"Beverly Hills" by Ilya Schar, Genuine Gems on Wood Panel

DETAILS: 27" x 24" Genuine Gems on Wood Panel (galaxite, alexandrite, amethyst, rhyolite, citrine, rhodochrosite, opal, ruby, schorl, malachite, amazonite on wood) Original Artwork 2008 ARTIST STATEMENT: Nature is like a very old and wise colleague and a partner by whom I learn to create.  Instructor, mentor, tutor, advisor, these are the roles of nature.  My challenge is to let nature pass through my eye, my heart, my soul, and my hand, to reinterpret her in a new way that no one has ever done before. There is no new imagery in nature.  There are only new ways of interpretation. When I am in the process of creating a painting or remembering what I have seen, I feel like I am having a conversation with nature. For some people, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, and rubies are symbols of power and wealth.  But for me the values of these stones are not material, but artistic.  My paintings are items of luxury because they carry artistic beauty, health, and education as well as a sense of nat