ultraMARIN Sketch

Last week we went to the family ski vacation, where  I was mostly... skiing ;) Still, I managed to steal some minutes in different days to sketch the breathtaking view from my room window. Every time I looked at the window I wanted to draw the view. It's just so different from my regular surrounding. It's pure magic! take 1 - watercolor take 2 - graphite take 3 - colored pencils These are fast sketches during Après-ski ;) I miss you, Alps!!!!

Friday morning we meet at the Greek Market in Jaffa for the sketchcrawl. It was perfect spring weather, little by little narrow streets started to become full by merchants and buyers. Here every merchant feels like an owner of his street. At least Arik, who manages used bicycles shop, feels as a king of his corner. He yells on his workers, bargain with clients, arguing with competitors, chatting with passers by. He was very proud to be our "model". "In real life I'm ugly! Draw me young and beautiful!" - asked Arik the wish of the most of models ;) Later I sit down to drink a coffee at one of the coffee shops, full of models as well.

Here are some sketches I managed to do during the last weekend, I spent with my husband in Prague (his birthday present). Prague is really beautiful city, sometimes it's too beautiful - charming Old City's streets look as they taken direct from the Disneyland ;) Usually I don't fancy drawing places that are too pretty. But luckily, there are people around and they always give me subjects for my sketches. colors on the grey background of the Old City Square having beer and waiting for the jazz live jazz in one of Prague bars next evening out - Cuban music in another bar street musicians playing at farmers market lunch at famous Cafe Savoy  Sculpture at the park near Vltava river the last night at Pizza Nuova

Urban sketcher always attracts people. It's easy to start conversation with someone sitting at the middle of the street and drawing his surrounding. It can be just a few words, someone would drop while passing by, or it can start real conversation and sometimes connection. Last time I met my friend and fellow sketcher Nathan at the "Congress Bazel" bar, our sketching meetings almost always accompanied by some food ;) After finishing plate with hummus and shawarma we had a perfect mood for sketching customers of this very typical Tel-Avian place. Suddenly, colorful woman with dreadlocks designed into a tall tower on her head approached our table and started to talk to us. After a while, he and her husband passed to seat with us and we continued chatting as an old friends and sketching them, of course! She told us the she's also an artist (sure!), she's painting on a flour kind of oriental carpets (she showed us pictures). She also communicates with ...

There are some places in Tel Aviv I connected to. They aren't the prettiest ones, but they got some special mood or energy. Atarim Square is one of them. Weird and almost ugly square, located near the beach in Tel Aviv, two levels above sea level, connected to the promenade and to Sderot Ben-Gurion. The square was build in   the late 1970s, today almost abandoned, filled by graffiti, being crossed by tourists, joggers, dog walkers and prostitutes - all these add to the atmosphere. We met at the square for our last Sketchcrawl, and it was interesting to hear people's personal connections to this place - some of them remembered the times when it was build! And of course, it was so cool to see how different everyone see this place through theirs sketches! Here are my points of view on this place: everybody included in their sketches those strange mushrooms soldier checking on his cellphone, who left after a few minutes, and the "Colosseum" on the background ...

Last month we visited two weddings - great opportunity to eat, dance and... sketch ;) The first one - Georgian family: The second one - French-Moroccan family: It was fun! I don't think I would like to show my sketches to their's "models", thought ;)

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!