Artist - Biblical and Jewish Religious Symbolism
Working now on the next part of the Bible, I’m planning on chronicling the process by posting sketches and work-in-progress photos of the paintings. (The final paintings will only be available for viewing once the book is published). So to start off, here’s the first sketch – Moses in the Bullrushes.
So after lots of work – it’s about to be published – 50 years since the last such book – a German-language Bible for Jewish children – Part 1 – Genesis. Many, many thanks to publisher Myriam Halberstam of Ariella Verlag, for choosing me to do the illustrations, and to writers/translators/adaptors Bruno Landthaler and Hanna […]
A little more on Ben Shahn, who was a master at calligraphy/typography. I have Shahn’s beautiful book called “Love And Joy About Letters” (1964), which was given to me by Jock and Judith Cohen for my Bar Mitzvah! Here’s an extract from the book, which as a whole gives a glimpse into how the letters […]
Ben Shahn (1898-1969), one of my favourite artists, used to make beautiful simple and powerful drawings which often, but not always, had a strong political message.
My Noah’s Ark painting is now to be one of a series of twelve illustrations I’ve recently been commissioned to create for a small Jewish publisher in Germany. They’re publishing a children’s Bible there for the first time since 1964, and it’s a wonderful project to be involved in. I’ll be giving more details about […]
Santiago Rusinol i Prats (1861-1931) was a Catalan artist who painted, most beautifully, sunlit gardens and courtyards in Catalunya and Mallorca. I keep coming back to this quite haunting but intimate image of a slightly neglected pond in a romantic garden at Son Moragues near Valldemossa, Mallorca. The garden of Son Moragues is still there, […]
This is the finished painting, Obadiah’s Pool. I’ve added a transient figure in the cloister to the left, as well as in two other places. I’ve also added reflections in the pool itself.
The previously-posted shield-like horse-head piece is now finally finished, after the application of many, many dots and splodges! I”m surprised by the way it somehow combines an ancient splendour and gravity together with an amusing folksy lightness. I am offering it for sale at $1750.
This painting is still a work in progress – probably awaiting a discrete figure or two to appear……This rather architectural scene was inspired by a courtyard in the Alcazar of Seville (al Qasr = castle in Arabic). I’ve transplanted this most beautiful and serene courtyards to an imaginary setting in Jerusalem, and I’m relating to […]
