Weekly Mind Sketch

I decided this week to draw a picture of my 2 nieces and nephew who visited Paris this past December 2010.  Since I've never been to Paris, I decided to do some brief research on the Eiffel Tower.  Here are some interesting things I discovered:  The Eiffel Tower took around 2 years and 2 months to build, and was officially finished on March 31, 1889.  It was built to be the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle , a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution .  Approximately 6.8 million people visit the Eiffel Tower every year. It is estimated that over a quarter of a billion people have viewed the Eiffel Tower in its long history.  It was originally criticized by the public as being an "eyesore made out of riveted iron plates". I feel that I have seen the Eiffel Tower in person even though I've never visited it - just from seeing many images throughout my life! I loved how this image captured a beautiful night...

My niece who recently lost 2 front teeth within 2 days wanted me to draw this picture of her and I excitedly took on her request!  I think this picture captures pure bliss and innocence.  To me, it's a moment of childhood joy that many of us can remember so well - dancing around in circles without a care in the world. We can all feel like this now and again, maybe even just by closing our eyes and imagining ourselves dancing or flying.  It's a feeling of forgetting what is going on around us and just loving the feeling of being free to do whatever we want to do. Take this opportunity to, if nothing else, smile at others you meet this week - it makes life better :)

My brother took this picture when he was in Paris this past December, and it seemed to capture the hustle and bustle that goes on in the Louvre.  What was interesting to me about this picture was that it is a snapshot of one girl stopping for just a moment to look at you in frontal view contrasted with the stream of moving people in the background running by trying to see everything they could in the museum. The Winged Victory of Samothrace is a 2nd century BC marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike ( Victory ).  I think it is very dramatic and feels like it is blowing in the wind with it's flowing drapery and wings raised in the air.  I hope I captured its beauty and movement with all its curves and shapes. This image captures perfectly how society today is moving at the speed of light.  It really takes someone telling you to stop and smile for the camera to slow you down.  How crazy.  I think we don't tend to notice our world around us anymo...