From Wikipedia: Born to a family of Jewish immigrants from Russia, Lipkind enjoyed a stellar rise to fame at an early age and appeared with orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic, the Munich Philharmonic and the Baltimore Symphony, working alongside Zubin Mehta, Philippe Entremont, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Yehudi Menuhin, Pinchas Zukerman, Yuri Bashmet, Gidon Kremer, and many others well known musicians. He has graduated from three major academies on three continents: Tel Aviv S. Rubin Academy, Frankfurter Hochschule für Musik, and the New England Conservatory (Boston). Aged 23, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote of him: "A new star ascends the cello sky...The young Israeli cellist is one of the major musicians to have entered the music scene in recent years...". At this stage, despite his success as a young musician, Lipkind decided to take a sabbatical to focus wholly on some aspects of his musicianship - in his own words: "...to take time to work reflectively on new repertoire away from the concert stage, liaise with composers, and make recordings of the highest quality". At this pivotal point in his development, while living in relative isolation at the Frankfurt Taunus area in Germany Lipkind produced two contrasting recordings: Miniatures and Folklore, featuring his own arrangements and Single Voice Polyphony (Volume I), showcasing Johann Sebastian Bach's Suites for Violoncello solo. I used a photo as a reference and then reinterpreted it as a watercolor. I accentuated the wildness of his hair and the intensity of the face by deepening the shadows. I listened to cello music as I painted. This artwork is drawn in pencil and painted with highest grade watercolors. This artwork can be finished with an 12x16" mat to fit into a standard frame, Optional matting is available from the Schulman Studio store on eBay.