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Shimra Starr-Englard

@shimster26

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Mom of 3 living in Brooklyn. Painter, illustrator, graphic designer. Commissions open, DM here or email me at [email protected]

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Some of my recent artwork for the Karaite Jews of America. All works are colored pencil and gouache or acrylic on watercolor paper. #illustration #karaite #karaitejudaism #jewishholidays #foodillustration by @shimster26

After several hours of tinkering I think I can finally call my portrait of Maayan and Tsachi Idan, may God avenge them - finished. God knows I drove my husband insane for the last 2 weeks obsessing over the details I got wrong. When I asked him if he sees a difference between the new version and the old one, he was like “huh? I don’t see any difference at all?”

I worked on Tsachi’s teeth, eyes and nose a bit more as well as the finer details of Maayan’s eyes. I reworked Tsachi’s nasolabial folds as well.

Both the latest and first version are shown so you can compare. I’m much happier with the new version.

May their memories be a blessing.
#amyisraelchai #october7 #painting #portrait #revisionsarewherethemagichappens by @shimster26

Keshet Casarotti Kalfa, may God avenge him. Keshet means rainbow in Hebrew so I decided to incorporate one in this painting.

The following text is taken from the Times of Israel and is abridged.

“Family and friends said he was a ball of energy and a party animal, with long blonde curls and a curious spirit, who loved pirates, and whose favorite food was pasta bolognese. Though he grew up secular, his family and friends said in recent years he had begun to explore religion, even attending a synagogue in Tel Aviv on Simhat Torah, the night before he went to the Supernova rave.
....

Keshet didn’t fit in well in traditional frameworks, she said, noting his struggles in school and his decision not to enlist in the IDF, instead traveling the world and working in gardening and construction. After his death, she found a notebook in his room in which he had written prescient thoughts.

‘The day that I begin my journey in the world to come, I will be ready for it. I won’t jump toward it but I will be ready. And be happy for me that I am in a different place,” he wrote. “It will surely be confusing at first, but imagine that I flew to the island of my dreams and I won’t want to come back forever.’” #october7 #amyisraelchai💙🇮🇱 by @shimster26

Maayan and Tsachi Idan. Father and daughter. They should both be avenged.
The following text is from articles from The Times of Israel. Abridged due to length.
“The oldest in his family, Tsachi was born and raised in Nahal Oz, according to a kibbutz obituary.
Tsachi loved movies, always quoting from his favorite flicks, his family said. Sports were a big part of his life, and he loved to play soccer, volleyball and tennis.
One of his biggest loves was the Hapoel Tel Aviv soccer club, so much so that his funeral procession began at Bloomfield Stadium in the city, in a sea of red-clad mourners. He was a regular at games, had season tickets in the stands next to gate 7 and loved to bring his children to matches.
Tsachi was known as a simple, humble guy, hiding behind his tools, but when somebody needed help, Tsachi was always there with all his heart and soul, ready to lend a hand, to help with a smile, and always with a joke or two.”
“Maayan Idan is remembered as a talented volleyball player, who loved to read and was devoted to her younger siblings as well as to her parents.
Lior Lahav, Maayan’s uncle, told Kan news at her funeral that his niece had “something angelic about her, something outside of the norm, a type of quiet, a type of maturity.”
Her grandmother, Dvora Idan recalled attending every one of her granddaughter’s volleyball games and cheering from the stands: ‘Your eyes were always on the ball, in impossible situations on the field that you turned into possible, you gave your soul in every game and also the victory.’ Maayan, she wrote, always asked for books as presents, and was so excited to finally get her driver’s license.” #october7th #amyisraelchai💙🇮🇱 by @shimster26

Dovie Eisner z”l your memory should be a blessing.

It pains me deeply to speak of you in the past tense. It’s just so wrong. So unfair. I’m absolutely heartbroken.

Dovie was beloved and admired by so many, a once in a generation intellect, eloquent and passionate. His influence reached far beyond what anyone would expect, considering he was usually confined to his home and dependent on aides and his family.

He was on a first name basis with many pundits, politicians and journalists. Michael Knowles of the Daily Wire reached out to me at one point. Former NY Post editor Sohrab Amari was a close friend of his as well.

I am honored to have been Dovie’s friend. I prayed hard for a miracle that never came. Many of us did. Every time I lit Shabbos candles I’d daven for Shlomo Yisrael Dov ben Fraida Gittel. Just rolls off my tongue these days. It’s going to be difficult not reciting your name this week.

I love you and pray you are at peace, with all of those you loved who preceded you in death. I like to think Dovie is in a Heavenly version of his beloved Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and that it is eternally cherry blossom time. by @shimster26

As I wrote in my last post, I recently started posting my artwork on TikTok, my Kedoshim Series. One of the commenters requested that I do a portrait of Tsachi and Maayan Idan. Here’s the work in progress. I drew each of them and then merged them in one piece, in Photoshop. A keen observer would notice that I also made some corrections/adjustments on Maayan’s face. #october7 #amyisraelchai #sketch by @shimster26

I’ve started posting my artwork on TikTok where I generally get a much better response than I do here. Instagram clogs our feeds with non stop ads and sponsored content. I rarely see content from accounts or people I actually follow unless I make it my business to check them out. It’s annoying but I won’t stop posting here too. Anyway, one of the commenters on TikTok requested I do a portrait of Maayan Idan and her father Tsachi. Here is my sketch of Maayan. I’ll be working on a sketch of Tsachi next, then piece them together for the actual painting. Their memories should be a blessing and their blood avenged. #sketchbook #sketching #october7 #portrait by @shimster26

Throwback! Feeling nostalgic so I figured I’d share my art school portfolio with you all. We had to submit everything on slides back then. All artworks are either pastel, colored pencil or both. There was some actual lipstick involved for “Loverboy” on slide 9. #throwback #nostalgia #artschool #90s #baisyaakov by @shimster26

Portrait of Lilly’s buddies Indy and Phoenix ❤️ Phoenix passed away last summer and he is lovingly remembered here and in my heart. Gouache on watercolor paper. Indy appreciates my work as does his mama @artdognyc by @shimster26

This is 47! It pays to have some extra pudge lol. It takes years off your face! by @shimster26

Pencil and ink sketch of Keshet Casarotti-Kalfa. May God avenge him. #wip #sketch by @shimster26

Noa Marciano Hy"d. Took some artistic liberties with this one, as I sometimes do with these portraits. Gouache and colored pencil on 300lb Arches watercolor paper.
Text from her memorial page on Cominghomesoon.online
"Noa, 19 years young, lived in Modi'in with her family: parents Avi and Adi, and three younger siblings: Yuval, Hadar and Itay. Noa was Known for her beautiful dimples and charming smile. Her WhatsApp status read: 'Smile as if every day is your last.'
Noa served at the observation base of the Border Defense Corps, in Battalion 414 in Nahal Oz. She loved being an observer and aspired to reach command positions.
Noa was kidnapped from her army base in the early morning hours of Saturday 7 October. First, she was taken to a hidden apartment in Gaza. Later, Noa was taken to Shifa Hospital, where she was murdered by Hamas terrorists.
The Mayor of Modi'in said: "I met Noa Marciano about a year and a half ago when she was still in high school, and was chosen as an outstanding student in the field of volunteering. I had the privilege of awarding her the scholarship of excellence."
At her funeral, Noa's mother, Adi, grieved for her and portrayed her as intelligent, humble, attractive, and innocent, uniquely unparalleled. A lover of music and literature, the outdoors and adventures. Devoted to family and friends, a shining example of warmth and liveliness." #october7 #noamarciano by @shimster26