January 2017. I am working on several projects:
1. Portrait painting special individuals that I have the privilege of meeting in Jerusalem. Usually the person comes to pose for me in my studio. Currently I am completing a portrait of fellow artist Batnadiv Hakarmi, pregnant of her first child.
2. Painting a series of landscapes of Jerusalem that take in both the old and the new constructions of this complex city.
3. Constructing dioramas made from used cereal boxes, depicting the life of Bedouin sheepherders today. I link it with my experience of pastoralism amongst the Basques in their homeland and in the American West.
4. Painting still-lives including the beautiful glass and ceramics by the Palestinian artisans of Hebron.
5. I am composing illustrated children's stories. One of these is 'Maman et Papa Noel'. Traditions are invented and change with time and usage, and so we can play a role in moulding them. With this particular story, I will be giving protagonism to the female figure in the secular and so-far partial tale of Father Christmas.
6. Making comical illustrations of everyday life in Jerusalem with my 2 and 4 year old children. Selected drawings can be found on my drawing blog.
7. As part of my daily illustrations, I have recently included the depiction of an individual climbing a tree and witnessing current social and political events that I identify with. Selected drawings can be found on my drawing blog.
8. I contribute weekly a cartoon on local politics in the Basque Country to the Basque paper Herria that comes out every Thursday. The cartoons can also be found on my drawing blog.
And finally, of course, writing ethnography. One paper focuses on the art world in East Jerusalem. Another on an auto ethnography of art and politics in regions of conflict. And a third on painting portraiture as part of ethnographic research...
1. Portrait painting special individuals that I have the privilege of meeting in Jerusalem. Usually the person comes to pose for me in my studio. Currently I am completing a portrait of fellow artist Batnadiv Hakarmi, pregnant of her first child.
2. Painting a series of landscapes of Jerusalem that take in both the old and the new constructions of this complex city.
3. Constructing dioramas made from used cereal boxes, depicting the life of Bedouin sheepherders today. I link it with my experience of pastoralism amongst the Basques in their homeland and in the American West.
4. Painting still-lives including the beautiful glass and ceramics by the Palestinian artisans of Hebron.
5. I am composing illustrated children's stories. One of these is 'Maman et Papa Noel'. Traditions are invented and change with time and usage, and so we can play a role in moulding them. With this particular story, I will be giving protagonism to the female figure in the secular and so-far partial tale of Father Christmas.
6. Making comical illustrations of everyday life in Jerusalem with my 2 and 4 year old children. Selected drawings can be found on my drawing blog.
7. As part of my daily illustrations, I have recently included the depiction of an individual climbing a tree and witnessing current social and political events that I identify with. Selected drawings can be found on my drawing blog.
8. I contribute weekly a cartoon on local politics in the Basque Country to the Basque paper Herria that comes out every Thursday. The cartoons can also be found on my drawing blog.
And finally, of course, writing ethnography. One paper focuses on the art world in East Jerusalem. Another on an auto ethnography of art and politics in regions of conflict. And a third on painting portraiture as part of ethnographic research...
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| Oil sketch of the Valley of the Monastery of the Cross, viewed from my studio. 40cm60cm canvas |