The Burning Bush (ver. 4 & 5)

The Burning Bush (ver. 5), acrylic on grey linen canvas, © 2025 D. Yael Bernhard

Lately I’ve been studying chemistry. You might wonder why an artist would do such a thing – it’s not easy for my visual brain to grasp all those mathematical equations – but as a integrative health & nutrition coach, I feel compelled to continually further my knowledge of nutrition. In order to do that, I need to study biochemistry, the prerequisite of which is basic chemistry.

As synchronicity would have it, for the past few weeks I’ve also been reworking an old painting I did several years ago of the burning bush, from the story in the Book of Exodus. This interaction of divine energy with an ordinary bush – which miraculously does not burn – has always fascinated me, to such a degree that I’ve done three previous paintings on the subject, as well as several drawings.

On a day when I was working on that painting, I came to the chapter in my chemistry textbook that describes the concept of matter and light. To begin to grasp the nature of electrons, the text read, examining the nature of light is necessary. Visible light, x-rays, microwaves, radio waves, and so on are all various forms of electromagnetic radiation – also known as radiant energy.

In the early 1900s, a German scientist named Max Planck found that energy came in discrete units which he called quantum (singular) or quanta (plural). Einstein later extended Planck’s work to say that particles of light known as photons carry energy, constituting properties of both particle and wave. This, in turn, explains how light interacts with electrons, the subatomic particles that form all chemical reactions, including combustion.

I looked up from my chemistry textbook to regard my painting. In depicting the bush on fire, what was I painting but an interaction of energy and form – of particle and wave? As an artist who loves to explore duality in my work, here was a pair of opposites reduced to their very essence. And it engaged the opposite sides of my brain: the artistic, intuitive side, and the scientific, inquisitive side. What could be richer?

Immediately two more paintings crystallized in my mind, reducing the burning bush to an even simpler interaction of energy and form. The fluid curves of the bush on fire interact with colored blocks and shapes suggestive of the desert landscape, or architecture, or of history to come. The first new painting, version 4, was finished last weekend, and comes about as close to abstract expressionism as I ever get. My goal was to paint an interaction of pure color and form. Fire and desert sky dictate the colors here:

The Burning Bush (ver. 4), acrylic on grey linen canvas, © 2025 D. Yael Bernhard

The second painting, version 5 (at the top of this post), was finished the day before yesterday. This one is more representational, with the bush more – well, bush-like. Here I envisioned a more varied palette, with dark crimson and ultramarine blue. I also brought in words: the Hebrew name of the Eternal as spoken from within the burning bush: ehyeh-asher-ehyeh – I will be what I will be. From ancient times until today, commentaries on this mysterious name have been written and rewritten. All of this informs my own pondering and expression of this timeless tale that never seems to burn out.

It did not escape me that as I was painting flames this week, wildfires were raging in California. A close friend of mine has lost her entire neighborhood. As I sit by the cozy fire in my woodstove, I’m reminded of the destructive as well as life-giving potential of fire – and the power of our frame of reference in determining what it means to us. Today, as every year at this time, the story of the burning bush was read in synagogues all over the world. Each year we experience these repeating stories differently. The stories don’t change, but we do. The convergence of influences on my frame of reference this year was surely unique, as are the two new images that emerged. I hope, by the time the story of the burning bush comes around again next year, both the devastation of the wildfires and my chemistry studies will be well in the past.

Any experience can be a source of inspiration for art, and art can enrich any experience.

A good week to all –

D. Yael Bernhard

https://dyaelbernhard.com

Have you seen my other Substack, The Art of Health? In addition to being a visual artist, I’m also a certified integrative health & nutrition coach with a lifelong passion for natural food cooking and herbal medicine. Now in its second year, this illustrated newsletter explores cutting-edge concepts of nutrition. I strive to make relevant information clear and accessible, and to anchor essential health concepts in unique images. Check it out, and if you like it, please subscribe and help spread the word. Your support keeps my work going!

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