Orthodox religious icons in the Byzantine style and technique
I have studied at the Prosopon School of Iconology when I've been able since 1998. Painting Orthodox icons is a spiritual practice first, even though of course it involves painting.
I use the traditional methods and materials. The panels are carved out of solid wood, linen fixed to the front of the panel with hide glue and then I use a minimum of 8 layers of true gesso, sanding after each coat. Unlike the acrylic gesso used today, the true gesso recipe I use is heated hide glue with marble dust and chalk from Champagne, France. The drawing is traced and then incised into the gesso. Bole (a red clay with 2 kinds of glue) is applied wherever there will be gold, and burnished to a smooth polish once it is dry. The gold is 28 carat gold leaf, and is applied before any of the painting begins. It is a complicated method of painting with many layers, beginning with dark and gradually adding lights and "floats" of translucent color. The paint is egg tempera, pigments mixed with fresh egg yolk and water, and I use the same pigments that would have been used hundreds, if not a thousand years ago, ranging from earth colors to precious minerals like malachite and lapis Lazuli. When finished, a layer of oil is added like a varnish. The painting becomes an icon when it is blessed by a priest, and is on the alter for at least one celebration of the Divine Liturgy, traditionally for 40 days.
I use the traditional methods and materials. The panels are carved out of solid wood, linen fixed to the front of the panel with hide glue and then I use a minimum of 8 layers of true gesso, sanding after each coat. Unlike the acrylic gesso used today, the true gesso recipe I use is heated hide glue with marble dust and chalk from Champagne, France. The drawing is traced and then incised into the gesso. Bole (a red clay with 2 kinds of glue) is applied wherever there will be gold, and burnished to a smooth polish once it is dry. The gold is 28 carat gold leaf, and is applied before any of the painting begins. It is a complicated method of painting with many layers, beginning with dark and gradually adding lights and "floats" of translucent color. The paint is egg tempera, pigments mixed with fresh egg yolk and water, and I use the same pigments that would have been used hundreds, if not a thousand years ago, ranging from earth colors to precious minerals like malachite and lapis Lazuli. When finished, a layer of oil is added like a varnish. The painting becomes an icon when it is blessed by a priest, and is on the alter for at least one celebration of the Divine Liturgy, traditionally for 40 days.
