Making an #orthodoxicon: step by step.

Here’s where we are today: I have a pencil drawing (for scale as the board I’m using is more square than I’d like), a sanded gessoed wooden board (plain white, non acrylic gesso) and two jam jars with size, bole (clay) & water 1/
Making an #orthodoxicon: step by step.Here’s where we are today: I have a pencil drawing (for scale as the board I’m using is more square than I’d like), a sanded gessoed wooden board (plain white, non acrylic gesso) and two jam jars with size, bole (clay) & water 1/
Making an #orthodoxicon: step by step.Here’s where we are today: I have a pencil drawing (for scale as the board I’m using is more square than I’d like), a sanded gessoed wooden board (plain white, non acrylic gesso) and two jam jars with size, bole (clay) & water 1/
This morning, the bole (clay) has dried. A quick polish and I will start gilding. This is the traditional water gilding method, which takes longer but can be burnished to a mirror-finish (if you like). This could take a few days, given temperature & humidity. 2/
The gold leaf I use is 23.5 carat, laid double (two layers) & burnished. When to burnish? When it sounds right... I know. Experience & knowing your materials, the environment (my house is cold & damp so it takes longer) etc. Today I’m just gilding the border. 3/
Here is the sound: click high? Hard bole - but bright finish. Soft click? Too soft, could break the gold. I’m using a “dog tooth” shaped agate burnisher- it polishes the bole through the leaf. No lunch until this is done or it will just scratch. 4/
Two sides done: you weren’t able to see the full speed burnishing because I forgot about the tripod for my phone https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😉" title="Winking face" aria-label="Emoji: Winking face"> next time! Anyway, lunch. Pacing yourself when gilding so you don’t have to rush is important & often forgotten in enthusiasm for the shiny. 5/
End of today, mostly ok. The raised border is called a kivitos (Greek) or kovcheg (slavonic) and means “ark” - within the icon, all is transfigured (not distorted or ‘unreal’, as some have argued). The flat area can be gilded tomorrow, I hope. 6/
End of today, mostly ok. The raised border is called a kivitos (Greek) or kovcheg (slavonic) and means “ark” - within the icon, all is transfigured (not distorted or ‘unreal’, as some have argued). The flat area can be gilded tomorrow, I hope. 6/
End of today, mostly ok. The raised border is called a kivitos (Greek) or kovcheg (slavonic) and means “ark” - within the icon, all is transfigured (not distorted or ‘unreal’, as some have argued). The flat area can be gilded tomorrow, I hope. 6/
Today I’m gilding the flat afraid the board. I have a new tool from @GoldLeafSupply called a “Richard” - it picks up and lays a whole leaf in seconds! Works perfectly 7/
I can pick up the leaf two ways: smaller pieces & curved areas w a “tip” brush,’or using the flat square Richard. Yes, you can see through the gold: the red clay makes it glow. I then add a second layer to cover any faults. 8/
I can pick up the leaf two ways: smaller pieces & curved areas w a “tip” brush,’or using the flat square Richard. Yes, you can see through the gold: the red clay makes it glow. I then add a second layer to cover any faults. 8/
I can pick up the leaf two ways: smaller pieces & curved areas w a “tip” brush,’or using the flat square Richard. Yes, you can see through the gold: the red clay makes it glow. I then add a second layer to cover any faults. 8/
Letting the water be absorbed by the clay sucks the leaf down onto the board. When it’s ready, I can burnish as I did yesterday. Quick coffee breaks but no lunch until it’s all done. 9/
Letting the water be absorbed by the clay sucks the leaf down onto the board. When it’s ready, I can burnish as I did yesterday. Quick coffee breaks but no lunch until it’s all done. 9/
Letting the water be absorbed by the clay sucks the leaf down onto the board. When it’s ready, I can burnish as I did yesterday. Quick coffee breaks but no lunch until it’s all done. 9/
Finished for today, about 12:30 with a bit of faulting here and there. Just in time to get call from school to collect poorly Smol, so just as well. Tomorrow I will tidy up the board, put on a protective paper mask over the gold and start painting. About 20 hours so far. 10/
Finished for today, about 12:30 with a bit of faulting here and there. Just in time to get call from school to collect poorly Smol, so just as well. Tomorrow I will tidy up the board, put on a protective paper mask over the gold and start painting. About 20 hours so far. 10/
Finished for today, about 12:30 with a bit of faulting here and there. Just in time to get call from school to collect poorly Smol, so just as well. Tomorrow I will tidy up the board, put on a protective paper mask over the gold and start painting. About 20 hours so far. 10/
(20 hours and nearly 20 years of study and practice...) https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="☺️" title="Smiling face" aria-label="Emoji: Smiling face">
Today I’ve carefully cleaned the excess gold off the gesso, made a paper ‘mask’ from tracing paper to protect it while I’m painting & used a simple mix of water & pigment to paint on the main lines. Tomorrow I’ll begin working on the monochrome underpainting. 11/
Today I’ve carefully cleaned the excess gold off the gesso, made a paper ‘mask’ from tracing paper to protect it while I’m painting & used a simple mix of water & pigment to paint on the main lines. Tomorrow I’ll begin working on the monochrome underpainting. 11/
Today I’ve carefully cleaned the excess gold off the gesso, made a paper ‘mask’ from tracing paper to protect it while I’m painting & used a simple mix of water & pigment to paint on the main lines. Tomorrow I’ll begin working on the monochrome underpainting. 11/
Today I’ve carefully cleaned the excess gold off the gesso, made a paper ‘mask’ from tracing paper to protect it while I’m painting & used a simple mix of water & pigment to paint on the main lines. Tomorrow I’ll begin working on the monochrome underpainting. 11/
And then it all went a bit wrong: ask most Orthodox about the first week of Lent and they’ll not gravely... it’s a mistake to keep pushing on when clearly, you’re just not meant to be painting. 12/
In the end I told the gold off (there were mysterious scratches in the gesso), relaid it super fast w no problems and then got on with painting... a few times. Today it finally started to look and feel just right, although I’m nowhere near done with face & hair (or garments). 13/
I think it might be better to do a step by step progress on another smaller icon but I could keep going with this one for now - what do you think? 14/
A note on technique: I use only egg tempera for icons. I work in thin, transparent layers. Some teachers are quite dogmatic - start with DARK thick paint etc - but
a) the oldest icons we have don& #39;t use that technique
b) post-fact theology is generally prone to distortions so 15/
I work in transparent layers, building up lights and darks in turn, modelling form. It& #39;s untrue there are "no shadows" in but we don& #39;t add reflective lights in the eyes etc. We also try to avoid over-sentimentalised faces. Like all things in Orthodoxy, there are exceptions 16/
Today I managed a bit of refinement before the errands kicked in. Here are two pictures (phone) to keep you up to date & show how colour balance is my implacable foe. It’s hard enough to capture translucent multi-layered tempera but throw in adjusting hue... with & w/o paper 17/
Today I managed a bit of refinement before the errands kicked in. Here are two pictures (phone) to keep you up to date & show how colour balance is my implacable foe. It’s hard enough to capture translucent multi-layered tempera but throw in adjusting hue... with & w/o paper 17/
Today I managed a bit of refinement before the errands kicked in. Here are two pictures (phone) to keep you up to date & show how colour balance is my implacable foe. It’s hard enough to capture translucent multi-layered tempera but throw in adjusting hue... with & w/o paper 17/
I hope you can see more clearly how *impossible* it is to catch the tone and layers of the painting from those two - and why people learning or making judgements from poorly reproduced photos is less than ideal :) 18/
Today has finished the face & hair, now starting to build up hands & work on garments more. I’m using the Byzantine warm under painting, cool highlight technique. It is a challenge but with a bit more work will create a tension of colour that really zings. 19/
And again, apols for the shoddy pic - it was sunny for about five minutes https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Face with tears of joy" aria-label="Emoji: Face with tears of joy">

Off to have a daydream about what I can offer to email and @kofi_button subscribers...
Finally back at work - garments are built up in many* layers

*hunners

20/
Clearly the iPad doesn’t like adding photos... 22/
Managed to make progress on robes though. The dynamism in an #Orthodox icon doesn’t come through an active pose or what we think of as “movement” - energy is conveyed by light & layers - camera doesn’t catch the transparency the way our brain/eyes do, so apols for the pics 23/
Managed to make progress on robes though. The dynamism in an #Orthodox icon doesn’t come through an active pose or what we think of as “movement” - energy is conveyed by light & layers - camera doesn’t catch the transparency the way our brain/eyes do, so apols for the pics 23/
Managed to make progress on robes though. The dynamism in an #Orthodox icon doesn’t come through an active pose or what we think of as “movement” - energy is conveyed by light & layers - camera doesn’t catch the transparency the way our brain/eyes do, so apols for the pics 23/
I think I will call it a day. One of the common temptations is to get bogged down in highlight abstraction. Don’t. Remember there is a form underneath. Some icons have been copied mindlessly & their drapery/figures have become meaningless. 24/
St Isaac the Syrian said “we paint the image of God who became man in the flesh” - some stylistic niceties aside, an icon has to walk the line between sentimental & pointlessly abstract. It’s a podvig (an ascetic labour) not a pious hobby... 25/
Almost there. A few more hours. Hands, robes (again), scroll, face, back to hands etc. At this point I’m mostly balancing tone & refining the outer edges eg hands. It’s hard to describe: you can see how different the images look depending on sunlight/brightness, esp the hair. 26/
Almost there. A few more hours. Hands, robes (again), scroll, face, back to hands etc. At this point I’m mostly balancing tone & refining the outer edges eg hands. It’s hard to describe: you can see how different the images look depending on sunlight/brightness, esp the hair. 26/
Almost there. A few more hours. Hands, robes (again), scroll, face, back to hands etc. At this point I’m mostly balancing tone & refining the outer edges eg hands. It’s hard to describe: you can see how different the images look depending on sunlight/brightness, esp the hair. 26/
Almost there. A few more hours. Hands, robes (again), scroll, face, back to hands etc. At this point I’m mostly balancing tone & refining the outer edges eg hands. It’s hard to describe: you can see how different the images look depending on sunlight/brightness, esp the hair. 26/
Today was a Little Intense but have got halo, borders, assiste (using shell gold) and start of the Cross behind the halo. Lettering tomorrow 27/
Today was a Little Intense but have got halo, borders, assiste (using shell gold) and start of the Cross behind the halo. Lettering tomorrow 27/
Today was a Little Intense but have got halo, borders, assiste (using shell gold) and start of the Cross behind the halo. Lettering tomorrow 27/
Today was a Little Intense but have got halo, borders, assiste (using shell gold) and start of the Cross behind the halo. Lettering tomorrow 27/
Today was a Little Intense but have got halo, borders, assiste (using shell gold) and start of the Cross behind the halo. Lettering tomorrow 27/
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