A Bientôt, Paris...

Sadly, this is my last post from Paris.  The bags are packed (a miracle), the studio is more or less clean, and I am mentally ready to leave but emotionally really sad!  This has been an amazing experience--I probably need 6 months of time to pass to then look back and (hopefully) see that I've accomplished a thing or two.

I'm profoundly grateful to the Western European Architecture Foundation for awarding me this year's Gabriel Prize.  What an adventure this has been!!  

Also to my Gabriel Prize advisor, the amazing Stephen Harby, whose words of wisdom, encouragement, and keen observation were always, always, spot on.  Thank you so so so much, Stephen.

I also want to thank those of you who have accompanied me on this adventure via this blog--some of you I know, some I don't--thank you so much for the comments and emails.  You provided great encouragement and warmth when the trip was challenging and lonely.

And of course, thanks to Rich and my family for making do during my 3 month absence from Seattle.

I'll continue to post more of my Paris sketches once I'm back in Seattle, as there are many in the books that didn't make it yet to the blog.

Here is a bad photo of today's sketch, drawn in flat, bright light while I sat along the Seine, just across the street from my studio at the Cité des Arts.  It is a true 180 degree sketch, showing multiple bridges.  I never made it back to Notre Dame to battle the hoards of tourists, but somehow, quietly sitting on the Seine was the right thing to do this afternoon.

And last, here is a photo I took tonight of the view out my window.
A bientôt Paris...till we meet again.

Before color, along the Seine today...

... a little muddy, still needs some work ... 

A bientôt, Paris...