7 October: Sketching the Unsketchable

7 October massacre by Hamas: artwork sketch of a terrorist running with a gun

7 October in Israel was a nightmare made real. And the nightmare continues, on both sides of the fence. I can’t let this period pass without some kind of reference to it here. So: A few thoughts about the unthinkable and sketches about the unsketchable. Thoughts Enough is being written about the politics and machinations […]

Architectural Sculpture

Architectural Sculpture: Ancient Mikveh House in Sanaa

This small architectural sculpture depicts a Yemenite house with a Mikveh (Jewish ritual purification pool) on the roof. It’s an imaginative piece based on the architecture of Yemen, as well as the aesthetic of mud brick construction in general. Measuring about 12cm high, it is of fired clay, with a coloured glass inlay, and white […]

A Jerusalem Imagined

A Colourful Landscape of the Jerusalem Hills, Ancient walled city surrounded by hills and olive groves (detail)

A Colourful Landscape of the Jerusalem Hills This new painting depicting the Jerusalem hills emerged quite quickly and spontaneously. I think the energy comes across in the brushwork. I really enjoyed doing this painting because of just that flowing feeling. It’s far less technical than a lot of my work recently, and that’s definitely liberating. […]

Elijah Ascending to Heaven – a commissioned painting

Elijah Ascending to Heaven - Biblical art

2 Kings 2: As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven. Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen! יא וַיְהִי, […]

Beit El: Heaven and Earth

angels ascending and descending, in the dream of Jacob's ladder

A new visual presentation at the visitor’s centre at Beit El in Samaria will be using my Jacob’s Ladder painting, among works by many other artists, including several very famous ones, I think. I’ll post pictures, and maybe video, of the actual thing when they have the opening (not sure when that’ll be)! Beit El […]

Jacob’s Ladder

Jacob's Ladder (detail): A painting by Darius Gilmont showing angels ascending and descending.

Between Heaven and Earth I made this painting a couple of years ago, shortly after finishing the Daniel painting. Inspired by the angel from that project, I wanted to experiment a bit more with angels, which is a difficult subject. The story of Jacob’s Ladder is about the bridge between heaven and earth so in […]

Naïve art: A painting of Edgware life

Naïve art, a lady walking her dog (detail)

This piece of naïve art, set in Edgware in about 1975, was originally described in an earlier post here. This painting was for me an exercise in nostalgia, recreating a place so familiar to me during my childhood. Apart from the Shabbat atmosphere, with its family meals and my Grandma’s special cooking, one of the […]

Historical painting: One family’s story, in a specially commissioned art piece

Historical painting; cossack horseman 1914 on horse, commanding

A commission for a historical painting Turka is a small town in Ukraine and became the subject of a specially commissioned historical painting. In 1914 at the beginning of World War I, it was in Polish territory, and occupied by Russian forces. The Stieglitz family was a well-to-do Jewish family with a large house in […]

Late for Shul: A light-hearted painting of Shabbat in Raanana

Jewish humorous art, Late for Shul,, Jewish men running, painting in progress,

“Late for Shul,” is the first painting in a new series of Jewish humorous art. With these paintings, I’ll be reflecting a wide range of Jewish life by painting people, places and situations which will be familiar to many in Israel and elsewhere. Working in a simple and colourful style, I want to convey a […]

Angel Painting: Gold leaf and acrylic give an icon-like quality to this figure

Jewish art / Bible art: Angel painting, Daniel in the Lions' Den (detail)

Within Daniel in the Lions’ Den is also an angel painting…..There was much debate about how to depict the angel. The final stages of this painting involved quite a lot of changes, and included adding the angel with his golden wings (gold leaf protected by shellac varnish)……now that feels better! Daniel needed his angel. This […]