When Yihoyakeen Ben Israel was in first grade, he watched as another student copied a camera out of a textbook by hand. He was transfixed.

“It was the most fascinating thing I had ever seen,” he recalled in a recent phone interview. “I started my art journey right then. I couldn’t draw a camera right away, but I could do fruit and flowers.”

Ahk (“Brother”) Yihoyakeen grew up in the African Hebrew Israelite community in Dimona. Today, he is a professional artist living in Atlanta, Georgia, where the Hebrews have a small satellite community. He specializes in what he calls “painting with markers” – using permanent markers to create images out of hundreds of individual dots that, when viewed from a distance, blend together. The style is similar to Pointilism, which was pioneered in the late 19th century by French painters Georges Seurat and Paul Signac.

Yihoyakeen has produced numerous marker portraits of members of his family and community, as well as of African American icons such as singer Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child fame.

He does traditional acrylic paintings, too. Last month, he completed one of Ben Ammi Ben Israel (1939-2014), the former spiritual leader of the Hebrew community. The portrait is based on a photograph that I took of Abba Gadol (“Great Father”), as he was known by his followers, at a New World Passover celebration in 2013.

Yihoyakeen said he spent considerable time trying to capture Ben Ammi’s joyful facial expression. “It’s easy for that particular face to look like he’s crying, so I had to make sure it was right,” he explained.

One of his long-term goals is to tell his community’s story through art. “I have a concept in my head that I want to go back home to Dimona and create a whole museum,” he said. “With the transitioning of a lot of the elders, their stories need to be told.”

He has already immortalized several African Hebrew Israelites who have passed away, including Shemariyah Ellis, the first Hebrew born “in the wilderness” of Liberia, and Toveet Radcliffe, who died on her army base under mysterious circumstances in 2015.

“It’s been a way that I could touch people who need healing,” he said.

Besides painting members of his community, he enjoys depicting famous African American leaders, athletes, and musicians. He has done portraits of Martin Luther King, Jr., Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, and Tupac Shakur, among others.

Yihoyakeen, 37, comes from a large and illustrious family. He is one of 10 siblings. His grandfather is 89-year-old Nasik (“Prince”) Gavriyah, one of the African Hebrew Israelite pioneers. (Gavriyah appears in one of the largest canvases Yihoyakeen has painted to date, which shows the 12 original nesikim who shepherded the community during its early years in Israel.) His cousins include singers Eddie Butler, who represented Israel twice at the Eurovision Song Contest, and Gavriel Butler, who performs internationally.

A self-taught artist, Yihoyakeen honed his craft during his time in the Israel Defense Forces. While on leave from his base, he drew pictures and sold them to friends. However, art was just a hobby for him until recently. After the army he went to culinary school and worked as a vegan baker. He also started designing clothing and launched his own African-influenced menswear line, Kings Collection.

“I would just use art to escape the demands of the regular world,” he said. “A lot of people tell me, ‘I didn’t know you were an artist.’ But I’ve been an artist all my life.”

The African Hebrew Israelites are best known for their marvelous musicians, folks such as the aforementioned Eddie Butler, rapper Ben Blackwell, jazz singer Shavakeyah Baht Israel, and the late saxophonist Abshalom Ben Shlomo, to name a few. But Yihoyakeen said the community includes a number of talented visual artists as well.

“There are definitely more musicians, but there are some hidden artists,” he said. “We just don’t do enough art exhibits.”

Several Hebrew artists have inspired Yihoyakeen on his art journey. He acknowledged Yahalom Byrd, who exhibited several paintings at a Tel Aviv gallery in 2014; Ben Khai Ben Israel, who did a number of paintings that hang in the community’s library and guest house in Dimona; Yaacov Ben Israel, who made paintings with strong political messages; Elzariz Ben Israel, who painted signs for community events; and fine art photographer Cathrielah Baht Israel.

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Yihoyakeen said he is still learning how to navigate the professional art world. He is currently showing some of his work at Original Soul Vegan restaurant in Atlanta. He is also accepting commissions; contact him via Instagram or his website.

“One of my favorite quotes is from Picasso: ‘Painting is a blind man’s profession. He paints not what he sees, but what he feels,’” he said. “That’s how I approach my art.”