"When Michelangelo finished the painting of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling, he spent the rest of his life trying to remove the paint that had poured into his sleeves."

Personal computers were just in infancy when I was a little girl and naturally, that meant that there were no painting programs for them EITHER. Oh my goodness! how was I then able to express myself artistically??!!!  Well before you begin to feel sorry for me, let me tell you what I DID have...I had: Crayola crayons, colored pencils, magic markers and a paining set.  I drew all over myself, my friends, the table, the wall and oh yes, the paper that was provided for me to draw on. 

I cannot remember when I DIDN'T love to draw and when I finally DID get a personal computer, my boyfriend Chris made it his business to make certain that I had some painting programs to use. Isn't he a doll? ).  Anyway, first he gave me Deluxe Paint (which was wonderful to me) and then he bought Corel Photo Paint (which is INCREDIBLE to me).  With these programs, I am slowly beginning to learn how to navigate a computer paint program (which is like night and day compared to OTHER drawing implements). At first the programs were strange and difficult to learn but as time went on, they began getting easier and easier. 

To ME, drawing is a completely awesome way of expressing yourself.  Case in point - a little boy who is too young to speak, lives in a family where one of the parents are an alcoholic. The little boyis very unhappy in his life and to prove it, he begins manifesting unruly and uncontrollable bad behavior. No matter WHAT the parents of the boy tried to do, the little boy just would not tell them why he was acting like he was so one day his parents took him to a child psychologist for an evaluation.  Once inside the psychologist's office, the little boy would not talk to the psychologist no matter WHAT she tried to do or say to him and as time passed, she was ready to tell the parents to take the little boy home since they were getting nowhere fast.  One day, the psychologist decided to try a brand new approach. One of the tools that the pyschologist utilized in her new approach, was the art of drawing. You see the psychogist felt, that by giving the little boy a chance to express himself via the art of drawing, she would be giving to the little boy something very invaluable that he did not have before, which was the ability to convey a message of what his family life was like without ever having to utter a single solitary word. 

You see like singing and photography, drawing TOO could be called the "Universal Language"  because when someone draws a picture of whatever is on their minds at the time, all anybody has to do is to look at the picture and the story that it tells will unfold before your eyes...

Recently through the gift of the Internet, I have cross paths with a man of enormous artistic talent. His name is Larry Cloyes and his work is Vincent Van Gogh-like and lucky me, he's chosen to draw one of my very own photos! If you would like to see the fruit of his labor (or should I say the TREE of his labor), you are invited to a viewing, by way of clicking on this word. 

Like I said before, when I was a little girl, there were no pc's and consequently no paint programs either! Well all that is in the past, because I'm all grown up now (well in BODY, anyway ) and I most certainly DO own a pc and paint program software! 

I would now like to show you the pictures that I've drawn using my Corel Photo Paint program: