So, I went to Israel with very little idea of what to expect, except that I anticipated the country you see on the television news plus something unusual and exotic. I did see all these elements and bits of my childhood too, all the Bible stories came flooding back as we drove past Jericho, saw where David fought Goliath and visited a Carmelite monastery built where Elijah had once lived.

To say that we made the most of our two weeks is a complete understatement. For a start our flight was delayed by around seven hours and we missed the Thursday night. We arrived at our hotel on the Dead Sea just in time for breakfast. However an Israeli breakfast is quite an experience in itself and I had to be guided through by Jackie Simmonds, one of the artists who is Jewish. I loved all the salads and cheeses and fish, I have never been a fan of corn flakes. The next thing I knew, we were on the top of Masada at 26°C.

Gradually we all met one another. Altogether eleven artists, Linda Blackstone, our guide Mark Goldberg (originally from New York - and I am sorry I do not remember any of his brilliant jokes to tell here) and driver Udi. Artists are, as a rule, solitary people. We work alone in our garrets and just emerge, blinking and shell-shocked for the occasional Private View at our exhibitions. This element of the tour - to spend two weeks with other artists -was almost as interesting as the trip itself.

Factions soon emerged - much to the amusement of Mark (I think he is used to more docile tourists). On the one hand were those artists who paint on the spot and on the other those (including myself) who work in the studio from photographs. For the former party, the tight schedule presented the problem of not having enough time to complete a picture before we were moved on. But even the latter element felt the strain of the timetable making it difficult to optimise every location we visited. Lectures late into the evenings after a full day walking in the intense heat starting with bags outside rooms at 7.15 am.

Oh yes, back to Masada. Masada is amazing. The astonishing height of the place adds to the drama of the thousand people who chose death above defeat. The beauty and delicacy of the mosaics in such a rugged place is such a contrast. We then visited the oasis at Ein Gedi seeing ibex between the trees and on to the shore of the Dead Sea where some swam and some painted.

I love the built environment. I specialise in painting buildings, so the tours of the desert were more of a holiday for me and a chance to soak up some of the atmosphere. The weather was glorious and the brilliant sunshine highlighted the rich colours of the desert rocks. We drove to Mitzpe-Ramon, a town with the feeling of a frontier settlement in the middle of the Negev desert. The Ramon crater nearby is a spectacular canyon-like feature and during the following day several of us rode camels along the edge. The natural drama of the landscape has been enhanced by a series of large sculptures placed at intervals along the cliff.

The next day was the only gloomy day of the trip, and the one where it was scheduled for a picnic in the British Park. The area has been beautifully landscaped and is designed to encourage wildlife too. Mark Goldberg explained that as a child growing up in New York there was a blue JNF box in his kitchen for "trees for Israel" and that the British Park was funded by personal donations by British Jews. We did our bit with the press at this point, it was rather a shame that it was so cold and drizzly for the JNF photographer, and no-one wanted to sit around and paint.

Then we drove to Tel Aviv. This was my favourite part. I loved the bustle of the city, the wonderful Hebrew lettering on shop signs and posters. Also the glorious golden beach was a surprise. What I liked especially was the contrast between the modern buildings of Tel Aviv and the ancient houses and religious buildings of Jaffa right beside it. After much of the day walking around Jaffa, one of the other artists (Janet Ledger, who has remained a good friend) and I walked back along the seafront to Tel Aviv. Subsequently I did paintings of the Opera Tower, the Sea Tower and several other skyscrapers and restaurants along the promenade.

A quick cup of tea and then we were off again to Carmel Market - a real sense of the Mediterranean - crates of olives of all hues; artichokes; peppers and fruit, plus Jewish specialities of bagels and fish of many varieties. A great source of resource material for Jan who is noted for her paintings of interesting characters.

Sadly there was not time for me to explore the wealth of Bauhaus buildings in the heart of the city as the following day we were off again. North this time. A brief visit to the Carmelite monastery at Mukrahka; a Druze village called Daliyat al-Carmel, both in the Carmel mountains, then on to Akko/Acre for the main part of the day. Although Acre was a crusader city, headquarters of the Knights Hospitallers, Akko is now very much an Arab town. The Ahmed al Jazzar Mosque and the Khan el-Umdan tower (both of which I later painted) as well as the souk are the most prominent features of the town. However, our guide Mark gave us a fascinating tour of the crusader city which was hidden under the eighteenth century citadel for many years.

In the evening we drove to Nes Ammin, a Christian community built along the lines of a Kibbutz. After dinner we had a lecture about the establishment of the community. It was interesting to hear of the objections that had been levelled, and not surprising considering the pretty dismal record of Christian missionaries' interference in the religious and personal lives of other people.

The next day: Montfort Crusader castle; River Dan fish farm tour and Nimrod Crusader castle. Fantastic, richly forested hills contrasted with the rugged rocky castles. The fish farm was in a beautiful wooded location of gnarled ancient trees with the river threading beneath a labyrinth of wooden walkways. A far cry from the futuristic plastic domes in the Negev which are also used to breed fish.

We spent a while at Nimrod so that people could paint and sketch, then we went on to Kfar Blum. After dinner we had a lecture on Kibbutz life. Once again an interesting account of a new way of life, a pioneering attitude to building a new land and coping with hardship. Having a small child myself, I was particularly struck by the way that all the children were brought up in one house together so that their parents could concentrate on cultivation.

Up again and off to the Golan Heights to visit a kosher vineyard and winery. And some wine tasting at 9 am! I had had no experience of kashrut and was fascinated by the little certificates with the meal on the El Al flight. I can understand it as a way of denying yourself to show respect to God, but I found it weird to be offered artificial cream products with coffee after dinner.

After driving along the Golan Heights and peeping into Syria (as we had gazed at Lebanon a few days earlier) we arrived at En Gev by the Sea of Galilee. A moment of tranquillity for some and out with the easels and paints for others. In the afternoon we went to Sefad which was rather touristy, but Mark showed us some lovely little hidden synagogues painted white and blue like Greek island churches.

Then we were driven up into the forest behind Sefad for a concert by a top Israeli pianist and I am afraid I forgot to make a note of his name. But it was very pleasant sitting around in his lovely wood house to the strains of Chopin and Beethoven. Then back to Kibbutz Kfar Blum and, after dinner, a visit to a Kibbutz home. The lady whose home it was told us how she had come to Israel from eastern Europe. It was fascinating, but yet another late night.

And another early start. To another crusader castle (Belvoir) briefly, then on to Beit She'an. The latter is an ancient site, inhabited for five thousand years and impressivelv excavated. The vertigo-inspiring Roman theatre is particularly memorable. But by now (Friday) we were all desperate to get to Jerusalem where we would spend the last days of the trip and several other diversions were cut from the itinerary!

Once in Jerusalem the style of the tour changed. We had built quite a camaraderie chatting in the minibus and listening to Mark's fascinating commentary. He was great at answering all our questions and was rarely caught out. If he was, he would always look it up and tell us the next day. He was a brilliant guide. As we drove we moved from the book of Genesis to the War of Independence in 1948 and back again. Us younger artists listened in awe as Ken Howard talked of meeting Stanley Spencer and he and Ken Paine compared notes of other artists they had met over the years.

Mark gave us several walking tours of Jerusalem, to the Western Wall and round the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. But the most memorable part was the Independence Night celebrations. We attended a type of concert with music and dancing. Twelve Israelis had been selected to describe their backgrounds and how they had come to live in Israel, several from the old Soviet Union. Then the most fantastic fireworks. In the street afterwards we attempted to have a meal while crowds danced around us "bopping" each other over the head with huge plastic hammers and squirting everyone with aerosol streamers (my jacket has never been the same). It was great fun!

The last day was the final chance to discover another part of Jerusalem. I had already walked as much around the Old City walls as was possible and went off to see the New City. Actually I found the most inspiring material there, and subsequently painted the King David Hotel, The Great Synagogue and the Russian Church.

Altogether I took over five hundred reference photographs and completed twenty-two paintings of Israel. It was a fascinating if gruelling trip (I have actually left out several things that we did!). Writing this and reliving the tour, my overwhelming feeling is of trying desperately to make the most of every visit and experience, but we did so much!

So it is difficult for me to draw any one picture of the country of Israel, it is itself a contradiction in many ways, ancient and modern, lush and barren, threatening and friendly. It was shocking to see so many young soldiers with guns, to see parties of schoolchildren accompanied by armed guards. Contrary to what I had expected, I was most inspired by the modern element: the comparatively new city of Tel Aviv and the exuberance of a young nation celebrating its existence.