I received the painting commission of the Wailing Wall via a craigslist.com add. My client emailed me an image with the instructions “to capture all of the detail, warm up the Wall and to paint it on a 30″x40″ canvas”. After cropping the initial image, it was by far the most challenging commission I’ve ever completed; do to the complexity and repetition of the design. It was mind boggling to keep track of where I was and the subject matter was very different to what I prefer to paint.
I love perspective, depth of field and creating an escape within the image. The Walling Wall image lacked what drives me to paint. So, I could only stand to work on it 2 hours at a time. Slowly but surely I was close to completion. But during the dreaded painting process, I had a very different appreciation for the Wailing Wall. After studying and capturing the detail and proportion of every rock and cranny, I felt a great feeling of sorrow in the Wailing Wall. This sorrow transferred into a feeling of hope for all of the sorrow and hope to finish the commission.
The client was quite pleased with the finished painting and decided to hang it in his Encino California Temple, rather than in his home. I felt honored by his decision.
I have reproduced this painting on a 38″x50″ canvas which is hand embellished and it is quite impressive. If you are interested in purchasing a 30″x40″ or 38″x50″, please contact me.
I love this painting, it’s very simple but creative. it impressed me.