“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 joy in life, in community and in the world as I see it. I hope that you will recognize the scenes, and feel that they are a part of your world too. The people shall mostly be fictional, although sometimes I’ll put in people I remember from my childhood or other periods in my life. They could also be people I know today. The location of this first one is a bit generic, although in my mind it’s roughly in the area of Akiva St in Raanana, but I’d like to base the next ones on exact locations. I’m thinking about focusing on Raanana, where I Iive now, and Edgware (just North of London), where I grew up. You can read a bit about my background on my “about” page, and you can buy a print of this painting here .
“Late for Shul” started as a painting of Ernest Hemingway’s “Old Man and the Sea.” That painting didn’t turn out well, and I overpainted it in white gesso. Then, on this canvas, I started a desert landscape (above). This picture waited for months to be populated, and stood, devoid of people, barren and lonely, in a corner of my studio. Eventually, after an idea which I quickly sketched out, a man appeared, hurrying through the desert to shul (synagogue), his tallit (prayer shawl) flowing out behind him.
