Chomi Groman is an Israeli artist specializing in contemporary figurative style, she frequently explores Israeli and Jewish themes in her work. Employing both oil paint and watercolor, she utilizes a classic realist technique, drawing inspiration from the greatest painters (the “old masters”) and from methods taught in traditional academies, starting from the Renaissance in Europe until 19th-century America. From her early childhood, she has had a passion for painting and was gifted with a talent for drawing. So much so that she now views painting as part of her identity.

Chomi was born in 1981 in an Ultra-Orthodox community in Mea Shearim, Jerusalem. At the age of 10, in an unconventional move within the ultra-orthodox community at that time, her parents agreed to sign her up for painting classes, proving that her talents received recognition. At the request of her father, she sketched letters and drew illustrations of sayings that were hung up at the synagogue before the holidays. During school recess she used to decorate her and her friends’ notebooks in exchange for an orange or a snack. After marrying Yoel and starting a family, she made a living as a kindergarten teacher as well as from designing and hand painting on Purim costumes.

At age 35, she left Mea Shearim and the ultra-Orthodox community, relocating with her family to the United States, where she embarked on a journey of professional development, refining her painting techniques and methodologies. Upon returning to Israel, she settled down in Mazkeret Batya. She based her academic artistic education at the Avni institute in Tel-Aviv and studied art history at the Open University. Through lessons with the artist Gustavo Barr Valenzuela, she learned the traditional techniques and excelled. To this day, she continues to create with him as her guiding mentor.

At every stage in her journey, through all the changes in her life, her artistic talent always shined through and created connections between her and her surroundings. Everywhere she was, painting always served as an anchor, an international language in which she can always feel at home.

Through a lengthy learning process and experimentation, she found out that the classical method allows her to express her colorful uniqueness. The philosophy of the big painters, which lay out rules for correct perspective and aspires to excellence, fulfill Chomy’s inner desire for order. As an artist, she finds that precisely this rigorous planning releases the creativity in her. Strong self-discipline, persistence, and the ability to listen combined with a strong ambition to move forward and spread her wings, guarantee the development of her work in the realist style.

Chomy chooses to paint still life nature and subjects from Jewish life, traditions, and family customs. Additionally, she finds herself attracted to painting the landscapes of Israel – ancient structures inside of wild nature as well as urban nature, especially in Jerusalem which is close to her heart. On Chomy’s canvas, All these get new and refreshing interpretations about the borders between the new and the old.

To get inspired and to reach a high level of creativity, Chomy listens to classical music with deep concentration. She observes photos she photographs and likes to explore them for a long time, to focus on every detail. From here, her paintings are meticulously refined. Only at a late stage of a painting, after it has been repeatedly refined, comes the release, the freedom, and the personal touch. This is where she leaves unrefined parts exposed, she splashes paint, or creates quick and playful brushstrokes.

The artist paints at a studio in Mazkeret Batya, and she shares her knowledge and passion for art with her students, young and old, in Yad Harif Art Centre, Eshkol Hapais Gezer, And Tal Shachar. Her works are available for purchase, and she also accepts commissions based on photographs.