Drawings of Israel

Drawing is a very old form of art. When I draw I feel very connected to a long and enduring history of people who make pictures with line.

I have been drawing since I was a child. I love to draw. But there is no good word for the person who draws. Like the person who paints is called a painter. The person who takes photos is a photographer. The person who draws is a what? Drawer? Isn’t that where we keep socks?

Maybe that’s the reason I hesitate to offer my drawings in my exhibitions. Or it could be because so often I think the drawing is the step before the real art is done. I draw my prints before I cut them, I draw a lot of my compositions before I paint them. Maybe I don’t take them as seriously as I could.

The Landscapes of Israel were started last summer just after I returned from my first visit to the region. The drawings just flowed out. I wanted to reflect the rough beauty, the intense intimacy, the ancient attraction of this important place in the world. The handmade papers and ink outlines just captured that for me. There is an amazing array of architecture and landscape within the small land mass of Israel and I wanted to put on paper as many of the views as I could. From the tower in Jaffa on the Mediterranean coast to the fertile lands of the Golan Heights and Sea of Galilee and the magnificence of Jerusalem. Under the beating hot desert sun or the cool winds under the full moon, it was compelling in every variation.

The sensuousness of plants and people and places draws me. Or I draw them rather. The love of drawing is like a good book or a travel experience, you are not really sure when you embark of where you will be when you finish, but it’s fun along the way!

These drawings were exhibited at the India Street Gallery in December, 2009.

The works shown here are still available. I will also work on commission.

Please contact me for prices or to see the work in person. JulieWarren@earthlink.net

All images are copyrighted and may not be used without permission.