My name is Alex Bernstein and I am a watercolor artist based in Tel-Aviv, Israel.

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About the Art

 

It is important to me to portray things I connect with, things that are here and I can actually see. Some of this energy is channeled to practicing plein air painting in the streets of Tel-Aviv, a city I love to live in for over a decade now. Another big project I had taken upon myself is investigating our land’s beautiful wildlife. In Israel, the summer is so dry and hot, landscapes are yellowish brown, and all animals compete to survive. I feel the same can be said about the people here, how warm but feisty we are. The project contains over 30 paintings, of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds and insects, and it constantly grows.

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About me 

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I have been painting all my life, even before I can remember myself.

When I grew up, I’ve taken mathematics and physics in Tel Aviv University, and my art was neglected for a few years. I have to admit I wasn’t a very good math student, but managed to finish somehow, retaining the love to the exact science fields. After graduation I worked in a software company, as it was the logical thing to do. 

 

After a year of work, I felt like something was missing. I went to an open night at the Minshar school of art, and enrolled to an evening course called “introduction to animation”. I said to myself “great, two hours a week, exactly what I need”. I had no idea that it will change my life, and I will never let go of making art again.

 

When my older son was born, I understood the days are too short for me leave art to be a hobby, and I converted to full time digital artist. I worked for an education company as a digital artist and animator for 6 years. 

 

In a concept art workshop I attended, the guest talked about the importance of daily practice, even the slightest one, of observation. He recommended watercolors, which is a light and easy medium for painting both in and outdoors. I remembered I had a short relationship with watercolors back at the age of 16, when our art teacher decided to choose it over gouache. 

Observing the world through watercolors had captured me. This process of taking reality in, analyzing what I see, and interpretation of it are the core essence of this art.