Colorado local Topher Straus is called to places. It’s not until after his arrival, however, when he realizes why he was drawn someplace to capture moments in human history.

Most recently, on October 6, 2023, the Golden-based imaginationalist, whose art is scattered all over the Western Slope, answered a silent summon. He began working on a painting of Jerusalem for the Jewish National Fund. After 10 minutes he put his paintbrush down, searched for his passport and booked a flight bound for Tel Aviv. He woke up in Israel’s largest city on October 7, 2023, and went to submerge himself in nature in the Mediterranean Sea. As a Jewish painter, this arrival to Israel was truly special and exhilarating. But moments later, he heard sirens blasting and watched missiles dart through the sky from Gaza.

“I set out to Israel to make a painting,” Straus says. “It was not the experience I was looking for, but it was the experience I was intended to have.”

Straus lived multiple lives before embracing he was destined to be a painter. He was an athlete who went to college to be an actor. During his freshman year at Syracuse University, he was required to enroll in an art class and discovered a new passion.

“It was a gift for me to get a blank canvas,” he shares.

Ever since, Straus has been making sense of the world one brush stroke at a time. Even when he was working in the media industry in Hollywood, New Zealand and Salt Lake City, Straus used compositions to grasp the world around him.

“[For years] I used my art secretly to express thoughts and ideas about gentrification and 9/11,” he explains. “There were thoughts I did not know how to express besides through negative space — a form of private expression to deal with difficult topics.”

After his divorce, he moved back home to Colorado, and his young son encouraged him to share his art. Straus has been sharing ever sense. “I am doing it when I am supposed to be doing it,” he says.

CAUGHT IN THE “FOG OF WAR”

Straus took me back to the moment the war broke out. We spoke over two months after this frightful and gruesome day in early October. When Straus was living that day, he did not know about the abduction of innocent civilians and the intensive airstrikes that captured the world’s attention, sparking diverse opinions from individuals across the globe. It was the initial day of his first visit to Israel, and it took him no time to realize this was not a normal day in Tel Aviv. He says he was overwhelmingly in danger, and no one knew the brevity of what was going on.

He sprinted back to his Airbnb and made a go bag to be prepared to evacuate at any moment. He says that after seeing dozens of calls, texts and Instagram direct messages on his phone from loved ones and acquaintances, “I felt this big, giant hug from Colorado, but felt alone in Tel Aviv.”

Amid the escalating danger, Straus sought refuge in a pharmacy. He was advised by Israelis to find a way out of the country. There was no way to get food because everything was closed because of Shabbat. It took a day for him to grasp the urgency of the situation — he could not see through the fog of war, as he puts it.

For five consecutive days, he visited the airport but each flight faced cancellation. A chance encounter at a coffee shop led him onto a flight on the Israeli airline El Al. The airport was deserted this time; everyone had given up. Onboard, the pilot announced they would fly dark because they were a target. Upon reaching altitude, Straus says there was a collective sigh of relief.

ART THROUGH NEW EYES

Straus landed safely in Milan and later returned home to Golden, Colorado. He moved from a tumultuous journey to a realm where faith and the rhythm of life seamlessly intertwined. Straus’s steadfast dedication to his faith becomes apparent as he perceives Judaism, art and nature as essential components, much like water is a vital part of life’s continuous flow.

“[Judaism, art and nature is] our source of water, refreshing ourselves,” the imaginationalist invites. “It is cleansing, it has rhythm and clarity. When you submit yourself to the water, and the flow, it will take you to where you need to go.”

After what he experienced at the dawn of the war, Straus is committed to raising money for causes he believes in and telling stories he is compelled to share. Through art, he is financially supporting the Jewish National Fund and Maui Strong. He is also collaborating with clients to allocate a portion of the profits to agencies and causes selected by the clients.

Discover the narratives and the significant moments Straus captures in human history throughout the state at topherstraus.com. Here, you will find the completed Jerusalem piece that initially brought him to Israel. Safe captures the moments he was landing in Milan, Italy, while Bliss depicts Beaver Creek, Colorado with colors he has never used before. He notes this transformation, attributing it to the experiences he had in Israel.

“I’d rather live a colorful life of experiences both good and bad than not live,” Straus says.

Originally published in the Spring 2024 issue of Spoke+Blossom.

Faithful Strokes: A Jewish Artist's Journey Through Resilience + Creativity

CAUGHT IN THE “FOG OF WAR”

ART THROUGH NEW EYES