Feeling like a tourist in Jerusalem.

Last Friday I joined newborn Jerusalem USk branch for a sketchcrawl. Every time I visit Jerusalem I feel like a tourist, this city is so different from every place in Israel, it has a plenty of levels, each time it shows me his different side.
The skechcrawl was at very colorful part of Jerusalem - Nachlaot Neighborhood and it was fun to meet new sketchers. Here what I managed to sketch.

I loved colorful lamps decorating pedestrian street and couldn't help not to draw it.

 I did this sketch trying to capture other sketchers sketching :)

Various public filled Zion Square

 There were a group of teenagers dancing and trying to fund-raise money for something.

group of young people smoking Shisha

amazing girl-violinist playing at the Zion Square

people passing by

and listening to the music

religions Jews offering to put Tefillin  

two religious Jews

It was a great sketching-trip - feeling a tourist sharpen my vision and makes me look better.

Hospital sketches

I spent almost all last week in the hospital with my son, who had an accident and got hurt at his hand. These sketches where done while waiting to him to get from the surgery - the only thing that helped me to calm down a bit. The surgery went well :)

Religious woman is praying and a man from Azerbaijan is telling his story

Jews and Arabs are waiting together

religious man is praying, Russians are telling stories

Shai's watching "House" at the hospital 

friends came to visit

I don't recommend you to get to hospitals, but once you're there - there are plenty of stories and authentic characters to sketch. And sketching passes time in a best way :)
Take care!

Sketching in Sarona

Few days ago we passed through Sarona - recently renovated a 140-year-old Templer colony in the heart of modern Tel Aviv. The original colonist's houses turned into a part of contemporary lifestyle center, with shops, restaurants, playgrounds for children and a lot of green spaces. So nice to see such a successful project of reserving the past and combining it in the modern life! And it's obviously very good place for sketching!

picnics on the grass

playground - keeps children busy 

For sure place to come back and sketch more!

Words and sounds

Recently I visited at special concert. Composer Yaron Gottfried hosted the writer Etgar Keret, who read his short stories combined with classic music pieces, which Yaron had chosen by his association. It was really great experience, words gave to sounds different meaning! I added to it some lines :)

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!

sketches from Kinneret (Sea of Galilee)

I'm back from a short family vacation on Kinneret - lake at the North of the country. I didn't expected to sketch too much, but actually I came back with lovely memories not only in my had, but in my sketchbook as well :)

barbecue at the evening we've arrived 

first beautiful morning at the Kinneret 

at the surf beach

and the swimming pool, of course!

my nephews - twins taking a bath

Red Sea

Passover holidays are over. We've traveled a bit, here are some sketches I did in Eilat, port city at the Red Sea.

families on the holiday sitting near swimming pool - doesn't always look nice ;-)

making braids on the Eilat's promenade

Coral Beach - beautiful view on the Red Sea

It was very nice time I've spent with my family. Now back to the routine!

At the Tel Aviv port

I had a meeting at the Tel Aviv port a couple days ago and, of course,  managed to make some sketches in between. These wonderful spring days are so great, but you don't know it, sitting all the day near your computer in a tiny studio, trying to meet your deadlines.

Purim - sketching the carniaval

Every year when Purim comes, my fingers start itching - I'm thinking about all these wonderful opportunities to sketch during various carnivals that we have at this holiday. It's very fun, but very challenging and sometimes frustrating. There are so many wonderful stories on the street - proud parents, that were waiting for an opportunity to dress their kids with costumes, even if them only a few mouth old; teenager girls dressed very sexy - finally it's allowed officially; teenager boys that cut and dyed their hair in extremely weird ways; old people trying to be cool and wearing very strange stuff... and so on. I wish my fingers could move as fast as my eyes, but they don't. So majority of funny stories will be left in my memory, here are some I succeed to capture. Here's the first sketch that I drew before the carnival began, you can see the security guys guarding the closed street and people waiting:

I continued sketching in a small sketchbook, trying to catch first the essence of the character.





































Here I put the least of them all together in a one long spreed - thought it fit the atmosphere of a carnival:

I was very concentrated sketcher ;-)

How's about your experience of sketching people in action?