ultraMARIN Sketch

Here is passed another year, busy as usual and full of sketching. I didn't update my blog as frequent as I would like, but I did keep on sketching almost everyday, as always. Sketching still keeps to be my way to experience my everyday life, not only trips to exotic places. Sometimes I feel that there is nothing new in another sketch of couple in the coffee shop or family on the beach. But I can't help myself not doing it, it's a part of me, looking for the small stories and recording them inside my sketchbook. And sharing them with you :) Here are some sketches from the last two month. I hope I'll upload more this year. And I'm sure I'll keep on sketching. Have a  great year full of visual stories!

Last post about my Portugal trip dedicated to my love - Lisbon! Since the first Urban Sketchers Symposium I attended was in Lisbon, streets of Lisbon will always be connected for me to the sketches I did and sketchers I met there for the first time. Discovering this wonderful community 7 years ago for the first time in real, not online, was amazing revelation! I visited this beautiful city a few years later, when I was invited by the local branch of USk to give a workshop, so I had another opportunity to know the city better, and to add more sketchers to my Lisbon collection. So now it was like visiting an old friend - exiting, nostalgic, full of emotions. This time I came there with my husband, who came to Lisbon for the first time, so I was kind of a guide for him :) We strolled the streets a lot, and sometimes I just wanted to be there, without sketching. Some places that looked to me too iconic were the most difficult for me for sketching, as for example, the Belem  distric...

I could stay and sketch in beautiful Porto forever, but as every trip, ours had limited time, and in our plans was to end Lisbon, to which I had special sentiments. Here are sketches done during our way from Porto to Lisbon - we did several stops. These are from colorful and very authentic Coimbra - city with very old University and breathtaking panoramas: These from Medieval town Obiedos - very special place, still keeping his antique look: And one - I couldn't resist - from the local Portuguese beach: Wait for the last Portuguese post - from Porto!

Last weekend we had a short trip to the North. Its always relaxing - change of the landscape, a lot of nature and some sketching, of course ;) I did this sketch at the entrance to Fassuta - Arabic Christian village in Galilee, decorated for Christmas.    Series of sketches done during our dinner: barmen telling us the story of his life These two paintings were done in Haifa on our way back. I miss painting!

Sketches from our last Sketchcrawl at the Fleamarket of Jaffa - always vibrant place, full of colorful characters and stories! started sketching together with my guest from Germany, Karin people at Shafa Bar municipality official arguing with a peddler, both of them cursing in Russian Ethiopian boys managing the bussuness after the sketchcrawl - hummus at Danny's buffet - yummy! What a fun day!

It's almost 3 weeks I'm back from our family trip to South America. It was my first time in this continent, we were travelling for a 3 weeks, landed in Buenos Aires, then went to Montevideo for a family wedding, and after that traveled to Brazil ( Rio and Paraty). It was a very colorful trip, full of various places and situations. I wish I could sketch everywhere we went. But of course it was impossible , I wasn't alone, and a lot of great moments will remain in my memory. But, I'm happy and grateful for the sketches I could make during the trip, they are my best memory keepers, allowing me to taste again salty air of the Ocean, to hear tropical birds singing, or to feel the rhythm of tango. And of course to share it all with you! So, I'll start from the begging, from the sketches done during our 3 days in Buenos Aires: