Some Sketches

Im away from Ramallah and out by myself frog-hopping from hostel to hostel on the West coast of Israel. Its strange being without Chris and Zelda and without the friends I have made in the West Bank at the Art School and beyond. I miss them all, but it is nice to travel alone for a short while and with the space to reflect on everything that has happened in the past 5 weeks. Ill be back on English soil this monday afternoon, and it feels as though it could be as good as one hour away, when the next day keeps passing faster than the last.

As i am away from the Art academys generous facilities I am unable to scan in any new ink drawings, but I have uploaded a few preparatory sketches for some possible illustrations that I have on my USB from a few days ago. they're very rough and ready so just soak up their atmosphere and dont scrutinise them too closely!

Sketch of our Apartment close to Al Manara, the central square. Our contract clocked out, so we moved out the other day. It was on the top floor of a four storey building. Disadvantage - loads of stairs! Advantage - right by the roof, where we would sit and look out at the crescent moon hanging above the streets of Ramallah, and feast on barbecues with our European friends from the first floor.

Sketches whilst on the go on the Settlers Roads of the West Bank. Roads used by Palestinians only are often poorly paved, whereas the connecting routes to the Israeli settlements are slick, quick, and generously sign-posted. The view that whizzes one by is a landscape of barren rocky hills, punctuated by a Bedouin camps (a nomadic people ostracised by both Palestinian and Israeli society that hug to the sides of the roads, rearing goats, and living in corrugated tin huts); Israeli settlements strategically perched on the hill-tops (recognisable by their orderly lines of red-tiled sloped roof houses and security walls)

;Palestinian villages (not so strategically placed) at the bottom of the hills, Olive groves, rocks, weeds, rocks, rubbish piles, stone-cutting factories...oh and rocks, rocks, and more rocks!

Sketches from The church on The mount of temptation in Jericho. The spot where Christians believe Jesus was tempted by the devil whilst wandering the desert for 40 days and nights.

The police in Ramallah are a funny bunch. They never seem in any hurry, chatting to each other, and swinging their guns around in a bored fashion. But for some reason they always have their lights flashing even when they are just sitting in traffic with everyone else.

Some sketches of a 95 year old grandfather we met when we went to one of our friends family homes in a village outside Bethlehem. He was very angry at me and Chris, over our personal responsibility for the British giving Palestine to the Jews in 1948.

-Drawings and writing by Jon.