Interview
Shiran Bentov
Shiran Bentov is an international fine artist based in Israel. After graduating with an art degree, Shiran established her art by collaborating with worldwide brands and selling her original paintings to high-profile collectors all over the world.
Breaking the rules of the art world, Shiran created her own brand through social media platforms, making her art more approachable and accessible to the world.
Her works are surrealistic and evident in their strong and bright colors. Shiran maintains her prestige by using good quality mediums like 24k gold, acrylic, oil, ink, crayon, pastel, resin, gemstones, and Swarovski diamonds.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“When I was a yoga teacher, I began painting intuitive art that helped me focus more on meditating. During this time, I started painting on stones, developing my skills more each and every day. Soon, I decided to get more tools and explore the art world, so I undertook a Bachelor of Arts degree at an art school.
The first painting I published on social media gained much interest, and I received my first bid on that piece. I remember feeling shocked that people wanted to buy my art. Since then, I’ve never stopped. This is the only thing I want to do every day of my life — creating something that will last forever.”
What inspires you most?
“There are so many things that inspire me, but my biggest love is nature, earth, water, textures, mineral stones, and everything that the universe has created. I’m a big fan of air photography satellite views. I also love shapes, and I’m really connected to the colors of the ocean.
My portrait collection is based on iconic females from all eras. I really love analogical photography. I’m a ’90s girl, so pop culture is in my blood.
Finally, I’m inspired by my soul. I put everything I feel onto the canvas, including emotions that I can’t express in words. I try to be honest with myself and how I feel, so that I can make my art from a real place.”
“There are so many values that an artist brings to the world, but the most fundamental is that they bring beauty and colors that affect your energy.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“Most of my themes are about feminine strength, power, sexuality, anatomy of a woman, moods, and expressions. It’s all about how I feel and what I’m going through — I create an image that helps me express what I’m feeling at that particular time.”
How would you describe your work?
“My work is versatile. I don’t like to define myself because my work continuously changes as I learn new techniques and media to work with. Any attempt to define my work puts a limit on it, and I don’t like limits.”
Which artists influence you most?
“Let’s go way back to the master of all, Hieronymus Bosch, with his ‘The Garden Of Earthly Delights’ – the most beautiful, breathtaking piece of art I have ever seen. Following after him is Dali and Warhol. I’m really into Italian marble sculptures too. For example, Antonio Inova, with his work of ‘Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss’ being one of my all time favorite love stories; the composition is just amazing!”
What is your creative process like?
“First, I need to feel something strong enough in me to create a vision and story in my head around it. When I have the vision, I start sketching it slowly, adding more stories into it day by day. Then I choose the media I want to use: oil, acrylic, water or ink, depending on what I want to express. The next step is choosing a color palette and mixing all the shades I want to use in the painting. Then I begin transferring the sketch to the canvas, usually a large scale one. I’m a ‘go big or go home’ kinda girl.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“An artist brings their inner thoughts to the viewer so that they can feel hidden emotions. They inspire and open up the collective’s imagination. Artists define the time and culture of society, making history eternal so humans can know and learn from it.”
Instagram: @Shiranbe_art
Other: Facebook
