Little House in Bakah Illustrations

This past winter I had the pleasure to stay at the Little House in Bakah in Jerusalem, Israel. On some of the mornings I spent time in the lobby drawing and painting. The woman at the front desk was so excited to tell me about her young son who likes to paint. I seem to attract attention in general when I draw or paint in hotel lobbies.

I did several sketches of the building across the street, Yehuda Street 2. It was built in the late 19th century. There is a daily Sephardi minyan in that building.

I had a collection of colored pencils with me. I started with watercolor paint, drawing the outline of the building. Then I switched to blue (cobalt with cerulean) for the sky. Then I painted shapes of green for the trees. I was planning to add lampposts and street signs later. Instead I left them out. Finally, instead of ink I used colored pencils for details.

Little House in Bakah also serves a delicious breakfast. The blue and white checked gingham tablecloths caught my eye.

I exaggerated the arches in the lobby in this sketch.

This illustration with ink was part imagination, part what I saw in the lobby. By the time I did this ink drawing, I was already back home in New Jersey.