Holy Land Watercolors

As I prepared for my semester abroad in Israel I went to my Illustration professors for advice as to how to keep up my artistic practice while away.  I didn't have much extra space in my luggage so bringing canvas and an easel was out of the question.  After congratulating me on the incredible opportunity I had and sharing stories about friends who have gone in the past, they directed me to some excellent websites and fellow artist blogs from which I gathered enough information to put together an artistic travel kit of my own.

The goal was simple, keep a sketchbook like I do every year, but also, take this rare opportunity to paint scenes and images on site at places that I will very likely never get to go to again.  Before this past semester, I had only painted with watercolor once and I will be the first to admit that I am not very good at it.  With each painting I have no idea what I am doing and, therefore, have to experiment until something looks alright.  My paintings are nowhere near professional looking, but I am able to look at them and remember the moment I made them.  Where I was, what I was doing, who I was with.  Yes, you can do the same thing with a picture, but there is something different about being able to say that, "I painted that sitting on the shore of the Sea of Galilee."  It is my personal take of what I saw and what I found important enough to put on paper.  My journey, not only through Israel, but through art.

The beloved Jerusalem Center

En Gev's view of the Sea of Galilee

The Garden Tomb

Now I must apologize for not finishing my Jerusalem posts sooner.  Once I arrived in Michigan I gave myself quite the list of projects to complete, sadly, finishing my blog was not near the top.  After filling out my mission papers, art was my highest priority.  I wanted to challenge myself further by painting more detailed images then the quick on-site paintings I did while in Jerusalem.  Not needing to worry about homework or class readings certainly gave me the clear schedule and mind that I needed.

It's a funny process that I go through each time I start a new art project.  When first beginning, I look at what I'm trying to recreate, visualize what I think the end product will look like, and think to myself, "Oh yeah, I can do that easy."  Then as I get further and further into it I become more discouraged.  I take frequent breaks, stomping away in frustration because I just can't figure out what to do to make it right and I can't look at it anymore.  I'll stare at it incomplete, telling myself how inadequate of an artist I am and that I will never be able to make it look the way it should.  But then I do finish it and I can't believe it.  Every time I look at it I have to remind myself that I was the one who made it.

Do you ever forget that you have talent?  You are used to using it all the time and it comes so naturally to you that it doesn't feel special at all, just  average?  That's how I feel with art.  It's no big deal to me.  I just do it.  When people tell me how amazing it is that I'm an illustration major I can only respond with a, "Yeah... it's fun."  But there are rare moments, usually just after I've finished a project, when I step back, and take in my work.  Only then does it dawn on me that I am pretty amazing at drawing.  Actually, the thought is more like, "Holly Fetch I'm GOOD!"

Jerusalem from Mt. Scopis

Church of St. Mary Magdalene and Jerusalem from the Mt. of Olives

Don't worry, more on my adventures in the Galilee to come.  I promise!