Yasharel Manzy
Yasharel Manzy
Yasharel Manzy
When I was six years old, I tried to copy one of Raphael's drawings. The result of the drawing gave me such a exaltation that I could not sleep all night, and I could not wait to show my teacher. I was born in a Jewish ghetto in Isfahan, Iran, right about half a century ago. My very first experience in painting was at the age of eleven during the three month school vacation, I would spend long afternoons doing watercolors. The subject matter was mostly the scenes of the city. I attempted to paint again at the age of thirty-three. I painted about twenty canvases mostly of snow scenes. Then to my dislike of the quality of the paintings and my lack of experience, I abandoned painting once again. I suppose due to the lack of patience I always wanted to be able to paint without going through the pain of learning. Then came the winter of 1990. Strolling through a gallery one painting with a French scene caught my attention. There I was glued to the floor, and then moments later this incredible, intense feeling overwhelmed me. I found myself in the crossroads of my life. Those days I was involved in selling Persian rugs, and I was a partner in a store in Atlanta. To be able to change careers now and go where my heart was, I knew that I must learn how to paint. So the choice was very clear. That afternoon in the gallery I decided to change my destiny, and I would become a painter.
So within a few days I changed my business office into an atelier. So now for the first time in about twenty years I could not wait until I go to work, which was really going to paint. I did not learn a lot through books. I painted at least eight hours a day for the next six years. During these six years I had numerous private lessons in portraiture with the prominent painter Marc Chatov.