Articles
Stories behind the paintings, interviews and thoughts on art, in Chen's own words.
How to Care for Oil Paintings: A Practical Guide for Collectors
Oil paintings are sturdy but not indestructible. A few simple habits around light, climate, dust and handling will keep a canvas in good condition for decades.
Painting Women: Why Chen Bachar Returns to the Feminine
Women appear again and again in Chen Bachar’s paintings. In his words, it is about balance, strength and his own feminine side. A tour of the…
How to Choose Art for Your Living Room: A Practical Guide
Size, colour, format and light: a practical guide to choosing a painting for your living room, with examples from Chen Bachar’s catalogue.
Oil vs Acrylic Painting: How the Choice Shapes the Work
Drying time, colour, texture, durability and mood: a practical comparison of oil and acrylic, with examples from Chen Bachar’s catalogue.
How to Hang a Painting: Height, Hardware and Light
Eye-level height, the gap above a sofa, the right hooks for a heavy canvas, and light: a step-by-step guide to hanging a painting well.
Chen Bachar Interview: Ten Questions from ARTiculAction Art Review
In a special issue of ARTiculAction Art Review, curators Josh Ryder and Barbara Scott asked Chen Bachar ten questions. Here is the interview, told through the…
The Fisher Man: How Travel Shaped Chen Bachar’s Painting
Spices in Morocco, temples in Asia, reiki and numerology: Chen Bachar on how the world became his teacher, told beside his oil painting The Fisher Man.
Osnat and the Free Hand: Inside Chen Bachar’s Creative Process
The right space, the right music, and moments when the hand moves without thinking. Chen Bachar on his process, beside the charcoal drawing Osnat.
African Woman: The Story Behind Chen Bachar’s Oil Painting
A single photograph held Chen Bachar for days until he decided to study her through paint. The story of African Woman, oil on canvas.
Gipsy: Painting a Woman’s Quiet Power
Like a piece of music where every instrument carries weight: Chen Bachar on balance, and on the woman in Gipsy.
Thoughts: Between Realism and the Subconscious Line
A realistic figure waited half a year without a background, until Chen Bachar went looking for her thoughts. The painting where he found his own language.
Childhood: A Rusty Tricycle as a Self-Portrait
An abandoned tricycle stands for the child who was not heard. Chen Bachar on Childhood, the most personal painting in the interview.
The Clown and the Question: What Is Art For Today?
Art that makes you stop, wonder and change something in yourself. Chen Bachar’s answer to Gerhard Richter, printed beside The Clown.
Steve Jobs: Why the Portrait Is Split Across Two Canvases
Visionary and dictator, creative and difficult. Chen Bachar on why his acrylic portrait of Steve Jobs is divided in two.
John Lennon: A Pop-Art Portrait Built on Colour Psychology
“In each painting I create, I put a part of me in it somewhere.” Chen Bachar on his large acrylic portrait of John Lennon.
Venice and the Choice of Materials: Oil, Watercolour, Spices and Sand
“It’s important to be accurate, as important to be wild.” Chen Bachar on how a painting tells him what it should be made of.
Amy Winehouse: Between Speaking to the Audience and Staying Mysterious
Create from the heart and the stomach, less from the head. Chen Bachar on audience, freedom and mystery, beside his portrait of Amy Winehouse.
Mama Rachel and a Late Start: From Programmer to Painter
Computer programmer, then graphic designer, then painter. Chen Bachar on a late start and a journey that never pauses, beside the portrait Mama Rachel.