The Golem of Prague

The Golem of Prague, 12"x 16", Oil on Paper on Masonite, 2013.

Back in August, at Gen Con Indy, I was approached by a man who was starting a book called "Lands and Legends". It is a book of illustrations based on various myths, legends and fantastic places, from all cultures around the world. I was saying yes to his pitch in no time. There was already a huge list of amazing illustrators involved and he had a great financial plan for this book that would involve a Kickstarter campaign. He had a list of ideas for various subjects that would meet his criteria, as I glossed over the list, "The Golem of Prague" jumped out at me and my mind was made up that this was my subject matter. The Golem has been a subject I have wanted to paint since I came back from Prague four years ago. I went to a service in the Old New Synagogue (depicted in the background of the painting) with my Wife and Father-In-Law, knowing full well that what was left of the Golem was still living in the attic above me.

This was a tough challenge, I had to depict this story in a way which would not come off as Anti-Semitic to the casual viewer. The story is, Rabbi Loew created this Golem to protect his Jewish community from the Christians who were accusing and killing them due to a rumor that the Jews were committing Blood Libel. This was a completely false accusation, but Christians were killing Jews nonetheless. Eventually, after saving many people, the Golem stops working properly and it goes on a warpath. The Rabbi turns the Golem off by rubbing one of the letters off it's forehead, changing the phrase from "Truth" to "Death". I didn't want to show Christians as being the victims of an awful monster gone haywire, so I came up with a more delicate moment, when the Rabbi turns his creation off, ending his relationship with a being he treated like a child. I hope this came out looking true to the story, and interesting as a composition.

Comments

Smilodon and Elasmotherium

I have just finished another two paintings in my ongoing Prehistoric Creatures series. The most recent four in the series have all been mammals that lived millions of years after the dinosaurs went extinct. I plan to do seven of these mammals and then go back to dinosaurs, maybe group them into Prehistoric Creatures Series 1, Series 2, etc. They are all for sale, but they have been snatched up quick, so if anyone as inquiries on pricing, please email me at owweberillustration@gmail.com . I have been doing pencil portraits of many prehistoric animals on my instagram account, and these two have gotten the most likes, which is a great way of knowing which creature to paint next for this series. Smilodon is very well know. Along with the Woolly Mammoth, it's one of the most well known extinct creatures from the Early Pleistocene era. It was only a matter of time before I was going to paint this guy. I wanted to show it in a way that was not often depicted. We've all see

The Magic Feather

This is a piece I did for the Running with Paintbrushes blog Scott, Becca, and I are doing. The assignment was to do a young adult oriented image based on "Flight". Mine is more of a children's piece. I had a great time doing this piece, and am really happy with the final product. Really fun, got to take my subject matter less seriously. The Magic Feather , 11" x 17", Oil on Paper on Masonite, 2010.

Frostbite and Irish Elk

Yesterday, I received my contributor copy of Elder Sign: Omens of Ice which holds the painting "Frostbite" that I painted for it last year. The idea behind it was that it was a man who had been frostbitten in his hands and face, in a New England town in the early 20th c., I believe. The AD wanted him screaming and being brought into an ambulance. I love doing this type of stuff, but I'm never given these types of assignments, so I was very excited. And a word to the wise, don't google image search "frostbite", it's truly awful to look at. Here is the sketch that I came up with: Frostbite Sketch, 12" x 8", Pencil. The AD thought the screaming mouth was a bit too much, so I closed it and went ahead with the painting. Here is the final: Frostbite , 12" x 8", oil on paper on masonite, 2015. ©Fantasy Flight Games Another piece that I just finished and then immediately sold was my "Irish Elk" piece. This animal w

Owen William Weber Illustration

Search This Blog