Reds, yellows, and oranges appear in Highland Park in early fall. My paintings get a colorful glow. Pictured is the train bridge that runs from New Brunswick to Highland Park over the Raritan River.
I painted two illustrations of the scene with watercolor and gouache in September.
Then I returned to the scene in November with my uniball pen and later colored the ink drawing with watercolor.
Apples are ripe and delicious in early autumn. My favorites are macintosh, macoun, and winesap. I buy them at the Highland Park Farmers Market.
By November it gets too cold for most of us to sit outside and leisurely draw. If you are a beginner at drawing, man-made objects like an iron are easier subjects than drawing outside in nature. With the help of friends, I am working on lessons geared at teaching drawing by really seeing. Right before I drew the iron, I did a “no peeking” exercise: one is not allowed to look at the paper while drawing. It helps a person see the object.
I added this peach painting from the summer as a warm and cozy ending to this autumn blog post.
In June 2024 we visited the Galil (Galilee in English), the region in the north western part of Israel, west of the Golan Heights. Some of the places we visited were Beit Keshet, Tsefat, Tiberias, Yodfat, and Maalot. Pictured above is the illustration of the view from my friend’s house in Maalot.
In Maalot my friend and I went on an Maalot sketch crawl. Maalot is hilly. The name Maalot means “steps.” We walked down her block and stopped at some long steps, a common scene in Maalot. The jacaranda tree was in bloom, so I was attracted to that spot. I drew first with my black uniball pen. Next I added some color.
This is another scene of Maalot. The hills around were peaceful and calm.
Yodfat is a small community on top of a hill. Historically, it is famous for a Roman siege of Yodfat that took place many years ago. We stayed in a house with many amenities, especially in the kitchen. When I woke up in the morning, I went for a walk all around the village. After a while, it started to get hot, so I came into the air-conditioned kitchen, took out my paints, and began to draw. I drew a corner counter with some windows. I added the ballpoint pen marks later.
Pots and pans are a lot of fun to draw and paint.
I spent the early morning in Beit Keshet with my paints and the Galil scenery.
The Beit Keshet cottage had a lovely back porch with an amazing view. I loved the little table in the corner.
This past spring I had the pleasure of traveling to Nice, France. We also visited Antibes, a neighboring city, also with a medieval section. One day we traveled north on a train to a medieval village called La Brigue. It was quite an adventure. I did some watercolor illustrations of some of the places that we visited.
Someone asked: so why did you pick Nice? I answered: kosher food. There is kosher food in Nice. Not much in Dublin. And off to Nice we went. But the best food was really in Antibes. It’s a short train ride from Nice, so get used to taking trains! You can see a lot that way. Buy a day pass for the train, so you can get off and get back on again all day long.
A wonderful part of the Nice is the market in the old city. A large section is devoted to flowers. Vegetables and fruit are available in abundance. I bought strawberries (fresh and in season), pomegranate, grapefruit, an apple, a red onion, and a lemon. I didn’t get a chance to paint the market. However, since it is advertised that it opened at 6 am, but the vendors are still setting up at that time, I sketched the Opera House nearby in ink. Later I added watercolor.
We took a wonderful walking tour of the old city of Nice. You end up on the hill overlooking the city … breathtaking. The walking tours are free. Sign up online in advance. It is recommended to pay the tour guide an amount at the end. Our tour guide, Dinara Mukh, was fabulous. Here’s her website for women on imbalanced hormones: https://www.dinaramukh.com/
Eating kosher in Nice is not hard. Le Kineret and La Makolet are two delightful finds on Avenue Georges Clémenceau. Le Kineret is a bakery (boulangerie) and restaurant with wonderful breakfast food (we didn’t get a chance to eat other meals there). If you need food for Shabbat, you can place an order at Le Kineret on a Thursday. Pick up is Friday morning. Delicious! La Makolet had wine, cheese, and other kosher treats. We went to a lovely Asian Fusion restaurant called Bozen.
If you are planning to be in Nice on a Friday night, you can reserve online in advance to eat at Chabad. The food is traditional chicken with many salad dishes. I recommend giving a nice donation to Chabad if you choose to eat there.
food at Berbeche restaurant, Antibes, France
Restaurants in Antibes: I recommend Berbeche. It is a few buildings down from the beach in Juan-Le-Pins. When I asked the waiter if I should get the salad or the vegetables, he replied in accented English: “salad is for rabbits.” I got the vegetables. My daughter liked them. I found them a bit too saucy. But I absolutely loved my lamp chops. My daughter loved her steak with truffles. We both give the restaurant a high rating. There was some delicious looking salami inside the restaurant. I was tempted to order some, but in addition to having to carry it back, I was not sure what 36 euro meant. Does that mean per pound? per liter? per something else? A confused tourist, I went without. This time. There is another kosher restaurant on the beach called DiamanThe’K. I ordered delicious lamb chops, and before the main course was served, we got some nice salads. The salad with the meal was not quite as good.
We took a trip one day via train to the mountains north of Nice. We stopped in a lovely medieval village called La Brigue. Just so you know, there is only one track in La Brigue. You wait at the same spot that you got off for the train back to Nice.
I did not fly directly to Nice. From the U.S. it costs thousands of dollars to fly into Nice. So I flew to London Heathrow first. On the way I visited Highgate. As I was drawing the compelling architecture of Highgate, an elder resident asked me if I was part of the group that was redesigning the square where I sat. She wanted more trees in particular. I thought she should ask for more seating. In any case, I am including my illustration of Highgate in my Nice, France post.
I find I often paint in themes. On Fridays, I am often inspired to paint a shabbat table scene or my candles. However, I rarely have time on Fridays.
Those who do not keep the Sabbath might ask: how do you tolerate a day without being able to paint or draw? My response: as long as I have time during the week for painting or drawing, the Sabbath is a welcome day for reflecting. I do not record every minute of my life what transpires. Having time just to sit and think helps one when life is rushed during the week.
In the Torah the Sabbath is mentioned many times. One example is in the parsha of Kedoshim 19:3 where it says: “you shall observe My Sabbaths.”
Late Friday afternoon one hour before sunset I light the candles for Shabbat. It is a time of reflection and meditation. No more rushing about. The food is cooked. One says the prayer and takes time to move one to whatever is next.
I really like painting green wine bottles. It has reflection and a deep green color. It reminds me of family members who enjoy visiting vineyards and tasting good wine. As a painter who likes to capture the light, the bottle is elegant and slender and says: “use me as your prop.”
This is one of my favorite wine bottle paintings. I like the paisley fabric upon which it rests. A good combination for a still-life.
This Shabbat table setting, painted in gouache, reflects some of our busy meals. I make a variety of foods, put on several colored tiles like the one that appears in the corner, and use my good china. I like how the salt shaker, an important item as it gets sprinkled on the challah after the blessing, peaks out from behind the tall wine bottle.
If you want to purchase a print of any of these Shabbat scenes, visit my store for more information.
On Sunday, March 3, 2024 we had the pleasure of attending an Imperial Band of South River concert. The band played all kinds of Irish music. I enjoyed watching the movements of the players, how they used their whole bodies to illustrate the sounds with their instruments. I did all my sketching at the concert in a sketchbook; all the color was added later at home. You can see all my illustrations of the Imperial Band of South River here.
The trombone players were impressive, moving their instruments in and out with skill. I loved that an American flag stood proudly behind them.
The conductor, Richard Golazeski, sat in this chair and moved his arms with great passion. He really enjoyed all the Irish music.
Here are two of the bassoon player. She used her whole body to play her large instrument.
The tables were decorated with orange carnations with lots of green leaves.
My favorite piece was The Parting Glass. When I looked it up, I noted it usually sung with lyrics. It seems to be a bittersweet song about farewells and parting ways. In this concert, the music was all instrument. Beautiful and inspiring.
The concert finished with the music of George M. Cohan, composer of American hits like I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy.
The Imperial Band of South River has concerts 11 times a year, typically the first Sunday of each month except January. The concerts are held in the Imperial Music Center, 48 Appleby Avenue in South River, New Jersey.
red pepper, zucchini, and lemon, watercolor on paper
If you want to cook an impressive, nutritious, and filling main course, zucchini stuffed with meat is a lovely dish. I love painting beautiful vegetables, so this recipe post is also an excuse to show off my zucchini and butternut squash watercolor paintings.
Optional:
– 1 tsp. chopped turmeric root
– 1 tsp. chopped ginger root
– 1 tsp. paprika
– 1 tsp. ginger
– 1 tsp. garlic powder
– 1/2 – 1 cup of cooked rice
– herbs such as thyme or oregano
Recipe
Cut 3 zucchini in half. Then cut each zucchini lengthwise so the zucchini can be made into a boat. Scoop out the inside, being careful to leave a hull opening for later storage of the meat. Cut the scooped out zucchini into small chunks and set aside.
Take 1 lb. of chopped meat and add these spices:
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 clove chopped garlic
Mix and place in refrigerator for 1/2 hour or more.
Sauté onion in coconut oil for two minutes. Then mix in the spiced chopped meat.
Add these ingredients:
– the previously chopped zucchini
– 1/2 cup chopped mushroom (I use shiitake or lions mane from Zell’s farm)
– chopped celery, one stalk
– 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
– 1/2 cup cooked brown rice (optional)
Stuff in the zucchini shells. Sprinkle with juice of a lemon. Adding tomato sauce mixed with the lemon juice is optional. Bake for 1/2 hour at 400°.
Notes: if you don’t have cilantro, use parsley. It won’t have the cilantro flavor, but not everyone is crazy about cilantro anyway.
Optional: add chopped turmeric root along with the chopped garlic clove. Or chopped ginger root. See also optional spices in the ingredients list.
This recipe can be made in stages over a few days.
Variations
One variation is stuffed butternut squash. Cook the butternut squash in the oven for 1.5 hours at 350°. Peel when it cools down. You have to cut and scoop just enough to add the chopped meat stuffing. You won’t have lots of boats like the zucchini, just 2 or 3 big stuffed shells.
You could also stuff some peppers, but I haven’t tried that version yet.
In the winter there is less opportunity to paint or draw on site. I use the time as an opportunity to improve paint technique and use photos or drawings of masters to inspire my artwork. I continue to work on a parsha (Torah portion) image each week. Lately, a few of my favorites have been birds or animals. Also, I joined a group on Facebook which offers prompts for each day. Not every prompt inspires me to paint or draw. But several have, and some of the better ones I will post on my blog or on the art database.
I do not have any pets currently; however, we do have a bird feeder outside our kitchen window. One of the prompts was bird on a wire. I like the idea of drawing directly from nature, but birds are too fast! It is hard to photograph them; you can see some of my past cardinal photos on this blog.
I painted this flaming red male cardinal from one of my photos when the prompt was Bird on a Wire.
I drew and painted (watercolor, ink, and Derwent Inktense colored pencil on paper) this lady cardinal at a bird feeder in honor of parshat Beshalach, when there is a custom to feed the birds.
The next week was Parshat Yitro with the quote: And I bore you on eagles’ wings (Exodus 19:4). One eagle is just watercolor on the white of the paper.
I also did an eagle with an orangey-red background. It came so orange that one friend thought the background was fire. She interpreted it as Israel on fire, and the eagle (perhaps God?) comes to our rescue.
There was a prompt for fish. I painted the trout we had for dinner. Yes, that is all watercolor.
I will conclude with this pencil drawing of a wolf (copy of a drawing by Victor Ambrus), executed for parshat Vayechi 49:7.
Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
In the morning he consumes the foe,
And in the evening he divides the spoil.”
בִּנְיָמִין֙ זְאֵ֣ב יִטְרָ֔ף בַּבֹּ֖קֶר יֹ֣אכַל עַ֑ד וְלָעֶ֖רֶב יְחַלֵּ֥ק שָׁלָֽל׃
Have you ever been to a paint night? What did you paint? Was it a learning experience, or were you just given some paints and told: “here ya go.”
This past year I was privileged to host two paint nights. For the first one, I did a slide show. I showed perspective, a value study, and a possible finished project. I got feedback later: “I wanted more instruction.”
So when I had the opportunity to host a paint night for a smaller crowd recently, I decided to teach people one on one or in small groups. I publicized the paint night with a poster; I painted the Tsfat or Safed scene that I photographed years ago as a border. The materials given out were acrylic paints, not the sort of paints I have used much. I handed out pencils and some paper, and I showed the participants how to divide up the page into parts, so what they thought was a difficult subject became easier to handle. I pointed out the natural mountains at the top of the scene and the architectural, man-made elements below. Some chose to just paint the mountains. A few tackled the whole scene and did both. Others just played with the paints and chatted with their friends.
This was my first attempt at a border for advertising the paint night. I made the white too small.
So I painted again, and this one became the border for the details of the paint night.
At the top of this post is a watercolor that I painted from the Tsfat or Safed scene that I chose as the subject for the paint night. Since there has been a lot of upsetting news coming from Israel lately, we went with an Israeli theme for the paint night.
Due to the disheartening news, I decided to post a subject that was Israeli but warmer in nature. I revisited a photograph that I had taken years ago of Yemin Moshe, an old, elegant neighborhood outside of the Old City of Jerusalem. I did an interpretation in gouache:
Getting back to posters, I have been publicizing a series of talks by our local rabbi. Each one is a “parshat hashavua” or Torah portion of the week. For each poster I read the Torah portion well in advance and look for visual ideas that I can put in a poster. In the Torah portion of Hayei Sarah, Rebecca feeds not only Eliezer but also his camels. Camels! I took out children’s books about camels from the library, and I had fun drawing and painting a few camel scenes.
Back to paint night: I have two ideas for upcoming ones:
Teach how to mix a palette of hue, tint, shade (color, lighter version of that color, darker version of color). Start with a blue, red, and a yellow (primary colors).
Only black: only allow black for the first half an hour. Then they get treated to pink, turquoise, and lavender/purple.
The inspiration for the only black paint night was a participant wanted some black paint. I had left out the black paint on purpose, so students would mix their own darks. It got me thinking: how could we make good use of black? Using only black would force the students to think about darks and lights. Am I being too strict?
Autumn: what comes to mind? Oranges, yellows, and deep reds. Colorful leaves, first on the trees, fall down and scatter the streets with their inviting hues.
I was walking outside. I saw this leaf. I picked it up and put it on my dining room table, next to my watercolor paints and brushes. A day or two later, this painting emerged.
Thanksgiving is a time for family, food, and more of those mustard-y, yellow, orange, and red hues. I had a butternut squash in my kitchen. Nearby was a purplish red onion. They called to me. I buy plenty of garlic from a farmer at the Highland Park Farmers Market, so I added it to the still life. It was nice to take time to paint, as the next week I only had time to cook!
Autumn in Jerusalem is more subtle. Snow is rare; cold rain is what one can expect, in a good year that has no drought. My friend Ahuva Bokow photographed a beautiful scene of a bench by a wall with colorful ivy. I decided it would be the perfect end to this post on autumn colors.
Unlike summer for the rest of the world, summer in the Jewish calendar is a time of sadness. In the month of Tammuz, we remember the siege of Jerusalem. In the month of Av, we mourn the holy Temple, the Bait HaMikdash, that was destroyed not just once but twice. There is a custom not to listen to music during the three weeks between the 17th of Tammuz (siege of Jerusalem) and the 9th of Av (destruction of the Temple).
Painting Music
By the 15th of Av, however, the sadness turns to joy. One of the ways humans experience joy is listening to music. I was fortunate to attend not one concert but two concerts around that time. Rugburn, a band that plays jazz, funk, and rock music, held a concert in local Donaldson Park, so I had a great time not just drawing the musicians’ movements but also adding in the surroundings. The Imperial Band of South River plays pop and classical music in the Imperial Music Center of South River; a friend plays with the Imperial Band each month, and I finally had a chance to attend, drawing pad and Uniball pen in hand.
For both concerts I took my drawing notebook. I did quite a few drawings of the musicians. In fact, I paid more attention to the bodily swaying of the musicians that I did the notes that came out of the musical instruments.
My favorite from Rugburn is this one with the four players swaying to the music and the beautiful reeds and grasses of Donaldson Park swaying in a variety of colors in the background.
You can see more in the art database: https://www.leoraw.com/artcat/rugburn/
So far, most of my preparation for Yom Tov (holidays) is in my head. I plan to do a Rosh Hashana dinner with as many simanim as I can prepare. Above is a painting of Dates in Front of Palm Tree, watercolor on paper, 2011. Maybe next week I will do a painting of Elul, the Jewish month before Rosh Hashana, which is a time of preparation and asking for forgiveness.
An Art Database
One of the reasons I created an art database is so when potential clients can ask: what works can I buy as prints? I can point to the art database or to a specific category such as Raritan Avenue.
I placed my first order of giclée prints for a client this past week. Giclée is the recommended way to produce archival reproductions of fine art. She had saved screenshots of her favorites my work from the past few years. In the future, I will say to a client: browse through the art database! That’s where one can find illustrations that will work well as prints.
