ARTS&LIFE
ART

N

ew brightly colored 
paintings by Israeli 
artist Yoram Gal 
come to Michigan this year 
as part of Arts, Beats & 
Eats, the festival returning 
Friday-Monday, Sept. 3-6, 
in downtown Royal Oak. 
Gal, who has shown his 
work in various summer 
festivals and private gather-
ings around the state over 
many years, will be among 
the diverse attractions that 
include 200 musical acts, 
exercise sessions, children’s 
activities that offer a daily 
songwriting workshop and 
food vendors cooking up 
various cuisines. 
“My work evolves all the 
time,” said Gal, near 70, 
who has painted in water-
colors since age 12 and 
included Israeli settings 
and landscapes among his 
projects. “I would be bored 
and stagnating if I kept 
repeating. 
“During the pandem-
ic, I had more time and 
so painted and tried new 
ideas, new techniques, 
all visceral, from the gut, 
mixed with life experiences 
and world events.”

Gal, who also has 
appeared in acting roles for 
feature films, paints large 
and maintained his interest 
in fine arts while taking 
on performing arts. He has 
been recognized with some 
50 awards for his images.
“The pandemic and the 
elections in the U.S. and 
Israel influenced my life 
strongly as did personal 
events and developments,” 
he said. “Since January, 
sales have been great, 
rewarding me for the lost 
year or so.”
To get a complete Arts, 
Beats & Eats schedule, go 
to artsbeatseats.com. $5 
admission before 3 p.m.; 
$10 after 3 p.m. 

Israeli artist Yoram Gal comes 
to Arts, Beats & Eats.

Splash 
of Color

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A selection of watercolors by Yoram Gal

YORAM GAL

SEPTEMBER 2 • 2021 | 75

