Tallit, Tree of Life in Blue

Tallit, Tree of Life in Blue, Hand-Painted Silk, 24 x 72

Please click on image for larger view

Lake Tahoe Tallit

Lake Tahoe Tallit, Hand Painted silk, 24 x 72

Another custom created prayer shawl. Lake Tahoe is one of my favorite places 

so this piece was close to my heart.

Click on the image for a larger view

New Tallit, Tree of life

Tree of Life, Expanse, Hand Painted Silk, 24 x 72

Ketubbah, Sun and Moon

Ketubbah, Sun and Moon, Watercolor, 22 x 22

 I created this ketubbah for my niece and her fiance (click the image for a larger view). In addition to the ketubbah, I had the pleasure of designing a tallit (Jewish Prayer Shawl) for my niece, which the lovely couple painted in my studio, and used during their wedding. 

New Tallit

Dragon Tallit II, 24 x 72, Hand Painted Silk
A true celebration of life and prayer!

Tree of Life Tallit

You can paint your tallit with me! This one was designed by me, and painted by a lovely bat mitzvah girl who had never painted on silk before.

New Silk Prayer Shawl

Tree of Life, Oranges, 22 x 70, Hand-Painted Silk Tallit
(Jewish Prayer Shawl)
Detail below (click either image for a larger view)

Sunburst III

Sunburst III, Hand Painted Silk, 22 x 70

A new prayer shawl (tallit) which is for sale at Dayenu, Judaica at the JCCSF, a Jewish gift store inside the Jewish Community Center right in the heart of San Francisco.
For purchase, you can give them a call at (415) 563-6563.
Click on image for larger view

Creation III Tallit

Creation IIIb Tallit, 22 x 70, hand-painted silk

Cherry Blossom Tree of Life Tallit

A new tallit (Jewish prayer shawl).
70 x 22 inches, hand-painted silk.
This piece is available at Dayenu, Judaica at the JCCSF, a Jewish gift store inside the Jewish Community Center right in the heart of San Francisco.
For purchase, you can give them a call at (415) 563-6563.
Click on image for larger view

Noah's Ark, Part 8, Grand Finale

Grandma and Granddaughter came to the studio to tie the tsitsit on the tallit.

A happy granddaughter who will soon become an adult in the eyes of the Jewish community as she becomes a Bat Mitzvah.

Paisleys

Here's the latest tallit (Jewish prayer shawl) I've created. 14 x 72, Hand-painted Silk.

Vineyards Tallit

This hand-painted silk tallit (prayer shawl) is 35 x 70 inches.

Vineyards Tallit, detail 1

Vineyards Tallit, detail 2

Here's the finished prayer shawl, Tree of Life - Moon Peace, 24 x 72, hand painted silk. The watercolor sketch for this design was posted May 8th (click image for a larger view). The owner of this tallit is having his Bar Mitzvah this month. I had the privilege of making his brother's tallit a couple of years ago. Here it is, below:

Because I Love You...

"Because I love You..." Tallit (Jewish Prayer Shawl) with matching bag and kippah.
Hand Painted Silk, 14 x 72
The recipient of this tallit had her Bat Mitzvah on Valentine's Day.

"Celebrate Music" Prayer Shawl

Celebrate Music Tallit, Hand Painted Silk, 22 x 70

Peace Hearts

Peace Hearts Tallit, Hand Painted Silk,14 x 72

Another recently finished commissioned prayer shawl. This design truly started from almost nothing. The client said she would like pink. I said, okay, nice; any other colors? any special designs? Client said, no, just pink. So I did a simple design with light, medium pink and white, and once the client saw it, was then inspired, and said, I like it - can you add hearts and peace signs? Such is the way some things begin!

New Silk Prayer Shawl

Eden Tallit, Hand Painted Silk, 14 x 72
This is the finished piece from my "Calligraphy on Silk" posting of December 4th.

Silk Painting Demo - Part 6

Here's the piece, "Earth and Sun Tallit" all finished. It's been hemmed, button holes have been sewn in the corner areas, and I've tied the "tsitsit" on the corners (click image for larger version).

The detail shot shows the Hebrew writing and the cool salt texture in the border. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoyed the demo. If you have any questions about getting started, just let me know. Happy painting!

Silk Painting Demo, Part 1

I've gotten some questions about how to paint on silk. So, if you're interested, here's the first installment of a silk painting demo! If not, I won't be insulted if you skip this post. Please check back soon for new artwork to be posted.

You start with white silk and some kind of stretcher system. My favorite fabric is silk charmeuse, very luxurious with a good shine and weight. I'm using Chinese hooks, rubber bands and 3/4" PVC pipes and joints for my stretcher system. It's relatively cheap, and I can easily change the lengths and widths of the pipes to accommodate any size I wish to paint. Also, the rubber bands pick up any slack as the silk absorbs water and stretches, so the silk never sags. I buy my silk supplies from Dharma Trading Co.

In this example I'm going to color all my line work. Not only does it jazz up the painting, but this allows me to see the lines after applying gutta (next paragraph) which are almost invisible when dry.

Using a plastic bottle applicator with a fine metal tip, over my colored lines, I apply Gutta (silk painting's equivalent to watercolor's frisket - more essential, though, because without it silk dyes can spread unchecked on wet or dry fabric). I use water-soluble gutta, a greener alternative to the traditional rubber based, and really quite as good.

Here you can see the purple drawing (the purple is a "vanishing marker" whose lines disappear over time or when covered with water), one piece of drawing that has been colored with yellow silk dye using a fine brush, and one shape that has also received the gutta (still wet). the gutta darkens the silk and is shiny until it dries - then you can hardly see it.