Hebrew Art - The Judaica Art of Adam Rhine


Sun, 7 August 2011 - 7th of Av, 5771


Illuminated Psalm - Welcome to the Jungle in progressJust completed right before the Tisha B'Av fast... "Menorah." Though out of season for sure, this is destined to go in the 2013 Hebrew Illuminations wall calendar which will hit stores exactly one year from now.

Currently, the 2012 Hebrew Illuminations and 2012 Illuminated Psalms calendars are in stock and ready to order!

This particular painting is both a departure and a return for me. The departure is the 99% use of acrylics instead of watercolor, which is normally the opposite. Because I wanted this to feel like a metal menorah, I stuck with the opaque qualities of the acrylic and only used watercolors for the flames at top.

The return is the amount of fine detail I put into each shape. This hearkens back to my initial inspiration, medieval illuminated manuscripts. I've been adding more and more large shapes of color in place of fine linework and detail for the past 11 years, but this one felt right to bring those intricately drawn elements back. I kept the palette limited to make sure the nuances weren't overwhelmed with my usual bright, saturated, and sometimes obnoxious colors.

Now I take a brief break to observe the Tisha B'Av fast which starts Monday night and goes for 25 hours. I wish everyone an easy fast and may we one day be able to cancel this sad memorial with the building of the third Beit HaMikdash! B"H!

 

~Adam