The First Mural for the Tefillah Room in the Yeshiva Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (Breuer's) in Washington Hights, NY

The Commission

This was a challenging project that grew as it went.

I was originally contacted to paint a single mural for a classroom that was being converted to a Beit-Midrash/Synagogue, in the Breuer's girls school in Washington Heights. A group of parents were having it refurbished in memory of a former student, who had died of cancer before graduating.

The Subject

The parents wanted something that was evocative of prayer, with perhaps a connection to Israel. We also wanted to avoid anything that was too figurative.

After considering a sea-scape, or a painting of the Galil, we decided that Kever Rachel, the tomb of Rachel, was particularly appropriate for a girls school.

Here is a close up:

The Process

There were several aspects that were challenging about this room:

• The walls were unfinished, with the concrete blocks still visible. This meant that it took several layers of paint to cover all the cracks.
• We had a limited budget, for a large wall space (over 8 x12 feet)

Considering the large quantities of paint that would be needed, I decided to use regular wall paint, which is far more affordable than even the lowest quality acrylic.

I also decided to stick to a limited palette, so that I could buy large quantities of single colors. Most the color in the mural is based on mixtures of Behr's Serene Sky, Grass Green, White, and a lovely golden color known as Moonlight. I got the smallest possible pots of dark brown, dark blue, and red for the spots that needed a little more drama .

This had the additional advantage of keeping the picture harmonious, with all the colors in the same family, and on the same bright key. I felt it was very important to keep the colors bright and airy: I wanted the mural to expand the room and give a sense of breadth and space.

I also decided to keep the mural relatively simple and generalized--an impressionistic landscape best from a distance, with only a few spots of hight detail. This compensated for the unevenness of the wall. It also created a sense of space and depth. In addition, it helped keep costs down by cutting back the time it would take to finish it.