Day in Jerusalem

Last week a I had errands in Jerusalem and was lucky to spend some time at Machane Yehuda Market. Visiting Jerusalem, which is only one hour drive from my house, always feels to me visiting very far land. This city is not like any place, it has so many levels in any aspect, so each time I touch it, it feels like a magic, something I will never get to know, but it always will magnet me.
I think I can seat and absorb its citizens for a hours, but at some level I feel pity not trying to capture them in my sketchbook. So I did, sitting at one of the pubs in the middle of the market.

people are buying food for the holidays 

I love to sketch Hassidim in their fur hats

it's tradition to eat (and sleep) in nicely decorated Sukkah (kind of tent) during the Sukkot holidays

People from HaTikva Market

Hot Friday morning at the beginning of July - nothing couldn't stop us to meet for the sketchcrawl at the HaTikva Market - small market in the South Tel Aviv.
It's really perfect place for sketching, with plenty of authentic stories, colorful characters, without poses and without air conditioner ;) Yes, it's challenging, but once you got the adrenaline of sketching, you don't care about the heat, the shouts, you simply flow with them.
I started sketching from the entrance to the market - vibrant place where people move non stop, caring their shopping bags - you need to hurry on Friday morning to be ready for the Sabbath evening!

We were sitting opposite to small Shawarma place, so I couldn't not to sketch its owner, chatting with his customers about everything - from politics to arts and everything in between...

After the warm up we dived into the market! I couldn't help not to stop near the beautiful melons-seller, reminding by herself ripe melon ;)  

In the meat place were more reddish atmosphere ;)

Some more sketches from the central avenue of the market - and time was up.

There is nothing better than sketching in the authentic place, were real life is going on. Such a place fascinates me million times more than any fancy aesthetic place, here are people without poses, and stories without poses. I must to come back for more!

The parliament at HaTikva Market

HaTikva Market, a small market in the poor south Tel Aviv HaTikva neighborhood, actually is a perfect place for sketching! It's much more calm, wide, clean and authentic than his famous brother - HaCarmel. There are a lot of atmosphere, nobody interested in what you're doing - it filled mostly by locals, and they are busy by doing their shopping and nothing else.
At one of the corners of the market there is a great place for getting kubbe soup. People that are sitting around a table and chatting look like  an everyday comers - kind of a local "parliament".

Looks like we found our next Sketchcrawl location!

Levinsky - hipsters and beggars

Levinsky market area is one of my favorite places for sketching and food. In the past one the poorest areas of Tel Aviv, today turning to be more and more trendy. Old shops start to give a place to super-cool boutiques, simple worker-class restaurants - to "authentic" chef-houses, the area gets full of all kind of touristic tours. Residents are contrast mixture as well - coffee shops full of hipsters and tourists, beggars and street sellers passing between them. I know that changes are inevitable, I don't know if I like them that way, though...

view on Levinsky street from trendy Tonny&Ester coffee chop

coffee drinkers in Tonny&Ester

hipster with a red knitted hat

Stories from the market

Carmel Market in Tel Aviv is always full of stories - you need just to be quick enough to put them on the paper.

This market seller asked me to draw him and was very surprised when I agreed. "I'm 40 years at the market, we had here photographers and reporters that came to interview us, but nobody never came here to draw us!"

The day of sketching always ends with a good meal!

Sketchcrawl at colorful Dizengoff Square

Dizengoff Square, one of the icons of Tel Aviv, was our meeting point for the last Sketchcrawl. It'is challenging for me to transform the feeling of such an iconic place, that was drawn and photographed so many times, without falling into "postcard view".
I started from colorful flea market under the square, full of special objects and people :)

I got up back to the square, and sketched this very urban view down to the streets.

Finally, I've got to the bride - colorful fountain!  People that crossed the square competed with her :)

 I used last minutes capturing people at square.

This sketchcrawl was especially fun  - the place, the weather, and the most important - the company. It is always exciting to see at the end all these different approaches and points of view of the same place!

Sketchcrawl in South Tel Aviv

Finally, I've scanned sketches from our last Sketchcrawl in South Tel Aviv. I love this colorful area and it was a problem to choose what to draw – it’s too many subjects I would love to capture!

Our group met at urban garden, very quiet at the morning, occupated by dog's owners only.

We moved then to the Levinsky Market area, full of colors and sences.

When rain has started, we did't run away!

It was a great day, so nice to meet all these talented sketchers, to see what stories they captured from the same area.

Sketchcrawl at Tel Aviv port

Last Friday our Israel USk group met for sketchcrawl at the Tel Aviv port. Hot August days, melting everything on their's way, didn't leave us much choice, we needed to meet at some air conditioned place. We set our meeting at a coffee shop inside of a big book store, but very soon our group dared to get out and occupied a pretty big space under umbrellas near tables. I brought some materials and stories to share from the Barcelona Symposium. I knew it was an impossible mission, but I wanted so much to share a bit of that incredible atmosphere, enthusiasm, and feelings we had at BCN.
Then we started to warm up by sketching each other.

Nathan and Reuven sketching

After warming up, we spread over the port. I was encouraging people to go sketching to the port market, after getting inspired by colorful La Boqueria, where Ea's and my workshop took place:

At the end, as usual, we gathered together to share our sketches, more chatting and the final photo:

Waiting for the next sketchcrawl!