The picture above is the base image used to create the Eiffel art design. The Eiffel Tower is located at 5 Avenue 75007, Paris, France. Click on the picture to see the abstract version in my shop.
The Eiffel Tower… I started my deep dive into learning about Paris and French culture. I don’t even remember the exact moment but I know it was in my very early 20s when I wanted I visit Paris and see the Eiffel Tower in person. It was around the time I got my first apartment and started really exploring and learning more about life, philosophy, different cultures, movies, just soaking in everything and being open to learning. I’m definitely an explorer at heart. In a different life, I would love to be a nomad, an endless explorer. I guess it’s really not to late to have that lifestyle but it feels like I’m well passed that golden time to really explore.
I can’t really explain what pulled me into the Eiffel Tower. It looks captivating and it pulled me in like a magnet. The one thing that made this dream more like fantasy was the fact that I’ve been dead broke and very poor most of my adult life and I have a huge fear of planes. I’ve talked about this in the adventure of lifetime blog post but after I booked the tickets the last thing on my mind was my fears. I was so nervous and excited at the time, plus a little on edge with having to take multiple co-vid tests before and during the trip.
I saw a video of someone who said that the best views of the Eiffel Tower were from Trocadero. I saw the tower on the way to hotel in the taxi on December 8th but I bought tickets to see the Eiffel Tower and go up to the top (second floor) on my birthday the next day. I wanted to walk to Trocadero and from there take a few photos of the Eiffel Tower at the best spot and then walk from there to the tower. Let me tell you, the moment when I saw the tower at Trocadero, literally had me go wow. Talk about a breathtaking moment! It was literally right out of my dream. It was at sunrise and the setting was just perfect. You see can see on the picture to the left how gorgeous the area look. The weather was perfect. It was literally a perfect moment in time for me. It was magic. It really was! I remember saying “Just trying to soak this in” as I was staring at the tower. I probably could have stood there for eons and not have known how much time had passed in that moment. It was definitely the perfect view of the tower. Everything I put into the trip was worth it for this moment. It was everything I thought it would be and more. When I was walking to the tower I was thinking I wanted to say in Paris forever. I even said the words outloud in a stupor and if anyone heard me they probably thought I was nuts. I just couldn’t believe it. Still don’t…
I wanted to work on Eiffel last for my album. If I don’t dive back into making any more albums, I wanted Eiffel to be last design I’ll work on. This was probably the second hardest design I made for the album, L’Age Mûr taking the top spot. I was so intimated by this design. I wanted to make something that was amazing. Something I can look back and feel proud to have made. I mean… This was the Eiffel Tower. I couldn’t just make anything. I had to put all my experience into this design and make the best design ever! The base image that you see above I added two parts outside of the tower to fill in the base resolution of the design. The height was fine the width was a problem. If I only took the picture in landscape mode. I had such a hard time with the design that I had to stop at one point and work on other designs. I was just stumped. I was at a point where I loved the colors but something didn’t feel right about the overall look.
After I made Louvre, I went back to this design and just sat in silence for a while thinking that I can fix this without having to start over like I did with Louvre. Then I thought of my favorite effect (my best friend effect, lol): Rotating Mirror! I played around with that for a few hours and finally finished the design, loving the aesthetic. It’s weird. I know! But… I love it! I must say that Eiffel is not my best design in this album. I really do love it but… I think The Kiss tops it for me followed closely with Petit Palais.
It took some time to create every design in this album. Arc De Triomphe was probably the easiest but even that took more than a day to complete. This design, I started in March and finished in July right before I started working on finishing up the video side of the album. I had my video templates ready to go but I wanted to make sure all the designs were done so I can just plug them into the template.
I was just thinking now that maybe the magnetic pull was there to have me experience a moment of pure splendor and perfection. To prove that having such a moment is possible. I mean… I can’t compare that moment to any other moment I had in my life. I’m 39 years old as of writing this and life has gone so wrong in many ways. I’ve been seriously depressed and miserable most of life. This travel series journey that I started back in 2015 has been a fail for the most part and right before this trip there was a death in my family. This trip felt like it was the right time. The pull just sucked me in and wanted me to experience this magical moment that whenever I think about it has me in tears. I can’t say it enough that the trip itself wasn’t perfect but staring at Eiffel Tower at sunrise on my birthday was just a perfect moment in time. That was the reason for this trip and that moment lived up to every expectation I could have ever had. Being inside of the Eiffel heightened the experience. There was a point where I just lost it in the best of ways! There was no one around and I made a small video. I was just so happy and excited!
I do have to mention that it was like 15 to 20 degrees colder at the the top of tower. It was probably 45 degrees down below and I didn’t have any gloves and my fingers were freezing after the a few minutes. The wind didn’t help either and I had to leave after about 10 minutes because it was just too cold and I love the cold! If it was too cold for me then it was way too cold, lol! I do love the fact that there wasn’t a time limit to how long we could stay in the tower. Well… I wasn’t forced to leave at any point or didn’t see any signs on time limits. I think many people stayed as long as physically possible because of the weather. It was literally freezing up there.
One thing I didn’t like was the elevator rides up and down the tower. They packed the elevators with as many people as possible and it was just an uncomfortable ride. The only time it wasn’t packed was when going to the first and second floor (the summit). Anyone who took the stairs made a wise decision! Also, there was a separate line for people who had bought tickets online. I looked up that it was wise to buy tickets online for everything so you’ll have an easier time gaining access (shorter lines). That was so true. Anyone who had tickets at designate times to see the Louvre didn’t have to wait long in line. It was separate line there and also at Museum d’Orsay. I must admit thought the purchased ticket line went a little slower than the people who bought tickets at the Tower. They also had to take the stairs, so in hindsight… maybe that was the smarter decision for that location anyway. There was a very long line at the Louvre that I completely bypassed by having a ticket beforehand. In fact, The Louvre was the only place that had crowds and long lines. Eiffel Tower wasn’t too bad, you only noticed a lot of people on the elevator but when I was on the summit I had a few moments to myself.
It was so beautiful. Really… I’ve said that a lot but I can’t explain how amazing the whole experience was to me. I would go back in a heartbeat. I would definitely want to visit the tower again on my birthday.
Credits
Programs used: Paintshop Pro and Adobe After Effects
Design Base: Photo taken of The Eiffel Tower and a digital abstract drawing I created.
Art Design created by me (Katherine Barnett|BeatnikBlends)
Click here to view Eiffel in my shop.