Jonathan Blum is living his dream. A 41-year-old artist from Washington, DC, he has lived in Brooklyn since 1999, and has been a “storefront” painter for those eight years.
His shop is on Fifth Avenue between First and Second Streets, where a sign in the widow announces the hours are “by appointment or by luck” (if you want to catch him, your best bet is late at night).
He’s had gallery shows, but prefers to sell his work directly to the public. And he does sell. That is all part of the dream.
“I know a ton of artists with galleries who do not make a living off their art,” he said. “My dream is to be a working-class artist, to make art and sell it so that I can support my family. I don’t need to be rich and famous. I prefer to be a neighborhood artist.”
He says that painting in a storefront is part of who he is as an artist. He’s not interested in a private, closeted, sparse studio, preferring something at street level and an open door.
Before moving to Kensington, where he lives with his two kids, Blum lived in Boston, Berlin, Israel and New Orleans.
In Berlin, he did have gallery shows, and it was there that he started painting his trademark forehead portraits. He became well known for these cut-off faces, and even did a series of Sesame Street’s Bert, with his long, yellow forehead. He still has some of those paintings, but he won’t make any more.
“I just can’t,” he said, “Bert is from my past and I won’t go back.” (He won’t, but collectors still wish he would; the Bert paintings fetch the highest prices in the crazy art market. Most of Blum’s work is between $75 and $500, but the Bert paintings go for as much as $5,000).
Blum’s other leitmotif is his ongoing series of rabbi paintings. He began painting the long-faced, bearded men when he lived in Israel. The paintings are a mix of whimsical and respectful — and are often more popular than the rabbis they depict.
“The Lubavichers love these paintings,” Blum said. “I also sell them to people who have never met a Jew before. They are like icons of New York.”
Blum’s e-mail address, rabbipainter@aol.com, attests to his connection to his heritage. He also does pet portraits, and for those he uses a realistic painting technique that captures the sitter’s mood and personality (even if it is a dog).
Connecting is what it is really about for Blum, whether connecting to religion, a person in a portrait, or a neighborhood. But that connection could soon be lost. “I pay old-school rent, but I fear being kicked out at any time,” Blum told me. His fear may be reality, but for now, he stays content by reminding himself that he’s living his dream.
The Kitchen Sink
File this under “O” for “Oy vey!”: Rabbi Shimon Hecht of Congregation B’nai Jacob on Ninth Street just announced a new addition to his family: He and his wife Sarah just had their 12th child. That is not a misprint. Their latest daughter, Yhudith Bracha, was born on May 7. Now, how long will it take for some hot-shot Slope writer to crank out the Orthodox Jewish version of “Cheaper by the Dozen”?
