des couleurs, du piment et quatre bras

love

2012-02-04T21:14:00.004+01:00

Bonne année!

2012-01-02T08:14:00.002+01:00

2012 is going to be a harsh one for me. I'm struggling at work.
I'm feeling like a fish out of water.
I'll explain why to you soon. When I'll be able to talk about it. And not cry like a baby.
I'm not making art anymore. All my energy is spent at the hospital. And I'm giving what's left before going to bed for those three :

Still, I wish you all -who are following me and always leaving me so nice comments- a Happy Happy New Year.

new painting : désespérée

2011-12-30T07:57:00.001+01:00

Joyeux Noël!

2011-12-26T07:48:00.000+01:00

sketchbook project : spread 6

2011-12-23T07:50:00.000+01:00

sketchbook project : spread 5

2011-12-16T07:31:00.001+01:00

Queen of GREY

2011-12-09T17:34:00.003+01:00

Tammy is having another week of colors at Daisy Yellow's!

Since I'm working on the theme "grey side of life" in my sketchbook, I'm queen of GREY!

This week, I made spread 4 :

Did you know that 'gray' is how the color is spelled in the US and 'grey' is how it's spelled in England? I didn't. I just found out recently.

In french, we say 'gris' and in dutch, we say 'grijs'.

I've made a bunch of pieces of art with shadings of grey :

I love grey. It's the color of stone.

I have a great file with pictures to get inspired from :

Now, go outside to photograph and make your own stack of grey.

I grey you :)

YELLOW

2011-12-04T09:21:00.000+01:00

I had fun with yellow yesterday. But all my pages are incomplete.

I think I'm going to draw some television antennas on the second page...

... when I'll find time.

december 2 : ORANGE!

2011-12-02T07:49:00.003+01:00

an art journal page for Tammy's rainbow :

no words needed

orange is beautiful

RED again!

2011-12-01T07:44:00.003+01:00

Tammy invited us to build a rainbow this beginning of december!
I'm the queen of RED!
With my fellowship program at the hospital, I don't have much time to paint. Still, I've managed to make a very simple painting :

Don't know why I like to work with that color so much...
Red is the symbol of passion, anger, courage and sacrifice.
It's also the color of blood. I love to insert central lines, dialysis lines and arterial lines!
Though 'brown' is what I see most at the hospital those last couple of weeks...
If you know what I mean :) :) :)

If you want more red, I've showed my addiction for it before : here, here and here.
Next week-end, I'll try to make time for the rest of the rainbow.

sketchbook project : spread 3

2011-11-25T07:23:00.002+01:00

sketchbook project : spread 2

2011-11-18T07:46:00.002+01:00

I'm not sure I'll be able to fill my sketchbook before deadline.

Life is so busy right now. I work at least ten hours straight everyday at the hospital. Sometimes twelve.

Plus night shifts.

That fellowship program is hard.

la tête dans les nuages

2011-11-11T10:04:00.000+01:00

happy PPF everyone!

ICU night shift

2011-11-08T13:53:00.000+01:00

essai 59

2011-11-05T08:43:00.000+01:00

HOW?

2011-11-03T22:15:00.004+01:00

I've joined Julie's online class this month.

This is the first spread I've made.

"COMMENT" means "HOW" in french.

This spread is all about my current struggle at work. I'm learning. Learning how to use an endoscope.

ICU night shift

2011-11-01T20:18:00.000+01:00

No time to draw.
Hey! It's the 1st november 2011 (11-1-11)
Did you make a wish at 1.11?

essai 58

2011-10-31T07:21:00.000+01:00

intimate post. about work.

2011-10-29T17:43:00.011+02:00

me.

at six. maybe seven.

After high school graduation, I had to figure out what I wanted out of life. I was 18 years old. I thought about medical school. Nope. Too long. I thought about becoming an engineer. I liked mathematics. But... no. Too technical. Wanted to study people more than machines, structures or materials.

I made this compromise : a little bit of medicine and a little bit of biomechanics. Yes, I was going to become a physical therapist. A "PT".
I went to university in Brussels to study physical therapy. Four years.

I hated it.
I hated to study physical agents, vestibular balance rehabilitation, prosthetics and orthotics, goniometry, muscle testing, motion analysis, biofeedback, proprioceptive facilitation... Arggghh!
But, I liked every class related to medicine. Anatomy. Histology. Cardiology...
I realized that I had made a huge mistake when I was in my third year. I should have gone to medical school.

After graduation, I was 22 years old.
I wanted to become a physician.

Friends and family told me to get a job. I would earn money and I would forget about going to med school.
And, that's what I did. I worked as a PT in a hospital. A whole year. Cardio-vascular rehabilitation. Musculoskeletal rehabilitation. Pulmonary rehabilitation.
Hated. Hated. Hated it.
Wanted to make diagnoses.

Finally, I decided to go to med school. Seven years. Three bachelors and 4 masters.
I was 29 when I graduated.
In the mean time I got married.

After those 7 years, you have to choose a medical speciality.
Surgery? Internal medicine? Pediatrics? Gynecology? six more years.
Ophthalmology? Dermatology? five more years.

I choose to become a gastroenterologist. It's a subspecialty of internal medicine.
I've finished the three first years of residency last september.
I'm now beginning the fellowship program. Three more years to go.
Then, I'll be an attending physician.
Hope you'll all be there to celebrate with me.

me.

now. 32 years old.

first polyp I took out of a large bowel.
last week.
didn't expect endoscopy to be so difficult.

essai 57

2011-10-28T07:22:00.001+02:00

happy PPF!

today's urban adventure

2011-10-27T07:20:00.002+02:00

Past adventures are here.

just doodling

2011-10-25T07:15:00.001+02:00

essai 56

2011-10-23T08:10:00.001+02:00

essai 55

2011-10-21T07:17:00.001+02:00

beautiful grey side of life

2011-10-19T07:28:00.001+02:00

baby book

2011-10-17T07:15:00.003+02:00

Some pages in my baby book :

cover

june 2010 : delivery room

first prints

first haircut

As you can see, I'm a red head.

She's not.
Oh and, I was really fat there. And still breast feeding. Since then, I've lost 10 kg (22 pounds).

essai 54

2011-10-16T09:29:00.000+02:00

essai 53

2011-10-15T21:41:00.001+02:00

ladybird on my car

2011-10-12T07:07:00.000+02:00

Is someone trying to tell me something?

Am I going to be lucky?

But I already am.

Lucky.

What a week!

playing on brown envelopes

2011-10-10T07:16:00.001+02:00

whoooo. Like these. Might make some more.

essai 52

2011-10-09T08:14:00.001+02:00

a page I made in may that I forgot to scan for you :

essai 51

2011-10-08T09:58:00.000+02:00

art postal 29

2011-10-06T07:34:00.000+02:00

ladybird on my shoulder

2011-10-05T07:44:00.000+02:00

scrapbook experience

2011-10-03T07:57:00.013+02:00

The second workshop I took last week-end was with Céline Navarro, a french scrapbook artist.

I made a girly album with pictures of Margot when she was about one year old.

This is the outside cover...

... and this is the inside :

The whole thing was very easy to make. We used three pieces of cardboard (big ones for the covers and a thin one for the spine) and bounded them with masking tape. Did you notice my gorgeous polka dots masking tape?
Then, we glued a spiral bound booklet on the right panel :

details of stamps :

Not bad for a first time? Don't you think?

Scrapbookers have a bunch of fancy supplies!!!
Embossing powders, gorgeous papers, stamps (anything you can think of), glitter inks, beads, brads, shiny eyelets, stickers, colorful rub-ons (and ribbons), tags, masking tapes, spray paint, stencils...
Problem is that everything is very expensive :(
I bought some gorgeous masking tape though.
I think that art journalers don't need all that stuff. Paint (even cheap one), regular glue and favorite pens is all we really need.
But it was fun fun fun to play! And I'll certainly attend to scraptastic 2012.

study of curves

2011-09-30T06:41:00.001+02:00

Septembre is almost over. You only have today left to complete Tammy's ICAD challenge!

You can find everything about that challenge here. She started a REVOLUTION!

I've made it! I've painted 14 more rolodex cards.

Yep. Still having sooooo much fun with my curves!

Promise, I'll think of another theme for the month of august :)

If you missed the 14 others, or just want to look at them again, click here.

I'm still exhausted. And everyone asked me how I made those cards. And I haven't answered yet...

I promise I'll tell you all about the material I've used soon. I just need to make some (more) time.

Happy PPF! Come on! LET'S PAINT!

Crusade No. 55 : new try

2011-09-29T21:10:00.005+02:00

After the complete mess I made the other day, I finally found the time to try Michelle's technique one more time. With a greyish blue and some yellow acrylic this time.
I've used a stencil I made a while ago.
If you click here, you'll see another journal where I use that same stencil with spray ink.

I'm tired this week. Long days at the ICU.
It's only 9 pm. I'm going to bed.

Venice of the north

2011-09-28T07:37:00.001+02:00

wandering in the alleys of Bruges...

with Queen Margot seated on her throne

(not giving orders for an hour. pfffew. my hour of rest)

creating a visual diary

2011-09-27T22:11:00.003+02:00

On friday night, I took a workshop with Donna Downey.
Remember? I told you a little bit about her here.

Each one of us got a journal with a gorgeous fabric cover to work in it.
It's the one on top of the pile :

These are the spreads I made :

I love that stencil of tree branches that Donna brought with her.

Plus, I made a friend! Linda was there, coming all the way from Norway!

I sincerely hope to play with her again on a future event.

winner of the book is...

2011-09-26T15:41:00.002+02:00

Dana! From Sinderella Studio Designs.
"I like your banner but you have also created so many wonderful pieces that could make a change be just as welcoming. I have no idea how you find the time to create with such talent and be a physician...let alone a mom! Great giveaway!
cheers, dana"
Dana, send me your adress!

Thanks to all off you for your kind comments!
The majority would like me to change my banner. Indeed, changes are good!
Well, stay tuned... maybe it'll happen...

license to photograph?

2011-09-25T20:55:00.001+02:00

Yesterday, we hired a local guide to visit Bruges.
She was a lady around her eighties!
She took us for a walk in the historical city center for a little more than two hours. What a wonderful medieval city! With cobbled alleys, romantic canals and charming houses. Also filled with chocolates-shops and horse drawn carts.
She gave us historical and architectural informations and some gossips about rich flemish families. She gave us some good advises, though being belgians, we already knew about the Bruges Zot beer and the belgian wafels:)
But... there's a but.
When she proposed to take a picture of the five of us next to the lac d'amour (lake of love), this is what she made :

first shot :

second shot ("so that you can keep the best one") :

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

I'm too tired tonight to upload the ones I made in Bruges and during the workshops I took (I've told you about them here).
Need to be back to the ICU well rested tomorrow.
I'll post some everyday next week.
Sweet dreams.
Nathalie

blog anniversary!

2011-09-24T07:40:00.002+02:00

One year. 320 posts. 55 followers. 11 870 hits.
For this special occasion, I'm giving away a new copy of 1000 artist journal pages by Dawn DeVries Sokol :

Interested? Leave a comment!

And maybe tell me : should I change my blog banner?

workshop coming!

2011-09-22T23:49:00.001+02:00

A couple of weeks ago, I've joined Scraptastic 2011.
I'm not too much of a scrapbooker but I found classes that can be usefull for art journalers.
And Sint-Laureins is much closer than Washington! Otherwise I would have register for Journal Fest :)

On friday night, I'm going to meet Donna Downey! Her class is a mixed media one : "creating a visual diary". If you haven't watched her videos, you really really should. Her spreads are just gorgeous. Here is a link to all her videos : inspiration wednesday.

On saturday, I'll meet Céline Navarro and make a mini album. I thought it would be an opportunity to finally incorporate pictures of my daughter in a journal. They need to be black and white.
Here are some i'm bringing :

And on sunday, we'll learn an easy bookbinding technique with Nathalie Kalbach and make a book that "can be filled later with thoughts". We'll also play with Tattered Angel products in it.

Those workshops are just three hours long so that gives me plenty of time to visit Bruges where I booked a splendid hotel room with my mom and sister. In fact, I'll sleep in the exact same bed where Colin Farrell slept when he was acting for the black comedy "In Bruges".
Did you know that Bruges is also called the "Venice of the North"? How romantic...

complete mess

2011-09-21T07:50:00.003+02:00

No no no no no... not every piece is a success.
I tried Michelle Ward's disappearing act. I thought I could use her technique for some art journal pages.
Well, I made a mess! A black and white one.
I've used a lovely stamp but white spray paint that was way to liquid and smeared and ruined my page :(
Look at that :

But, I won't give up. Later today I'm going to buy a stencil I saw a couple of days ago at my local craft store and give it another try.

my three words

2011-09-20T07:07:00.000+02:00

Traci's prompt number 15 inspired me to make an art journal page :

new painting : profile

2011-09-18T10:43:00.000+02:00

study of curves

2011-09-16T10:12:00.008+02:00

I came back from holiday and found out about Tammy's ICAD challenge for the month of september.

Remember my post about wardrobes?

Then you can tell I was excited with Tammy's color theme!

I am sooooo late to register but I've caught up and made already 14 cards! Yes, I did! All reddish! And with curves!

In fact, it's a 'path' for larger paintings. I have this old rolodex tray with a bunch of white cards in it. Just wat I needed for the challenge!

Hope you like my cards and if you want me to paint one big/huge/immensely immeasurable for you, please do contact me :)

Have a nice PPF and a nice week-end! Love you all.

ICU 24-hour shift

2011-09-15T07:10:00.003+02:00

no time to paint nor play

new painting : fuite

2011-09-14T07:33:00.000+02:00

travel journal inspiration board

2011-09-13T18:38:00.005+02:00

This month at Daisy Yellow's, we make mosaics!
Since my moleskine travel journal is finished, I've decided to make an inspiration board with 36 out of the 38 spreads in it!

If you want to see every spread one by one, click here : moleskine travel journal 2011.
There are three destinations : Mauritius, Milan and Torre Chianca.

moleskine travel journal : spread 15 and 16

2011-09-12T07:12:00.000+02:00

last two spreads :

moleskine travel journal : spread 13 and 14

2011-09-11T09:28:00.000+02:00

moleskine travel journal : spread 11 and 12

2011-09-10T10:44:00.000+02:00

moleskine travel journal : spread 9 and 10

2011-09-09T09:05:00.000+02:00

moleskine travel journal : spread 7 and 8

2011-09-08T07:00:00.000+02:00

moleskine travel journal : spread 5 and 6

2011-09-07T07:43:00.000+02:00

moleskine travel journal : spread 3 and 4

2011-09-06T14:21:00.004+02:00

We came back exhausted!

Our daughter is now 14 months old and we spent our time running after her!

Preventing her from putting every thing she founded in her mouth...

... like sand... and even cigaret butts buried in the sand!

Feeding her...

... but most importantly : cleaning her after.

Preventing her from running and jumping around and get herself hurt.

Preventing her from drowning.

It's only when she finally took a nap that I could sketch a little bit.

She had the time of her life!
And, I am glad to be back at work.

moleskine travel journal : spread 1 and 2

2011-09-05T07:12:00.002+02:00

I'm back! Missed me?
I'll tell you a little bit more about the trip tomorrow.
I have a 24-hour night shift today... (ahhhh... back to normal life)
Here are the first two spreads I made in my moleskine travel journal :

Out of the Journal : week three

2011-08-19T07:05:00.003+02:00

Dear friends,

this is my last post for the month of august.

I'm flying to Italy tomorrow with my husband and daughter!

I've read that only 30% of travelers don't bring their smartphone/laptop/tablet with them.

I'm one of them.

But, I've packed my moleskine travel journal and some of my favorite art supplies. I'll try to come home with a couple of sketches.

I'm so excited!

I'll be back on the fifth of september!

Before I'm leaving, here are two new paintings for Dina Wakley's challenge :

'perdu de vue'

'parenthèses'

And it's friday so Happy Paint Party Friday!

essai 50

2011-08-18T06:56:00.000+02:00

essai 49

2011-08-17T19:48:00.000+02:00

art postal 27 et 28

2011-08-16T08:36:00.003+02:00

eggs

2011-08-15T11:24:00.000+02:00

playing with colors

having fun!

ensemble

2011-08-14T17:35:00.000+02:00

ICU 24-hour shift

2011-08-13T07:03:00.000+02:00

no time to draw :(

Out of the Journal : week two

2011-08-12T07:28:00.004+02:00

Still in the run with Dina Wakley!

This first painting is called "à la renverse".

This second one is called : "contrainte".

Happy PPF everyone!

essai 48

2011-08-11T19:09:00.000+02:00

Out of the Journal : week one

2011-08-10T20:10:00.009+02:00

Dina Wakley started a new challenge last week. It's called 'Out of the Journal' challenge.
I've read that she's coming to Holland in march 2012... Hope I can meet her there!
So I made these two paintings for the first week : Orange, that I've posted here, and this new one that I made last week-end. I've named it "aucun". It means "nobody".

meaning

2011-08-09T18:49:00.000+02:00

My slice of life for this week :

She needed norepinephrin.

To restore her blood pressure.

To improve her renal blood flow.

And her urine output.

Because she was in septic shock.

Because of a pneumonia.

Probably a pneumococcal one.

Emilie

2011-08-08T21:54:00.001+02:00

The other day, I was walking through our pediatric ward when I saw this :

An old black board completely ruined but beautifully ruined.
Had to take a picture of it.

voyage

2011-08-07T07:44:00.000+02:00

carte

2011-08-06T17:47:00.000+02:00

sketchbook project : page 1

2011-08-05T18:40:00.002+02:00

the adventure started here

buried treasure : compilation of urban cards

2011-08-04T07:39:00.004+02:00

Are you familiar with Seth Apter's blog : the altered page?
I have read every edition of the pulse and enjoyed it so much. Thanks to all his surveys, I have found a bunch of great artists and started following their blog.
I was so sad yesterday when I realized that I'd missed the opportunity to join this year's buried treasure :(
I send Seth a message and he kindly accepted to add my link to his post!
I'm so thankful.

So, if you're here, that means that you had the courage/curiosity to browse the link list up to the end :)

I am number 63.

Welcome to my blog, my second life.

I've chosen to dig out a my best work (my urban cards) for this special occasion...

... taking out my great ideas from that barrel full of ordinary ones.

Some of my readers suggested framing them and aligning them on the wall.

For now, I just pile them up on my desk, flip them from time to time and smell them regularly :)

Remember this project? Those urban cards are going to be my main theme.

Tomorrow, I'll show you my first page...

if these hands could talk

2011-08-03T07:10:00.001+02:00

my 'slice of life' this week :

entre-deux

2011-08-02T07:35:00.001+02:00

ORANGE

2011-08-01T07:02:00.001+02:00

aubaine

2011-07-30T08:38:00.000+02:00

en-tête

2011-07-29T19:12:00.002+02:00

Viggo

2011-07-28T07:53:00.001+02:00

new painting : Coliche

2011-07-27T07:49:00.003+02:00

experimental e-course : tracing

2011-07-26T07:49:00.000+02:00

essai 47 : PURPLE

2011-07-25T07:34:00.002+02:00

ICU 24-hour shift again

2011-07-23T07:10:00.001+02:00

but tomorrow, I'll work on my PURPLE piece

liste du vendredi : list of pigments

2011-07-22T19:15:00.000+02:00

I'm going to make my own oil paint!

I've received a box full of pigments from my sister-in-law :

And I found this great tutorial here.

24-hour shift

2011-07-21T07:24:00.000+02:00

I'll be in ICU for the next 24 hours.
No time to draw.

Luca

2011-07-20T07:37:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, the worst thing has happened.
We had to intubate and resuscitate a 2 years old boy.
He arrived at the ER completely burned.
His 4 years old brother had set his bed on fire.
Playing with a gas lighter.

The only thing I could think about was my daughter.
How precious they all are.
This tiny naked body burned.
We transfered him to a top pediatric hospital as soon as he was stable.

If he survives this, he'll suffer for years.

I'm in pain... and crying.
And my daughter is sleeping. She looks so peaceful.

experimental e-course : page 5

2011-07-19T07:31:00.001+02:00

You should really try this one!
1. print one of your photographs on vellum paper with an ink jet printer (ink not waterproof)
This is a picture I took in Puglia, Italy, a couple of years ago. It is sepia toned.
2. then, spray on it! And see what happens... I've used one small bootle filled with water and one filled with purple ink.
I really don't know why this green appeared... but that's fun!
Quick! Go get some mini spray bottles!

RED

2011-07-18T07:32:00.000+02:00

experimental e-course : page 4

2011-07-16T10:50:00.004+02:00

For lesson 3, we had to go wild with paper!

I've created this with white tissue paper, gel medium, grey acrylic paint and a black ink pad :

This is the process (I use a journal with quite heavy paper) :
1. I've applied a generous coat of grey acrylic paint on the page;
2. I've traced lines in the paint while still wet with the other end of a paint brush to give texture;
3. I've waited until fully dry;
4. I've glued pieces of white tissue paper randomly (some are overlapping others) with gel medium;
5. I've let it dry;
6. finally, I've rubbed the page with my waterproof black ink pad (ONE OF MY FAVORITE ART TOOL!!! Quick go get one : 'StazOn Jet Black')

ICAD intermezzio

2011-07-15T07:33:00.008+02:00

Tomorrow is index-card-a-day half way point!
We decided to celebrate it at Daisy Yellow's!
Here is a progression of my special card for this event :

Oh... and, I've also selected some winners!

Click on them to see who's the artist!

the most painful one :

the darkest one :

the sexiest one :

the slowest one :

the shyest one :

the high calorie one :

the 3D one :

the medical one : respresenting cardiac valves!

the most organized :

the most desperate :

and finally... the 3 most dangerous ones :

sketchbook project : grey side of life

2011-07-14T07:52:00.006+02:00

Guess what was in the mail yesterday?
My sketchbook for the sketchbook project tour 2012!

I've chosen the theme "grey side of life".

I have until January 31, 2012, to fill it with my urban/industrial inspiration.

Can't wait to start. But have to make time first... sigh.

I'll try to finish one page next week-end.

inspiration urbaine 1

2011-07-13T07:36:00.002+02:00

BROWN

2011-07-11T07:56:00.002+02:00

This week's color at the summer of color is brown.

I made this :

And there's also a challenge : to incorporate a bold shot of color in our work.
What do you think of those strips of masking tape?

another URBAN index card

2011-07-09T08:16:00.003+02:00

Can you feel the light?

liste du vendredi : list of phone numbers

2011-07-08T07:33:00.000+02:00

Ohhh... You're gonna love this!
The other day, I was walking from the ICU to the elevators, passing by the labor ward.
And this is wat I saw on the wall in front of the seats :

Let me translate that for you :

Phone numbers to contact the midwife :

21567

93425

night 93429

if no answer :

21547

If you want to reach the labor room, use the telephone on the waiting room, dial 93425 and hold on. The midwife will answer.

Thank you

others phone numbers if we don't answer :

- 21547

- 93426

- 93427

So, ladies, if you're having contractions or if your water broke, I suggest you go to another hospital :)

experimental e-course : page 3

2011-07-07T07:33:00.000+02:00

Back in the garden for more messiness!

For my third page, I sprayed black ink, poured salt and then scratched the ink randomly.

Back at my desk, I doodled circles with my COPIC multiliner, colored some with a black and a grey COPIC marker, glued words from a dutch magazine, glued parts of a building and signed with a white paint pen.

experimental e-course : page 2

2011-07-06T08:15:00.004+02:00

For lesson 2 on 'staining', we went WILD!

I brought my journal outside to experiment.

First, I poured tea and dropped coffee onto my pages.

I let it dry and then I applied some blue iridescent ink with... a blade of grass.

Back inside, I added black ink on the sides with a paint brush and I drew a building (can't help myself) and an electric pole with my black COPIC multiliner.
Finally, I added some words with a white poster paint pen and some depth with a piece of charcoal.

new painting : JAUNE

2011-07-04T10:25:00.006+02:00

24-hour shift in ICU and Margotherapy

2011-07-03T07:06:00.001+02:00

No time to draw.
But tomorrow, if I'm not too tired, I'll work on my YELLOW journal page.
And I have this in my iPhone to cheer me up :