazza Della Republica Firenze, Italy

We walked around Florence, to the markets and ended up in the Piazza della Republica for our daily gelato and espresso. We went to Gilis - a cafe that has been in Florence since 1733 – and we lucked out. They also had sorbet, which meant I could enjoy some cool refreshment, too! While we sat there, among all the grey Parisian-style buildings, was a colorful carousel. It just begged to be drawn! So I drew it and the building behind it. With more time to sit, I decided I needed to draw some more, and so I drew a window from across the Piazza from the cafe. The architecture is so staid and yet there is so much life in the streets – street vendors, people talking on cell phones and rushing to meetings, and tourists taking photos and looking at menus.

Window at the Piazza della Republica, Firenze, Italy

Ponte Vecchio, Firenze, Italy

We, of course, walked over the Ponte Vecchio, which was right near our hotel. What a crazy place! People everywhere! We looked at a lot of the fabulous jewelry there, but didn’t buy anything.

We decided that there was so much to see that we needed to get some tours in. We took the most amazing tours with Artviva.

We highly recommend them.

Lamp Post in Firenze, Piazza della Republica

We took two tours with them, The David Tour and the Original Florence Walk. Seeing Michelangelo’s David in person is a breathtaking experience. I can’t even begin to explain how amazing the sculpture is in person. And our tour guide for this tour is, himself, a marble sculptor, so we had his fabulous perspective. We learned all about the history of the statue, of Michelangeo’s life and how he came to create the David.

Duomo tower in Florence

The next morning, our last in Florence, we took the three-hour Original Florence Walk. I was concerned, since it was toward the end of our trip and it was a lot of walking, but it was so fascinating that I absolutely enjoyed every minute of it. Our tour guide had a great social history perspective and clearly had studied art history, as well. The tour was incredibly interesting and exhausting! Afterwards, we went to lunch.

Reflection of the Palazzo Vecchio in a window across the Piazza della Signoria

I did a lot of drawing and we really enjoyed our time in Florence. After lunch, we headed out on our trip to Milan. More on that tomorrow!

Grand Canal, Venice, Italy

Venice, known as the City of Love. Also known as the reason we went to Italy in the first place: Dave was invited to speak at a European neurology conference. We were forewarned that the canals were less than pleasant; however, they dreged the canals a few years ago and we noticed no major smell. That was a huge relief!

On to the fun part!

Just one of the many ornate windows at the Basilica San Marco

The conference put us up at the Hotel Carlton Grand Canal. It’s across the canal from the train station.

Boats docked across the Grand Canal in Venice, italy

It was a great location and there was a lovely bistro right near our hotel that had good food at very reasonable prices. The drawing to the left was done while we were sitting at that bistro. So many small boats were tethered to the posts in the canal. It really is amazing to see a city that has absolutely no form of transportation other than boats and walking. It really has such a different feel to it. The streets are made for walking (even if the walking is uneven on the stone and brick paths), the bridges are wide and the steps on those bridges are not steep. It’s really not the type of place you want to visit with a wheelchair, though. Especially if you don’t plan to ride boats everywhere. But there were a few bridges that had ramps in addition to the steps.

Gondola Station, Venice, Italy

We did lots of walking. I was really glad I had my quad cane with me. Between that and Dave’s arm, I was able to get around pretty well.

The food in Venice was good everywhere. There was nothing we didn’t enjoy. I ate a lot of seafood while we were there, fresh caught from the Adriatic. The food was easy to eat, even with my allergies. There was something on every menu that I could eat. What a relief!

Door of a building near the Jewish Ghetto across the canal from where we sat.

We wandered through many of the streets of Venice, window shopping and choosing the right pieces of Murano glass to take home. The streets of Venice are small and the buildings are cramped together. Then, all of a sudden you walk into this area that could fit several football fields in it and it’s the Piazza San Marco. Amazing. The sculptures, frescoes, and architecture… The money and time that went into this is incredible.

Next, follow us on our trip to our next destination, Firenze!

Verona, Italy

“Two households both alike in dignity, In fair Verona where we lay our scene.” – Shakespeare

Drawing of the view from our table at Alle Fogge in Verona, Italy

Seriously, could an English & American Literature major miss the opportunity to visit the setting of Shakespeare’s greatest known tragic love story, Romeo & Juliet? Certainly not this one! Verona is such a beautiful city. We really enjoyed our day there.

Juliet's Balcony, Verona, Italy.

We stayed at the Due Torri Baglioni Hotel. It’s a beautiful hotel. The rooms were lovely, and it’s located in the Piazza St. Anastasia, right next to a lovely Basiclica St. Anastasia. We stopped a few blocks down the street from it to have lunch on Alle Fosse.

From there, we walked through Verona and really enjoyed the size of the city. It’s a small enough city that we could cover most of it in a day and still relax and enjoy it. We walked to the Piazza Bra, where there is an original Coliseum still standing and still in use. They were preparing for what looked like a production of Antony & Cleopatra.

Festival in the Piazza Bra, Verona, Italy

Lamp Post, Verona, Italy

At the Piazza, we sat and went for coffee and gelato (Dave, of course, had the gelato!) while I drew a picture of one of the tents in the festival that was going on in the Piazza. There were, for the most part, food tents. From our seat at the cafe, I could see this cheese tent (left) that I just had to draw. And then I noticed this fabulous lamp post and, of course, I needed to draw that, as well. I love that all the lamp posts that used to run by gas or candle are now retro-fitted to be electric. It adds such a flavor to the cities.

Verona's Coliseum preparing for a new production. Verona, Italy

That evening, we had reservations at one of the smallest restaurants we’ve ever been to, Arche. It’s family-owned and run, since it opened in 1879! Rather than having a wait staff that takes the orders, Chef Giancarlo Gioco comes out to meet each guest and discuss the menu. Their specialty is seafood and the fod was cooked completely without anything I was allergic to. The meal was, by far, the very best we had in our entire time in Italy – and that’s saying something, since all the food was great!

We left the next morning for Venice. I’ll be telling you all about that in the next installment of our trip!

Menaggio, Italy

We had a fantastic vacation in Italy. We got back last week, and I’ve been slowly coming out of the jet lag and I just had a treatment on Monday. Now, however, I’m feeling much stronger and I’m ready to tell you all about my trip and to share photos and drawings. There’s so much to share that I’ll be sharing in several segments over the next week or so.

Menaggio, Italy - View from Grand Hotel Menaggio

We arrived in Milan at 6pm local time. Knowing how tired we’d be, we stayed overnight at an airport hotel. It’s a good thing we did. We were completely exhausted an hour later and almost fell asleep at dinner!

Wall along the lake at Grand Hotel Menaggio

The next morning, we had breakfast and left for Lake Como. It was about a two-hour drive, and after we got out of Milan, it was a pretty drive. I started taking photos from the car once we got to the Lake Como region. If there’s a traffic light or we slow down at all, I’ve got my camera out. It makes Dave laugh, but at least he doesn’t have to stop every five minutes for me to capture the photos!

Via Della Rose, Menaggio, Italy

We got to our hotel near lunchtime. We stayed at the Grand Hotel Menaggio, which was lovely. The rooms were so pretty and we had a lovely hotel staff that was so very accommodating – just what you want in a hotel staff, right? Each day, Dave and I would take a walk to the Piazza at Mennaggio. We passed the building I drew on the Via Della Rose every day, so I just had to draw it! Menaggio is a small town that has a lovely square thatn is edged by with gelato stands and cafès. While Dave had his daily gelato, I had my expresso and drew. There was always something to draw!

Clock in the Piazza Menaggio

The Piazza’s clock was so interesting to me. I actually didn’t even notice it for the first day! But once I did, I was enchanted and I knew I needed to draw it along with the person sitting on the bench behind it.

Our second day in the Lake Como region, we decided to take a drive down to Tremezzo. Villa Carlotta is there. It’s a late 17th Century villa built with gardens, fountains and sculptures.

Villa Carlotta Botanical Gardens - Cactus

Villa Carlotta Botanical Gardens - Bell Tower and Dome

Inside the villa are priceless paintings and sculptures. Outside is a fabulous botanical garden. We were surprised to see a cactus garden as part of the gardens. The juxtaposition of the cactus with the heavily wooded areas was quite surprising. I didn’t ever think that cactus would grow that far north unless it was kept inside. Shows what I know about horticulture! But we had such lovely weather and so we sat on a bench that overlooked the lake from the top level of the villa. From there, I just had to find something to draw. There was a cool domed building just below us and I drew that (right). I think it was the ticket office and gift shop of the Villa and Gardens.

Bellagio's small streets - large enough for a car and for shoppers to squeeze against the walls to allow the cars to pass

Our last day in the Como region, we decided we really wanted to see Bellagio. It’s one of the main tourist attractions in the region and we had heard so many cool things about it. It would have been a two-hour drive on windy roads that would have gotten me sick. So, we made the decision to brave the ferry. Now, for those of you who read my blog regularly, you know that I get seasick on land with no provocation, so going on the boat was a huge leap of faith. We figured, though, that we’d be in Bellagio and take the first ferry back, if necessary. No such back-up plan was necessary. I was fine on the trip from Menaggio to Bellagio. No problem at all! And so worth the risk!

Verrano, Italy from the Ferry

We had a fabulous day in Bellagio. We walked up and down the very steep streets and did some window shopping. I took a ton of photos, and then we went to lunch. We found a nice little restaurant on the lake and enjoyed people-watching while we ate. After lunch we went back up the hill to see what we had missed.
We returned on the ferry to Menaggio for our final evening. Unfortunately, I did get vertigo from the trip back to Menaggio, but a short nap helped me get past that. I was even up to drawing. We sat out on our balcony and I drew the wall surrounding the balcony. It’s one of my favorite drawings from Menaggio. I was fine for dinner and the next morning’s adventures.

More on our trip tomorrow! In the meantime, you can see more of my photos from this portion of the trip here; my drawings from this portion here.

Tree Trunks - Pen and ink in journal - Fabriano CP 140# paper approx 5" x 7"

I just realized that with all my health stuff, I haven’t posted any art in quite a while. Well, there’s a reason – I haven’t done much. BUT, my wrist is out of the splint, I’m no longer in pain from the post-surgical stuff, and I’m starting to come out of the fog, despite a setback of vertigo.

But that’s neither here nor there.

I have a trip to prepare for! Because of our upcoming trip to Italy, I have felt a great need to get back to drawing. It’s the only art I will bring with me and it really helps me to get more out of my trip. So, I’ve been working on making a few journals and some drawings. To the right is one of my latest drawings. I went back for my post-surgical appointment and drew this while waiting for the doctor.

I learned an important lesson while sitting in the doctor’s office and drawing: When I’m at home, the tv lulls me into a bit of oblivion. Oh, I read. And I do some crochet. I’m listening to My Daily Phrase Italian Podcasts…  but usually, the tv is on. I find I can’t really when I’m watching tv. The drawing takes all of my focus. It takes complete concentration to just sit and draw what I actually see. It’s like meditation for me. I’m so glad I have my drawing back.

Have an awesome holiday weekend, everyone!

Illustration of the view from our hotel, Paris, France

drawing of iron work in Paris France

One more post about Paris. While there, I did take care to relax a lot between activities. It’s a walking city, so I was glad to have my cane. But I needed to be very mindful about my energy. And so I spent a lot of time in our hotel room. There was not much of a view from our window, but I did draw what I could see from the window. And that’s to the right. And while I would sit on the couch (which unfolded to be our bed, by the way!), I could see the ironwork on the window. I really liked all the ironwork in Paris, as it was a great contrast to all of the cement and brick on the buildings.

The buildings were also quite interesting to me. I decided to draw one during one of our last days in Paris. We were sitting a Cafe Monceau, near the Villers Metro station. It was a Sunday, so it was quite crowded. The only seat was behind this group of five or six 20-somethings who were all chain smoking and having a mixture of wine and coffee. But we needed our coffee fix! So, we sat and just lived with the smoke while I drew. I was fascinated by the buildings that opened at the corners. They were ornate and not something I see in Phoenix. I think, mostly, that Paris reminded me of a mixture between Brookside, MA and the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The busy pace, the buildings with the tiny apartments…

Drawing of a corner building in Paris, France

I have to say, I was disappointed by how much cement there was in Paris. I expected more gardens and less rain. But, really, I did try to find some beauty in it. I was also a bit more surprised than I should have been at the amount of people and the “city” feeling about it. I guess I expected more of a relaxed atmosphere, but I should have known better. The second half of the trip was much more relaxing, and I will start to describe that tomorrow!

So, where was I? Oh, yes, we were soaking wet in our red touristy ponchos at the Eiffel Tower…

After the soaking wet fiasco at the Eiffel Tower, we made our way back to the hotel via Metro. We were poor travelers, as we had not read the hotel’s information notebook that told us where we could find the closest metro station. We went back to the Arc de Triomphe and walked over a kilometer (yes, folks, they do use the Metric system in Europe!) to our hotel. On our way back, we were really confused. A lovely French woman with her children in a stroller was kind enough to help us find our way to the hotel. We were simply three blocks away. If we’d not met her, we’d have given up, I’m sure, and tried to take a taxi the three measly blocks!

Double Expresso - a life-line during our trip!

After changing clothes and looking at a map of exactly where we are (duh!), we decided to find a cafe to sit in and to explore the area close by. It was still drizzling, but we switched our ponchos for the travel jackets we’d brought with us and the umbrellas. Much less touristy, and we fit in much better! We walked down the street that was an open-air market (marche) and I picked up some fruit; Dave picked up some pastry. We were dry and happy, finally. We found a cafe. I had my first cup of double expresso (double) with no soy milk. Over the week, I became much more accustomed to getting my caffeine in a quick shot, rather than slowly with a leisurely soy latte. Tastes less sweet and smooth, but I sure did cut down on the calories!

After the cafe, we walked a bit more to find a spot to eat. Now, the thing about Paris is that all the cafes serve some food – at least pastry – but at a certain time, they become restaurants and you can’t just sit and have a coffee. The market area had quite a few different places that looked like restaurants, but they were lunch places or places to “take away” food like we do in the US. With our (at this point, at least) limited knowledge of French and the words used in signage, we had difficulty understanding that. We did find a place to eat.

Eating in Paris was fairly easy, even though I have a ton of allergies. I think I mentioned before I left that I had created an allergy card that translated my list of food allergies. We would spend some time looking at the menu, translating it with software in our Palm-based phones, and then the server would come. I’d hand him (usually a male) the card and say, with a smile, “Je suis allergic“. And, for the most part, they were able to look at the menu and tell me what would be easy to prepare. I urged them to go to the chef with the allergy card and make sure. I ate a lot of “bar” a sea-bass like fish that is locally caught and readily available. Only a few times did the chef have a different option for me, since some things were prepared in advance with something on my allergy list. What I found was that the allergy card was taken much more seriously than my comments to servers here in the US. So, I’ve printed out some in English to carry when I go to restaurants here. We’ll see how that goes!

The Louvre, Paris, France

The next day, Wednesday, we went to the Louvre. we took the Metro, which required several changes and many stairs. By the time we got done with the trip itself, I was already tired. But I perservered. It was the only museum Dave was willing to go to with me. (Though he’s supportive of my art, he says he can’t appreciate art or museums in the same way I do.) And so, we went. We went through an airport-like screening, with my bag and cane needing to be x-rayed, we took the escalator down, we stood in line for tickets. And we found out, after 20 minutes of waiting in line that, since I’m “handicapped” (their word), I get to see the Louvre for free, as does my “companion”. So we headed in.

Mona Lisa - From about 10 meters away and through 3 panes of glass

Upon entering the European art wing, I noticed an unwelcoming scent. It was a mixture of mildew and sulfur, best I could tell. I hoped that as we got to the floors with the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo that we’d find it dissipated. Not so. And, honestly, Mona and Venus were so crowded and kept so far from easy viewing (a rope was around the double layers of glass that surrounded her and kept us about 10 meters away from Mona, for example), that I could not enjoy it very much. I was disappointed, but also had a headache from the smells. We figured that since we saw the two main attractions and paid nothing, it wasn’t too bad to leave. I knew I would visit another musuem on my own later in the week on my own. We then went to a cafe to see if my headache would go away and to decide on our next step.

Illustration of Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France

The headache dissipated and we decided to head to the Notre Dame Cathedral on the Ile de le Cite, located in the midst of the Seine. We took the Metro to the “Citie” stop and then walked to Notre Dame. There we encountered our first Gypsy beggars and saw a lot of tourists. We took a seat along the outside front and I sat and drew. I started with a blind contour, so Notre Dame is a bit off-kilter, but I did take a lot of photos to look at and paint later. To the left is my rendering on-site. Not my greatest work, but oh, there was so much detail to capture… And, I had fun!

By the time I had done as much as I could with the drawing, Dave and I were getting hungry and ready to find a place to have lunch. We walked along the streets of and crossed over to the Ile de Saint-Louis. We found a bistro and sat down for lunch. From there, we walked down the cute cobblestone streets of Ile de Saint-Louis and headed back across the bridge to the Right Bank. We were headed to the Jewish Quarter of Paris, which we had been told was well-worth our time. We were going to spend about an hour there and then head back to the hotel.

Well, it started raining just as we crossed the Seine. We did, however, learn from our mistakes the day before, and I had to small umbrellas in my day pack. We had just passed a Metro station and ran into it for shelter. We decided that since I was tired and it quickly went from not raining to pouring, that we’d head back to the hotel. It wasn’t raining by the time we got to the hotel, but that was fine. We were tired and I was really trying to manage my energy. We went to the room and rested up for a while.

I think that’s enough of an update for the trip now. I’ll share more tomorrow.

Sunday again! That means it’s time for CreativeTherapy! If this works as it’s supposed to, I’m currently bidding “Au revoir!” to France and I’m on my way back home to the States! I’m also probably exhausted, so I don’t know when I’ll be able to give you a “live” update. But, rest assured, there are a few more pre-scheduled CreativeTherapy Catalysts all ready to publish!

To the right is my response to this week’s Catalyst 18. I had a lot of fun making this one. I used a mixed media approach. I took a photo with my handy digital camera and then I uploaded it to PhotoShop Elements. I used the magic of Photoshop to duplicate the image into a layer and create a “photocopy” filter that I laid over the top of the original image; I set the opacity around 42%. I printed out the image on my laser printer and then I added colored pencils to add more life to the image. After that, I added some Sakura Glaze Gelly Roll pens for dimension (sorry, you can’t really tell, can you?) and outlines; then I added Pigma Micron pens for the journaling.

To read more about what is behind this response to the catalyst, go to see the CreativeTherapy blog to see the journaling! And, don’t be shy! Join in and show us how you’d answer the catalyst!