“Just as in water, face answers to face, 

so does one man's heart to another"

Mishlei's book (27:19) 

Painting portraits for me is a journey of discovery and finding meaning:

To observe each person, to discover in the face the unique depth, inside the simplicity finding the beauty, 

through the eyes finding the soul and the true meaning of life

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I received a special request from the "Mercantile" Bank in Israel - 

to draw a personal portrait of each and every employee for the purpose of the bank's centenary celebrations.

Painting 1,200 portraits was a huge challenge that required discipline, responsibility, patience, and optimism... It was an experience similar to running a marathon, or climbing a huge mountain... Over a long period of time, I found myself standing in front of multitudes of passport photos that reflected all kinds of sectors, ethnicities, ages, positions, and In every portrait I tried to convey the best that was reflected to me through the photos. 

In this page I have collected for display a few of the portraits from the project, and in the attached video, an addition is briefly described accompanied by a particularly bouncy allegro melody and light humor :)

Enjoy, Iris