Tel Aviv Urban Sketchers Go Drawing in Kiryat Tivon

I finally got to meet the Tel Aviv Urban Sketchers face to face :)

Tel Aviv Urban Sketchers showing our artwork after a day of sketching in Kiryat Tivon, Israel

It’s so nice to meet with people you only know from Facebook. TLV sketchers have fun events but I keep missing them because I usually go flying on weekends. This time drawing won.

Kiryat Tivon is having an Art Week and they invited the TelAvivians up the mountain to draw with them.

Turns out this town has a vibrant and exciting art scene!

Mumus – Hummus and a Gallery

The meeting point was set at a place called Mumus.

I got there a bit early, a good half an hour before everyone. Knowing nothing about the place or its owner I didn’t expect much from a little Hummus place.

I certainly didn’t realize I’d be stepping into an art gallery.

Painting by Shimi Shaider

I found myself just blown away by the paintings that covered the walls.

Shimi Shaider paints Israel. Really this guy IS Israel Illustrated. His work is surprising, full of humor and is just, you know, GOOD.

He moves thru different styles without effort, and always has something interesting to say. I promise a visit to his studio!

Shimi's paintings on the walls next to the Mumus Menu

The waitress - which later turned out to be a talented singer – set me up with a pot of tea from the herbs in the back yard, and I sat around waiting for the others to arrive.

Kiryat Tivon by Wind

Tal, our host, arrived with his cute kid and soon the place filled up with sketchers. Without waiting for anything, people just took out their gear and started drawing:

Hiding from the wind- drawing each other!

Painting in progress! Watercolors and a pot of tea. Drawing by Marina Grechanik

A fellow Sketcher hard at work :) Illustration by Netta Canfi

We had a great tour planned:

We were going to sketch this famous horse statue of Alexander Zaid, and the Monument, and maybe just the general great view off the mountain... but winter decided to get serious this year.

At first we stayed inside the Mumus, happily drinking tea, drawing each other and enjoying Tal playing the piano:

Finally, Tal managed to draw us out into the cold wind, and we went over to the town square, where a live concert took place and two new shops celebrated an opening.

Urban Sketching in Tivon

It took me some time to warm up to it. My fellow sketchers and I looked around for an interesting angle, something to inspire us to draw.

A soldier sat at the public piano and played a lovely tune to everyone’s delight.

The town mayor showed up carrying his baby girl in a body strap. He shook our hands and said he hoped we’d draw something nice – our drawings are set to be printed on posters and put up on the bus stations in Tivon.

After half an hour or so the place stated to fill up, and people are always interesting, so I sat me down on a bench and drew this:

Pen and Watercolor drawing of the town square, Tivon, by Netta Canfi

Kids behind be started up a racket, and just as I was wondering what the noise was all about, it turned out it actually was a protest:

These teenagers got out in the cold to protest the government’s inaction about Climate Change. Way to go!

I was cold and it was hard to draw in the wind. The colors on my palette dried up as I worked, and I constantly had to re-wet them. Good thing about watercolor, you can actually do that.

Just as I was finishing up and we were all starting to head back to Mumus for some Hummus, street performers showed up and the whole place really came to life.

I felt we we’re leaving just as the place got interesting, but honestly, I was too cold already.

Showing Our Sketches

We got back to Shimi’s and spread our artwork:

All of our drawings spread out on the table at the Mumus

I love the diversity, how we can all draw the same thing and none of our works look the same.

The company and the Hummus were great. I hope to come back and draw Kiryat Tivon in the sunshine!

In the meantime, see Marina Grechanik’s drawings and impressions in her blogpost. She is the Urban Sketchers Ambassador to Tel Aviv, and made this event come about.

Check out the Tel Aviv Urban Sketchers facebook page,

And don’t miss Shimi Shaider and his singing waiting staff here.