Sunday, January 29, 2012

Pay it forward

Fruitful

In these last few weeks I have been especially enamored by the view over here - miles of terraced olive groves with their short stone retaining walls and the picturesque hillside villages they surround. But views here are often colored by the conflict. I try not to think about it too much.

Next week is Tu B'Shvat, a minor Jewish holiday to celebrate the trees and we've been gearing up by eating a lot of dried fruit and reading the Lorax. This new painting, called Fruitful, was inspired by a little passage from the Talmud (that has made its way into the Jewish summer camp storytelling canon. I don't actually read the Talmud regularly. Or ever, come to think of it). Has me thinking about the kind of legacy I want to leave for my own kids. Heavy stuff.

Once, while the sage, Honi, was walking along a road, he saw an old man planting a carob tree. Honi asked him: “How many years will it take for this tree to give forth its fruit?” The man answered that it would require 70 years. Honi asked: “Are you so healthy a man that you expect to live that length of time and eat its fruit?” The man answered: “I found a fruitful world because my ancestors planted it for me. So, too, will I plant for my children.” (Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anit 23a)

Available here.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful new work of yours. So glad you are feeling inspired.

Cindy D. said...

Lovely! Really nice Etsy shop, too! I really like your style with the bright colors and city details. If only more people would think long term and toward the future of the planet, instead of being short-sighted (like a lot of American politics and corporations... but that's another story). :)

aimee said...

i am so happy you are painting again. this is gorgeous. it was worth the wait.

p.s. i have something almost done for you. haven't forgotten.

Julia said...

Beautiful work. I am impressed with the level of details and the quality of your paintings.

healthy diet

Bella Sinclair said...

This is glorious! Oh wow, I love the creative images that have exploded from you. This has significance, and its message is beautiful. One tree for future generations. Fantastic painting!!!

Angel said...

Gorgeous illustration, fantastic message, wonderful. I love your blog name too!

AG Ambroult said...

look at you, cranking out some new work. thank you, babysitter!
that piece is really great, all YOU, but somehow a little bit different. But I suppose you are somehow a little bit different now, too.
the colors, patterns and details are what make this. there's so much to look at.