Going to sketch the people of Lisbon!

Everything is almost ready for my trip to Lisbon, I'm very excited toward this small journey. I got an invitation from a group of Portuguese fellow sketchers to give there a workshop, which I happily received. I'm excited to come back to the city connected to my many great memories - the place I participated for the first time in USk Symposium, met in person so many virtual friends! And the beautiful city by itself, I fell in love with from the first site. And, of course, my workshop - we're going to sketch on the anniversary day of the Portugal revolution, to capture the "heroes" of the city - its citizens!

some giveaways for the workshop  - flyers and postcards

As you can guess, the workshop will be about sketching people - subject I love the most. We'll do some fun and loosing up exercises and I hope that we will enjoy the process, that's way beautiful results will come as well!

Here are some sketches I did during my Drink&Draw meeting with my friend Aurore at Jaffa's Flea market last Thursday evening - the perfect place for capturing people and their stories!

Looking forward to sketching the people of Lisbon!

Eat & Draw - sketchrawl in Aurore's yard

Sketchcrawl at Aurore's beautiful yard at Jaffa, including food and drinks everybody brought along was a big success. It was so pleasant to start the morning with eating and drinking (and chatting, of course) that I barely was needed to sketch ;)

Anyway, we should do it from time to time, here are some sketches that I succeed to manage.

Can you draw me?

Last week I finally managed to visit my friend's Aurore new studio at Old Jaffa. As usual, sketching together was one of our plans, so we sat down at the Kikar Kedumim square, which was filled by bright rays of the end of the February sun. 

I tried out my new oil pastels:

And did this very quick watercolor sketch of the opposite side of the square:

Groups of tourists were constantly filling and leaving the square: Japanese, Indian, European Christian... One of the groups that came there was a group of local Arab pupils - they approached us and started with the usual questions: What are you drawing? Why? Who's paying you? When it became clear to them that we're doing it for free and for fun, one the boys asked me to draw him. Of course I agreed, and after I finished, he asked me to sketch one of the girls ( the most beautiful, with the pink scarf). I think they both were happy with the results and they wrote their names in Arabic and Hebrew. 

I love interaction with people on the street, these rear moments make me feel like a real urban sketcher :)

Sunny Sketchcrawl at Jaffa

I upload here my sketches from the last Sketchcrawl at Jaffa, done at that sunny Friday after rain period.
We enjoyed a lot as always - the weather and the nice company!

entrance to the Casino San Remo

the square and the sketchers

Jerusalem Boulevard

 We finished as usual with food and... more sketching ;)

Drink&Draw sketchcrawl

I don't know who invited this perfect combination - Drink&Draw, if anybody. As my sketchbook is always in my bag, it's natural for me to pull it out at coffee shops and bars. These places are perfect for sketching - people are sunk in food and chatting and don't pay attention to the fact that they're turning to models ;)
So summer heat forced us to move our sketchcrawl to the nigh time and we met at one of the restaurants at the Jaffa flea market - bubbly and fun place.
It was a sketchcrawl in a bit different atmosphere - night lighting, a lot of noise and action around and... a bit of alcohol, which for me, personally, helps to "loosen up".
It was so fun, perfect combination, looks like we are going to come back to "Drink&Draw" from time to time.

the first sketch - before it got dark

my fellow sketchers are busy

and here some more

Hello my friend!

My friend Aurore went with her family to her homeland, France, for the rest of the summer. 

I'm posting here some sketchers from my sketchbook I didn't upload - done during our last meetings.

Aurore sketching in Sarona

our last evening in Puah with Aurore and Irit

Aurore says: "There is nothing better than bread with butter!" and I add: "and good friends :)"

Already miss you, enjoy your vacation!

Hot Sketchcrawl in Old Jaffa

Summer is here and it isn't going to leave us for the next few months. People are hiding in air-conditioned places or at beaches and swimming pools, getting out at nights, when it starts to be cooler.
You needed to be real sketchers for not give up and come to our last sketchcrawl in Old Jaffa.
Bright blue sky and shinning white stones of the streets gave a strong contrast to everything. Heavy heat made the contrast look even stronger. Groups of tourists filled the square from time to time, and gave me a feeling that I'm traveling far away. But anyway, sketching takes me to the trip every time I open my sketchbook.

We ended as usual in coffee shop with some drink and food and more sketching, of course!

Girls night out!

Last Thursday I had a great girls night out with my two friends-sketchers Aurore ans Irirt. We met at the flea market area at the old Jaffa. We strolled at the narrow streets full of small bars and coffee shops, which took out tables and chairs and turned streets to the one big party, crowded by chatting and laughing young people.
Finally, we found for us a perfect place - on a side, a bit up, so we had a perfect view on everything. Beers and sea food were ordered and the waiter barely found place on our table loaded by sketching tools. We started with big collaborative sketch, it was so fun!

After the warming up, we just dived into the surrounding and times flied so fast!
At the some point group of girls that was sitting opposite us finally noticed that we are sketching them. They asked us to see the sketches and was shocked to see theirself drawn! They took photos of our sketches and asked us who we are and why we are doing it. It was very nice interaction!

So, here is the perfect formula we'd discovered at this night: friends+beer+sketching=happiness!
Waiting for the next girls-out-night!

Jaffa - inside and outside.

Here are two sketches that I did today in Jaffa.
First one - at "Puah" - trendy coffee shop at Flea Market, there is always busy inside.

Second one - at one of Jaffa's streets. This colorful house captured my attention and I stopped my car on my way home to sketch it.

Jaffa is a perfect place for sketchers - you can find stories everywhere!

Above Jaffa streets

 

These two sketches made from a balcony in old Jaffa. I'm in love with Jaffa and its streets, flowing like a streams into the horizon. I think I can observe, watch and listen for a hours - to mix of languages, colors and sounds. Unfortunately, my time is always limited. Hope to be there back again and to sketch more.

Findings from the Flea Market

Jaffa's colorful flea market is one of my favorite places. Furniture and jewelry, toys and books, from east and west, ugly and beautiful - it's full of mixed stuff and so are people that came to sell, to buy, or simply to hang out and to feel the atmosphere. This Friday it was double fun for me to come here, because we set at this place the meeting point for our monthly Sketchcrawl. So instead of finding interesting things to buy, I was busy by finding stories to sketch, and I didn't need to go far at all!
We started over nice cup of coffee sitting together with my fellow sketchers, busy by chatting.

my friend Rachel and the street ant the background

view on the coffee shop where I was sitting earlier

flea market behind the coffee shop

another point of view to the market

colorful announcement's board

above view to the coffee shop from the second flour

Lucky me, I've got everything together in one day - perfect company, perfect place and perfect activity - what can be better?

Sketching in Old Jaffa

This Saturday we went with our youngest daughter to see a show in a theater in Old Jaffa. It was a beautiful day, so we strolled Jaffa's colorful streets after the show. And of course, I took the opportunity to sketch.

We ended up at Puah - it was a perfect day!