ultraMARIN Sketch

This #inktober I decided to make for myself a challenge and also a treat – I created a list of musicians I like to create an everyday portrait of each one. I love music. I love to draw human’s faces. To draw portraits of musicians I like seemed to me like a perfect task! The tough thing about it was to do it everyday and to keep on! Some days I had higher energy and at some I didn’t have time or wasn’t in the mood. But little by little I started to get into the rhythm. I learned to be less demanding and perfectionist – I could allow myself to have one portrait less successful than another, because I had many others that were coming in the list. And of course, the magic combination of drawing with music worked! Every day I had with me one of my favorite musicians, accompanying me everywhere and materializing at the end of the day to a couple of portraits. I tried to push myself to the less expected, trying not to think about the result, but to get a new process. There are some portraits...

This is my Inktober harvest. I didn't stick strict to the rules, but tried every time I sketched to use ink tools only. Forcing myself to use materials which usually aren't my first choice, feeling a bit uncomfortable, little by little expanding techniques and their possibilities, finding new ways to express what I see, was really fun and helpful. It also was very simplifying for my sketching process, because I'm not one-tool person and love to switch my tools often. I think it's very healthy to limit yourself from time to time, I'm thinking about doing in the future some Graphite-bruary or Gouache-vember ;)

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

So, at our last Sketchcrawl we had: December's gentle sun, unexpected Jazz festival, vintage flea market, coffee shop across the street, great company of sketchers - old friends and newcomers, all injected by the same germ of sketching. Could it be better? Wonderful street musician was playing beautiful songs at the entrance to the flea market. I set down on the ground and started to sketch, feeling like I'm inside the movie with the beautiful soundtrack.  great street musician near the flea market I passed between the stands of the market and stooped near the stand selling Soviet souvenirs. There were pioneer badges, exactly as I had when I was a kid! The seller approached me, I spoke to him in Russian, and he started to show me his goods: "All my badges are original, I also have medals from the WW2, they are great presents for the Novi God (New Year)!" I asked if I can draw him. " No! No!" he answered . "Why? I draw very nice!" - I sh...

Last Thursday our local USk group was invited again to be correspondents of the Municipality of Tel Aviv event - "One Moment, art in unsuspected places". As usual, the combination of live shows, various public and great company worked perfect! Here are what I had succeed to "hunt". the great band the security guard another security guard nice to see the variety of ages the nice clown the sound team the beer team We displayed our sketches during the event and it was fun to see people finding themselves inside them :) brave sketchers that stayed until the end... It was great event, you can see more photos here .