View of Jordan and the Dead Sea from Masada
Masada, the ancient fortress and winter home of Herod, is a great vantage point to look down on the Dead Sea and the mountains of Jordan beyond. It was a cloudy day with intermittent sprinkles but the view was gorgeous even so.
I only had time to complete a few line drawings from the top of Masada. I added the color later in the evening with Procreate
Posting to Facebook
After a long day of touring Jerusalem with a camera, comes an evening of reviewing, selecting and posting to Facebook. Which means a short while ago our two guests were sitting on the couch with their electronic devices, reflecting away on their day. I was struck by how their body language signaled the type of thinking they were involved in and wanted to capture it.
The figure on the left looks off to her left, her legs are pulled up on the couch, her left hand is raised towards her face in a gesture of rumination and her right hand is paused above her iPad. Altogether her posture suggests she is formulating her thoughts but not yet ready to commit them to social media.
The posture of the figure on the right is past the intospective stage and is committing his thoughts to Facebook. His posture is open. He is leaning forward, eyes on his iPad, right hand tapping on the screen, ankles crossed, and left arm draped across his knee. The tilt of his head suggests he is thinking, but thinking about how to write his thoughts, not what to write about.
This sketch was done completely on an iPad using Procreate.
Learning
We know how people learn, it is not a mystery. It goes best when people want to learn something specific, have resources to consult, can ask questions, work in a respectful environment, have enough time, get feedback as they go along, and have fun in the process.
It was wonderful to see a father and his two children as they worked together to set up new phones, and wonderful to see the learning strategies the trio used as they went along. These included knowing the goals, talking over options, showing each other how to do something, getting help, reading instructions, going at a good pace and taking breaks as needed.
I took a photo of the trio and then sketched from the photo, something I rarely do since it is hard to get a natural, relaxed look. This is a pen and watercolor sketch with some adjustments made in Procreate.
“Now, How Are We Related?”
Yesterday we drove up to Haifa and visited Peter’s second cousin, her husband and their large welcoming family. In the morning we sat out on the terrace, sipped wonderful coffee and puzzled through some of the details of their family relationships. Fortunately, another of Peter’s cousins put their family tree on line and this helped make matters much more clear. It also gave me an excellent opportunity for a quick sketch.
This sketch is done completely on an iPad using Procreate.
Late Night Reading
This is a quick sketch of a man reading. It is done on the iPad using Procreate.
Jaffa Street Scene
Many people stop for a bite and a chat on Jaffa Street in the afternoon, especially now that spring is here.
This quick sketch is done in pen with a watercolor wash on multimedia paper.
After Another Long Day
Today’s sketch is pretty much the same topic as yesterday’s- tired out tourist takes a much needed break.
Aside from deciding to use softer colors and limp lines to convey a sense of being tired, I pretty much just drew what I saw without added emphasis- a woman holding her head upright and sinking back into the couch.
This sketch was completely done on the iPad using Procreate.
Deliberate Sketching 