Artist’s Statement: The piece “Thirst” was born of a question I’d been asking myself: “What constitutes a chassid?”
Common associations are often based on the external characteristics, such as dress and specific forms of observance. I lean towards viewing “chassidic” as being an internal quality that manifests in raw action. In other words, a human might have a chassidic soul, but in appearance seem far from traditional.
There are many answers to this question, but at the core is a passion, a “thirst” to know G‑d. The individual in the painting is reading Torah and praying with a peaceful, yet passionate, demeanor. Though bright colorization is common to my style of art, in this piece it represents the brilliance and the myriad ways one might describe a chassidic soul.
