Melissa Vickers Design

A little Sunday love to you my friends.

Porto, you have some of the best colored buildings in Europe.

Porto is known for it’s buildings covered in blue tiles. This church had these blue tiles on its 2 exposed sides. So cool how they look but what’s even more amazing is that they have survived over time.

prompt 9: Butterfly. I used paper I painted with left over paint while gelli plating in an old book about weather conditions in the Mediterranean Sea from 1973. Love this collaged butterfly.

Simplicity. Details. Design matters.

Another great door! This one with diamond details.

A refreshing fountain of water in the Botanical Gardens in Porto. 2 chickens stopped by for a drink of water. See them in the background?

Week 4, Prompt 8: Play. Took out a few of my different mediums and doodled. Then cut them up without looking and created this piece. Not as concerned about the outcome, as this was more about process. Play, a synonym for process when it comes to art (in my opinion).

Why don’t we have more yellow houses in the US? This yellow is the perfect shade. This is the exterior of Casa Sao Roque in Porto.

Fun exterior wall tile in Porto. I love that it doesn’t always have to be super fancy.

One of my favorite pieces in Porto.

Building details layered upon each other at every corner in Porto.

Last night was beautiful. City of the Arts and Sciences. On our walk back home.

week 4, Prompt: Dream. A multi layered collage, because aren’t most dream just layers and layers of our subconscious?

Be Kind in Portuguese. Some great street art in Porto.

We have 2 more weeks of summer left. I’m trying to soak up every last minute while I can. I know change is inevitable but even so, it doesn’t make it any easier.

week 3, prompt: River. I have a lot of photos of rivers on my phone. This river is the Tuckasegee River near Western Carolina University in the Great Smokey Mountains. I used a photo I took back in 2019 when we vacationed there. The rivers in the mountains of NC and VA will always be my favorites.

Finished up the 4th chakra, otherwise known as the heart chakra or anahata. It is center of love for oneself and others, it allows for compassion, empathy and forgiveness.

I cannot remember the last time I spent an entire day resting on the beach, taking breaks to swim and enjoy the water. A friend drove us an hour and a half south of Valencia to a cove where the water was crystal clear. So much so, you could see the rocks below and the fish swimming around. It was a lovely day.

More wall tiles from Porto. I was digging the color combo on this one but also love the flower design!!

When I saw this window grill on a door in Porto I had to stop and take a photo. For one, it’s green, and also it’s just simple yet elegant in its combination of shapes. Circles, half moons, all in a rectangle.

Hi everyone! It’s me, Melissa! The person behind this Instagram account. Took this cool photo at a neat interactive museum we went to in Porto this past week. My family now lives in Valencia, Spain, but Winston-Salem, NC was home for many years. Since moving, I have found time to explore my artistic side. I also enjoy sharing photos around Valencia and our travels. I hope you enjoy seeing what and how I view the world around me. Glad you are here!!

week 3, Prompt: Gold. The Goddess Reborn.

Porto wall tiles are the best. Most of the buildings are covered in colorful tiles. 🇵🇹

What a wonderful vacation we have had in Porto! The weather is cooler and more comfortable than Valencia this time of year, however, there are a ton of people here so there’s that. I want to come back in an off season to fully enjoy the city. I’m still not sure if I’m more of a Porto or Lisbon kinda gal. 😏

Finally got to see a Yayoi Kusama exhibit today in Porto. I enjoyed the variety of her work immensely.

An evening stroll by the Douro River was a great way to end the day yesterday. The highlight of the day was walking by and stopping in the Church of Bonfim and its adjoining cemetery. We also visited the house of Sao Roque and its gardens. Beautiful, just beautiful.

Yesterday’s adventures included a trip to the Livraria Lello, the most beautiful bookstore in the world. 3,000 people go through daily. It was packed when we went in and we were with the first group to enter at 9 am. Definitely worth it if you are a book lover. Then we ventured to a cool interactive museum which felt very much like an “adult” children’s museum. We played for an hour and had a blast. Porto definitely has a little something for everyone.

Yesterday we went to the Museum of Biodiversity and walked the grounds of both the Botanical Gardens and the Gardens of the Cristal Palace. There were a lot of roosters and peacocks on the grounds which was cool to see. My favorite part was being surrounded by all the green.

Simple yet captivating. Street art around Porto.