A lovely scene to share with you this week, featuring a completely new subject for me and a very different style of cityscape. This painting ‘Jerusalem’ was actually commissioned as a gift, but the illustration also sits beautifully with my World Series.
Jerusalem - Illustration by Jonathan Chapman
It needed to show the Church of the Holy Sepulchre along with the recognisable rooftops of the old city. I really loved playing with the colours on here, the palette is a very different mix of earthy tones. Old cities are such a wonderful puzzle of architecture… and the many different towers and domes were fascinating to study from.

There was also a request for the dome of Temple Mount, known to Muslims as the Haram esh-Sharif and the Al Aqsa Compound, to be seen on the horizon. It’s true location sits away to the right of this view, but hopefully this composition feels real enough and provides a contrasting focal point in the distance. I’m already wondering about creating a twin scene from the other direction, surely it would make an interesting pair of studies.‘Jerusalem’ was painted with acrylic and ink, on a 70 x 50 cm deep edge canvas. You can follow along with my world series here on the studio blogfacebooktwitter or instagram.

Interested in arranging a gift like this Jerusalem commission? drop me a line or have a little browse at my private commission guide.