Israel, 2007

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  A trip with a group of cycling friends. For the first time, I take a watercolor sketchbook with me instead of a camera. It’s a double challenge, because painting during short stops and then catching up with the disappearing cyclists is adrenaline-fueled. No mobile phone, no satnav.

  In retrospect, it’s the best school for sketching the essentials in just a few strokes. There’s no time for more. The others are already disappearing into the shimmering air on the horizon. I throw my paints, brush, and sketchbook into the camera bag on my handlebars and sprint in the direction they just vanished.

  If I come back one day, it will be slowly and on foot. Then, hopefully, I will understand a bit more of the complex history and present of this land.