Why does the painter need the photograph?

I am looking for artists and not craftsmen says Jacob Elbaz. And here is the secret of the matter: You might spoil a good photo with a bad painting and you might paint a good painting inspired by a bad photo. What determines the quality of the work is the quality of the artist. Photographer or painter or both.

When photography is a good work of art and the painting is also good, we can talk about the reciprocal relationship between the two works of art and the dialogue between them. Just like a film made by a literary work. When only one of the two is good, the connection between them may not be interesting. But when we make a good film based on a good literary work is a broad interpretation of the literary work.

For the last two years, young painters (Ben Fried, Moshe Ben-Abraham, Doron Adoryan, Neta Margalith) have been sitting in Kibbutz Sde Nehemia   (Upper Galilee) in Jacob Elbaz's studio and creating paintings based on his photographs. The paintings are transferred to the gallery in Hudson - New York and are offered to purchase.

"Elbaz ostensibly creates his works in the traditional Renaissance way." Explains Udi Salmanovich. "It begins by photographing an image from his rich archive, then print it, and with the help of the artists who work with him, paint on it. This process gives a new meaning, and presents the artwork as a 'contemporary' realism."

In the past it was a business venture. Elbaz recently transferred the initiative to the Three Rivers Art Project Association he founded, which aims to provide work opportunities for graduates of art schools in their unique art fields. This studio offers work materials to young artists who can't afford it. Will provide scholarships to art students in the field of painting, photography and in the future other art fields. Our mission is to Finance and produce art projects and exhibitions, in Israel and abroad – so the artists will get the support they need to keep develop their dream and profession.