Pilpeled: The Power of Black and White, Focus, and Finding Your Own Canvas
For Israeli artist Pilpeled, art was never a career plan—it was simply something he loved to do.
Long before international collaborations, gallery exhibitions, and global brand partnerships, painting began as a hobby. It was a natural impulse that followed him throughout his life, long before he realized that being an artist could actually be a profession.
“That's my stage name. I'm an artist. Painting was my hobby since forever,” Pilpeled explains. “I love painting and honestly, I never knew there's a job or there's people actually working and being an artist. I never knew that, but I loved it.”
Today, Pilpeled is known worldwide for his bold black-and-white visual language, a signature style that has become instantly recognizable across canvases, walls, fashion collaborations, and brand partnerships.
The Simplicity of Black and White
Pilpeled’s artistic identity is deeply tied to monochrome. While many artists explore color as a defining element of their work, Pilpeled intentionally stripped it away.
The decision was partly creative—and partly practical.
“Slowly I got into black and white. It was more easier for me,” he says. “Every other print shop used to have different colors and I used to freak out. It was supposed to be red, white, all red. On the other side, I want to do black and whites and everything would be correct.”
What began as a solution quickly evolved into an aesthetic philosophy. The absence of color sharpened the emotional and graphic impact of his work, allowing bold characters and expressive shapes to take center stage.
The result is a visual universe that feels both playful and intense—full of distorted figures, exaggerated expressions, and striking contrast.
From Canvas to Global Collaborations
Pilpeled’s distinctive style soon expanded beyond galleries into collaborations with international brands.
Among the partnerships he references are projects with New Era, where his artwork reached audiences worldwide through apparel, as well as collaborations with Billabong, bringing his graphic aesthetic into surf and street culture.
“We did New Era worldwide,” he says. “We did Billabong, worldwide, the whole thing. And it was amazing—from a basic shirt to a thing.”
His work has also crossed into European design and lifestyle products. One project involved the Italian electronics brand SMEG, known for its retro-inspired appliances.
“We did Smack—Smack is like this Italian brand for electric stuff, which they are really amazing,” he explains. “They did one collaboration with Dolce & Gabbana. The second collaboration was with Pilpeled.”
These projects reflect the growing global appetite for art that bridges street culture, design, and commercial products without losing its authenticity.
Cannabis, Focus, and the Creative Mind
Another part of Pilpeled’s life—and creative rhythm—is cannabis.
Rather than framing it as a source of inspiration, he describes it as a tool for focus.
“Cannabis is helping me a lot,” he says. “And I always say it's not inspiration wise. It's nothing to do with inspiration. Inspiration is a different talk. Something you need to work for—you need to get it.”
For Pilpeled, cannabis plays a more practical role in the creative process.
“But cannabis, it's very helping me sit down, relax, and to be focused. It's very helping me.”
He compares the experience to quieting mental noise.
“When you have so many things in your mind, sometimes I smoke. It's making me a little bit more blurry. It's like sort of a foggy thing and I can see only one thing, so I focus on that.”
A Family Connection
Pilpeled’s openness about cannabis also reflects how normalized it was in his upbringing.
“I grew up to two parents, heavy smokers,” he says with a laugh.
His mother even set a clear rule during his teenage years.
“My mom told me when I was like 15, she told me, ‘I'm going to smoke with you, only once you're going to turn 18.’”
But the reality of the household was far more relaxed.
“The week after she knocked on my door sometime after, she's like, ‘I have friends over and we just ran out of cannabis. Can you bring us some?’ And that's it.”
From that point on, he jokes, she became his partner in the ritual.
“She was my partner since forever.”
Art as a Lifelong Practice
Despite his international success and recognizable style, Pilpeled still approaches art with the same curiosity that first drew him to painting.
For him, the process remains grounded in discipline rather than mythologizing creativity.
Inspiration, he insists, isn’t something that appears magically. It’s something you work toward.
And sometimes, all it takes is to see only the next line.
For more visit https://www.pilpeled.com and Instagram, Read about Pilpeled's work with The Flowery Israel here.

