I actually started this little piece back in 2019 - and, for some reason, I had never finished it.  

And when I saw it, while going through my journal of half-finished sketches, it took me right back to my early days here in Israel.

When everything was new and raw and overwhelming and so brightly-colored.

To the days when I would spend 5 hours in Hebrew classes with 20 other immigrants - 1 from Thailand, and the other 18 from Russia and the Ukraine - and then stumble disoriented out into the sunshine. 

I had chosen this particular school to learn Hebrew because it was located right on the beach - something unfathomably wonderful to me after a lifetime in the landlocked Midwest.  So, every day, to recover from the intensive language learning, I would slip off my shoes and walk in the surf before sitting to paint until the summer sun became too much.

So most likely, it was a particularly hot day when I started this little piece on the bike path.  

And it was lovely to bring this little piece full-circle to completion after three years of life in Israel.

DIMENSIONS:

• 3.5 inches by 5.25 inches (9 cm x 13.5 cm)

WATER:

• The Mediterranean Sea

• Collected and bottled up from Haifa Bay, on the beaches near Kiryat Yam

MATERIALS:

• Daniel Smith Watercolors

• Micron Archival Pens

• Cold Press Paper