OSD while viewing pictures

Is it possible to add an on screen display on top of a picture being viewed? I would like an OSD with back forward and return to menu always available. I'm using a touchscreen. I have no mouse or keyboard input, so once a picture is displayed, there's no way of getting back to the menu!
Can this be done through the skinning engine, or does it require code in the pictures plugin?
I'm still trying to piece together how the plugins/skinning interact. I'm assuming a document is on the todo list. I can't wait to see some developer documentation. I'm dying to get started on making my own plugins/skins.
Thanks for the help!