Tag: Bible Art

Bible art / Bar Mitzvah gift ideas - Original Jewish art - Parshat Teruma - a painting showing the bringing of gifts for the MishkanWhy Bible Art?

I make my Bible art in a world where the mainstream art world is often so very distant from any considerations of beauty or spirituality. Making Biblical artwork began, for me, as a very personal artistic and spiritual exercise. It eventually developed into an educational project, and now, it seems, is slowly returning to its source as a more spiritual and artistic endeavour, trying to engender connections with underlying meanings in the Bible.

Use of Colour in my Biblical Paintings

Colour is key in my Bible art prints. I use a lot of bright colours but my mainstay is cerulean blue in various levels of saturation. These blues symbolise the sky, the sea and the Eternal. It is for me the most spiritual colour, and thus the most hopeful and the most joyous. Counterbalancing that, I often use orange and reddish hues. These symbolise the earth, the desert, the Sinai itself; the very place from where the Bible originates. Oranges and reds are the colours of fire, of power, of authority, and of the harsh realities of this earthly life. Our task in life is to bridge between the ethereal blues and the burning oranges, and for that we have all the colours in between!

The Spiritual Significance of Colour

Some theoreticians and artists have written on the deeper meaning of colour. Of particular note are: Vassily Kandinsky, Margarethe Hauschka, and Rudolf Steiner. (Personally I do find them interesting, but it’s really important not to take them too seriously!)

A Sea Song

    Magical Art of the Red Sea And now: A boy, who is a prince and a minstrel too, plays the flute by the shores of a desert sea – the Red Sea. Behind him, we see his boat floating above colourful fish in a turquoise-blue sea. A dolphin swims gently by, while in […]

Last picture for Children’s Torah

This is a slice from the last picture I did for the Children’s Torah – Parshat Nitzavim. It’s not the last chronologically, but I didn’t do them in strict number order.

Miketz: Pharaoh’s Dream

Parshat Miketz; Joseph helps Pharaoh understand his dream (detail of artwork)

After interpreting that Pharaoh’s dream is foreshadowing seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine, Joseph, with what seems like improper chutzpah, offers Pharaoh unsolicited advice on how to prepare for these events. He says: “And now, Pharaoh should seek a resourceful and wise man and appoint him over the land of Egypt….” […]

Parshat Toldot

The deceptive way in which Jacob receives his father’s blessing is rather unsettling. There is an interesting discussion of it by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks on his website, here.

Lech Lecha – Get Going!

With Syria constantly in the news, I came across a beautiful website describing the traditional liturgical chanting of the Jewish congregation of Aleppo. The site was set up by the Syrian Jewish community in New York, and it links to recordings and explanations (in Hebrew) of their unique and nuanced chanting style. The site itself […]