This is my Jerusalem painting painted almost entirely with jelly beans. I say “almost” because I did use one other ingredient - licorice!! I used black licorice as my outline to create the stain glass effect depicted in the painting. I had posted that first jelly bean “test piece” that I did, here, but decided to allow my Jerusalem to have its own spotlight as it was quite an extensive bit of work - measuring 8ft across - and one that took a lot of research and prep time before I could even begin it…not to mention the many, many finger burns (times ten) that were impossible to avoid, that it took to complete it! Needless to say, each jelly bean is hot glued, then placed in position, one at a time!! Just look at all that fun my hot glue gun had…with my fingers!!!
I wanted to do a painting of Jerusalem that had not been done by another artist. Research!! I finally hit upon this old picture of Jerusalem after it had suffered an attack. 
Then the sketch:
next …painted to replicate stain glass
note: later I would change the color of the sky which I realized was too dark, and that, after I had already hot glued on a whole bunch of it, too!! Had to chisel it all off, which wasn’t easy and which also proved to me how durable paintings done using hot glue to glue the jelly beans on is certainly “durable!!”
Now to begin - sketched again on board:
Started with a bit of sky:
close up…kinda searching out my colors and letting the jelly beans talk to me…
Thinking what colors to use on the houses? Not a lot of colors in jelly beans to choose from.Testing!!!
hmmm…maybe!!
Ok, I like it…it’s works for me!
now for some greenery
moving along…
put in the steeple
…why am I still putting in that awful blue sky???
close up
oh nooooo! Gotta get fix this!!! Some areas are off, too dark!! Where’s my chisel? Arrrgh!
areas to be reworked…(sigh)!
well, it had to be done!
…better!
note:
Forgot to explain about that line you see running thru the middle of the jelly bean painting. That’s a cut line (or joining line) where I had to saw the painting in half! That’s right!! I had to SAW the painting in half. Why? Because otherwise I would not be able to get the piece out of my workroom because the hallway was too narrow. I will re-seam that area once I get it to where it had to go. I did re-seam it at the Y, later. They put up a curtain that I worked behind, so members couldn’t see the painting till the Y was ready to present it to them.
Finished!! Or is it? That sky is killing me! My friends liked it…but…
…but I didn’t! NOW, it’s finished!
…seam all sewed up!
This jelly bean painting is installed at the JCC (Jewish Community Center) on Menetto Hill Rd in
Plainview, NY.
Your ideas are so original and the finished items are always so detailed
And btw, the jelly beans I used were “jelly bellies” not “jelly beans.” The “jelly bellies” that the jelly bean company makes are just a tad bit smaller than regular jelly beans and have more colors in their rank and are the only ones jelly bean artists use.