The Art of Soul: An Exclusive Interview with Israeli Artist Yoram Raanan

Chana: Hey there, Yoram. Let's get started without further ado. When did you know you wanted to become an artist?

Yoram: Well, I was always interested in art as a little kid. But when I was 16, I met a friend and she was an artist, it turned out. And I saw her work and it was very exciting to me.

Chana: Very interesting because it opened up a whole new world.

Yoram: She was doing serialism at the time, which I didn't know anything about. And so I sort of felt very transported. And that inspired me to want to pursue it. So I got more serious about what was just basically a hobby and got very passionate and focused on it, majoring in high school and then going to art school for four years.

Chana: Wow. And what happened after you went to art school? Did everything just work out right away? Did you have struggles? What happened?

Yoram: Well, after art school, I decided I didn't want to live in America. And I did a lot of traveling for about a year and a half all over the states of Canada, then to Europe and the Near East.

And I finally came to Israel in ‘76 and I fell in love with the place right away. And I've been here ever since then, pretty much.

Chana: Tell me something. I know your paintings, most of them have a very Jewish theme to them. So tell me about that. How did that come about?

Yoram: Well, it started, I think, when I was in Yeshiva and surrounded by that whole Torah world that was everything that I was involved with.

And so that's what I started painting, you know, Medrash scenes or shul scenes or, you know, home scenes, but everything evolving around Judaism.

And then I became more of an abstract artist, working more from a soul point of view.

I wanted to branch out to something more universal, more experiential.

Chana: Wow. And you saw that that spoke to people, I'm imagining.

Yoram: Well, put it this way, whatever I did, there were some people that it spoke to. But even now, I mean, you know, a lot of people might not relate to what I'm doing, but there are people that do relate to it very deeply.

And I'm very moved by it, which is very inspiring to me, that it's doing something for people and encourages me to continue doing what I'm doing.

And what I'm doing is basically doing a lot of experimentation and making a lot of mistakes and trying different things and letting things evolve and develop on their own, so to speak, allowing them to happen.

Rather than forcing anything.

Chana: So... I hear a lot of innovation, right? A lot of innovation. That's what it sounds like. Like you're not staying boxed and like you see that the customers like a certain style. So that's it. That's what you're going to do.

Like you're giving yourself permission to experiment and always evolve.

Yoram: Yeah, well, I always found that whenever I tried to do anything that I thought people would like, it came out terrible.

Chana: So you think the best stuff is when you are true to yourself and you do what you think?

Yoram: Well, it's actually more than that because it's not so much what I think. It's more of what I sort of allow to happen.

Chana: Okay. So you're in an experience.

Yoram: Very much. And I think that's what sort of speaks to people, is it's an experiential happening rather than purely intellectual processing.

There is intellect, there is depth, there is story, there is different possibilities of what we see and feel, but it's very open at the same time.

It's totally opening up to the experience and allowing it to come. And that's where I get these unique works of art that people haven't seen before.

Because it's coming from outside of me, not from, you know, anything that I'm imposing.

It's more like a channeling, so to speak.

Chana: Wow.

Yoram: It's allowing Hashem to come in to me and to be open to that, and not for me to assert myself.

It's really not about myself.

Chana: Beautiful. What can I tell you? Spoken like a true artist!

So, let me ask you another question. Do you have anything in particular that inspires you, that you try being around, to help you with your work?

Yoram: Yes, I would say my life and lifestyle very much influences what I do.

Chana: So what is that? What do you mean by that?

Yoram: I live outside the city. I live in the country. I have a very large property in nature and I'm surrounded by national forests and nature reserves.

Chana: Sounds amazing.

Yoram: It's truly a blessing. It's truly a tremendous gift that I'm very grateful for all day long.

And I'm a very passionate gardener as well, and landscape designer. So all of this, this whole, you know, my whole lifestyle, the prayers, the tefillot, the Torah study, the nature, the family, all of this, it's all part of my inspiration.

Chana: Incredible. Now, I also remember a huge challenge you had, your studio fire. That must have been devastating. How did that affect you?

Yoram: At the time, I saw it as min hashamayim, literally “from heaven.” The studio burning felt like a divine phenomenon I was participating in.

It gave me a story, and yes, the publicity and support that followed were incredible. The hardest part was losing part of my garden, which I had nurtured for 30 years.

Rebuilding the studio took about three months, but it allowed me to design the space exactly as I wanted, with high ceilings and plenty of room for my work.

Chana: That’s such powerful resilience. Rebuilding must have been quite the process.

Yoram: It was. My old studio had literally been a converted chicken coop. When it burned, I had the opportunity to create something completely new - three connected studios with high ceilings, lots of space, and room to work on multiple large canvases at once.

Chana: So in a way, the fire gave you not only a new studio, but also the chance to expand the scale of your work.

Yoram: Exactly. Having that kind of space changed how I worked. I could finally create much larger pieces.

Chana: Which brings me to another question! Do you have favorite works that stand out for you?

Yoram: Yes. One of my favorites was Hechal Shammala, a painting almost two and a half meters high. Interestingly, it started as a failed commission. I poured and splashed paint over it, and something unexpected and beautiful emerged.

That happens a lot - what begins as a mistake turns into something meaningful.

Chana: So you truly trust the experience, allowing the art to guide itself.

Yoram: Totally. It’s about letting Hashem guide the process. Inspiration becomes visible, and my role is to clarify it, not control it.

Chana: That reminds me of Michelangelo’s approach, about removing everything that isn’t David. You remove what isn’t needed until the essence emerges.

Yoram: Exactly. I count my blessings, stay positive, and embrace the chaos of multiple works in progress. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But the process itself is what matters.

Chana: Yoram, thank you for sharing your journey, your philosophy, and your art with us. It’s truly inspirational!!!

Yoram: Thank you, Chana, for taking the time to explore my story!

The Art of Soul: An Interview with Israeli Artist Yoram Raana