Studio Visit with artist Shani Weiss

About myslef:
I am Shani Weiss, originally from Netaf, a small settlement in the mountains of Jerusalem. I paint, draw and sculpt. In recent years, I have been living in Jaffa. A graduate of the Art Department at Shenkar.

 

 

My daily life as an artist finds expression mainly in the studio space. The studio, for me, is a space that constantly changes. My studio is a place for observation, writing, and processing. I usually browse and search for materials that interest and inspire me. Sometimes I attend the studio and make some sketches (in pencil, watercolor, wax, etc.), or draw - in oil, gouache, water and sometimes all together. On my other time, when I'm not in the studio, I teach art and painting to kids and adults.

I use different mediums and a growing variety of materials. Mainly - oil paints, gouache, water, colored pencils, and oil chalk.

I really like the green color, on all its shades. There are different shades of turquoise green that really turn me on. I feel like green is a color that is full of good energy and optimism. Also, there is one shade of ultramarine blue with a slight addition of white that makes me very happy.

 

For many years, I was mostly creative at night- the silence at night is magical. Something about those hours helps me dive quickly into creative "mode". At other times, I love creating with my favorite music on or when it rains outside.

These are anonymous characters I find in random family albums while wandering in flea markets. Sometimes it's my spouse, (or my dog) and familiar people who often come into my mind. Often these are characters that suddenly jump my mind, out of nowhere, and I include them in the work process. Recently, these are mostly female characters.

For me, the process of creating is like a reflection of life itself, a place that has a foundation for constant development. Like any creative process in life, it has difficulty, pain, power, and beauty. It excites me every time to dive into the process of searching and exploring without ever knowing what the final result will be. Taking risks, watching, being disappointed, seeing things all the time in a new and self-explanatory way.

 

I am a visual person, my sources of inspiration are everyday things that catch my eye. The most significant sources of inspiration are the things that are near and far in my life - my home, my daily life, my dreams.

I also love contemporary and classical artists from around the world and draw inspiration from the world of ancient Indian and Chinese paintings as well. When I teach painting, I find my students' work inspiring as well. 

 It varies with my current mood- When I feel the need for my body to be involved in motion I feel this special excitement. It's like the power of creating with my whole-body. I then go for large canvas.

other times, I prefer the convergence, simplicity and intimacy offered by the small format.

 

Aside from painting, I love to stitch, and dance!

These days, I work mainly on a series of paper and woodworks in non-large format, these works mainly have female characters who do all kinds of activities like riding, floating in the water. And sometimes they are just in blank space .. The colors are very bright and full of light while the boundaries are unclear and dissolve.

Many painters accompany my work and motivate me for a certain period. There are those who have been by me for years and whose work I revisit often.
I will always have a very warm place for the painters who have been going with me since my childhood- Gauguin, Matisse, and Picasso.

I am in the throes of a new adventure that involves leaving town and moving to a  small home in the wild, along with my family. Oh, and there is also another really wonderful piece that I am investing most of my time these days.