Meet Your Instructors

Passionate artists dedicated to helping students discover their creativity, develop their skills, and grow through the beauty of art.

Our instructors are accomplished artists who bring years of experience, skill, and passion into every classroom. Each teacher has a unique artistic voice and a love for helping students build confidence, explore their creativity, and discover the joy of creating.

Meet the Artists Behind Academy of the Arts

Meet the Artists Behind Academy of the Arts

Devorah Leah Levitan

Devorah Leah is an artist and art teacher who believes that painting is about more than creating beautiful artwork—it is also an opportunity to discover and develop a unique artistic voice. She studied under Chasya Leshinsky and Toby Bergman and continued her artistic training with Menucha Yankelevich in Israel, building a strong foundation in the fundamentals of art. In her classes, she guides students through essential principles including value, color, composition, and expression while encouraging them to explore their own creative voice. Her goal is to help every student create artwork that is authentic, meaningful, and uniquely their own.

Artist & Instructor

An abstract painting of a landscape with a large tree on the left and a farm building in the distance, featuring a colorful sky.
A young person wearing a striped shirt, white tie, and blazer, with a hat, looking down at an open book or box. In the background, there is a wall with cracks, a fishing fish, and a small window or opening, all in shades of gray.
A watercolor painting depicts an ancient castle on a hill with stairways and trees, with two people and a dog in the foreground. The castle has a tall central tower and various surrounding walls, with a predominantly beige and reddish-brown color palette.

Foundations of Art- See Course→

Expressive Art- See Course→

Courses Offering:

Shira Leah Garfunkel

Artist & Instructor

Shira Leah is a fine artist specializing in highly detailed pencil art and oil painting. She has pursued art from a young age, developing her skills through years of dedicated practice before expanding into oil painting under the guidance of Toby Bergman. Her work focuses on portraiture, still life, and Judaic art, characterized by intricate detail and depth. She has sold her artwork privately and teaches art to children and teens. As an instructor, she is passionate about helping students build confidence, recognize their potential, and discover the beauty and depth in the world around them.

An abstract painting of a brick wall with multicolored bricks in shades of pink, red, orange, yellow, white, blue, and green. Below the wall, there are small black silhouettes of people with reflections on a gray ground, suggesting an urban scene.
A pencil sketch of a young man with short hair, wearing a cap and a light-colored shirt, sitting on a train with a backpack or bag beside him, looking down at a book or notebook.
Close-up of a person's face painted in an abstract style, with detailed eye and nose features, using shades of purple, black, and white.

Foundations of Art - See Course→

Beginner Painting - See Course→

Courses Offering:

Toby Bergman

Artist & Instructor

Painting has always been part of Toby’s world—she’s the daughter of a published professional artist. Classically trained with an expressive edge, her works have a sense of freedom, feeling, depth and personality. She loves breaking down techniques and helping students find their own artistic voice. Her works have been featured in a museum, galleries, solo exhibits, and private collections. Come learn, and discover what you can create.

A portrait of a young person with short dark hair, looking directly at the viewer, surrounded by smudges of dark colors with some bright accents, with five burning candles in front of them and a partially visible smartphone in the lower right corner.
A woman with short hair playing the violin, with a cityscape with illuminated signs at night in the background.
An oil painting of a young girl walking outdoors with a small dog on her shoulders under a cloudy sky.

Course Offering:

Master Oil Painting- See Course→

Ciporah Jacobs

Artist & Instructor

Ciporah is a multidisciplinary artist and educator specializing in classical oil paintings, and known for her lifelike portraits and detailed realistic work. She empowers her students to grow from entry level to professional artists in a warm and uplifting atmosphere. Ciporah's students learn to master oil painting with a focus on strong fundamentals and proper technique, while also being encouraged to explore other mediums like clay, ink and parchment etc. to find their own voice. When she isn't teaching, Ciporah creates custom commissions for private clients.

A painting of an elderly man with a long white beard, wearing a black hat and black clothing, resting his head on his folded arms on a table with an open book in front of him.
Painting of a smiling elderly man with glasses, a long gray beard, wearing a black hat, black suit, white shirt, and black tie, against a neutral background.
A bearded elderly man wearing a black cap and glasses, reading and writing in a book at a wooden desk.

Course Offering:

Intermediate Oil Painting - See Course→

Mimi is an accomplished oil painter and portrait artist, who trained under the renowned Chasya Leshinsky. Mimi's diverse portfolio includes editorial cover illustrations, logo designs, and large-scale scenic art. Today she focuses on fine art oil painting, including portraiture, still life, and landscape painting. Her paintings capture the unique character, rich textures, and vibrant light of their subjects. Some of Mimi's work can be found in private collections and on display at the Elsie Mayer art gallery.

Artist & Instructor

Mimi Goldstein

An elderly man with a white beard, dressed in white and black, is praying with a silver goblet in his hands, surrounded by men in traditional Jewish prayer attire, including tallit and black hats.
A portrait painting of a woman with dark, short, wavy hair, wearing a white collar with black buttons, and a dark blue textured dress, against a brown background.
A painting of a man with a beard wearing a wide-brimmed hat, resting his head on his hand with a contemplative expression.

Course Offering:

Photo Realistic Painting- See Course→

Mrs. Elise Ohnouna

Mrs. Elise Ohnouna is a skilled colored pencil artist with a passion for realistic drawing, particularly portraiture. Her artistic training began at a specialized art high school, followed by years of independent study, practice, and continued exploration of realistic drawing techniques. Her work is distinguished by its attention to detail, depth, and ability to capture the character of her subjects. As an instructor, Mrs. Ohnouna is passionate about sharing the techniques and knowledge she has developed throughout her artistic journey, helping students build a strong foundation in realistic drawing and full-color application while gaining confidence and discovering their artistic potential.

Artist & Instructor

A colored pencil sketch of a young girl with curly hair, wearing a headband and multiple pearl necklaces.
A portrait of an elderly man with a white beard and glasses, wearing a black hat and black clothing, holding a pipe.
An elderly man with glasses and a beard reading a book, with a red curtain hanging behind him and some roses at the bottom, signature in the lower left corner.

Course Offering:

Colored Pencil - See Course→

Tamar Greenspoon

Artist & Instructor

Tamar has been passionate about art from a young age and knew early on that she wanted to become an artist. She spent years studying instructional books, taking art lessons, and practicing whenever she had the opportunity. Through years of dedication and practice, Tamar developed her skills and established her own artistic path. Today, she creates and sells portraits while continuing to refine and expand her craft. Tamar is passionate about sharing her knowledge with others and hopes to help students strengthen their skills, discover their own artistic abilities, and reach their full creative potential.

Partial view of a portrait of a woman with dark hair, smiling, painted with rich warm tones on a textured canvas.
Black and white portrait of an elderly man with a long white beard, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, looking contemplative.
A black and white portrait of a woman with long hair, looking slightly to the side.

Course Offering:

Charcoal - See Course→

Shana Obadia

Shana is an artist specializing in Judaic art and portraiture, with training under Mira Eisen and Ciporah Jacobs. Her artistic work extends across multiple disciplines, including gown design and professional makeup artistry, allowing her to bring a refined eye for detail, color, and composition to everything she creates. Shana believes that everyone has the ability to create and is passionate about helping students discover their creativity, develop their artistic skills, and see what they’re capable of creating.

Artist & Instructor

A watercolor painting of a cityscape with white buildings, domed roofs, and towers. There are people walking in the foreground and a few trees scattered throughout.
A colorful impressionist painting of a seaside village with houses, palm trees, and people walking on a pier. There is a blue boat in the water and a bright sky above.
An impressionistic painting of Yerushalayim featuring a tall stone gateway with a cityscape stretching into the distance, with soft pastel colors and an open sky.

Course Offering:

Judaic Art- See Course→

Sorah Leah Yudkowsky

Sorah Leah has been sketching since she could remember, creating cartoons and fashion illustrations in the margins of notes and the backs of worksheets. Since getting her BS in Digital and Multimedia Design with a focus on art, her niche in the graphic design field is in fashion, as well as children’s illustrations. Ranging from watercolors to digital art, print ads to animation, her style is whimsical, unexpected and bold, and she’s looking forward to sharing her art world with you.

Artist & Instructor

Two women in fashionable dresses shopping with shopping bags, wearing high heels, and carrying purses.
Two fashionable women in colorful dresses walking with shopping bags and a purse, smiling and enjoying their day.
Two women sitting at a table outdoors, enjoying drinks and snacks, dressed in pink and purple dresses with floral and checkered patterns, smiling and chatting happily.

Course Offering:

Fashion Illustration - See Course→

View Courses