Mary Jane Miller discusses her Icon Painting technique, the history and meaning of icon painting. The How to book orients icon painters and examines why icons continue to be a spiritual tool. From a uniquely Western perspective, this step-by-step study of art and teaching of a practical course in Icon Painting technique. The religion and spirituality of this technique brings to life the sacred and beautiful art of egg tempera painting. Included are egg tempera recipe guides and patterns to work from. Beginners, intermediate, and advanced iconographers will all find new insights.With in-depth information, invaluable advice, and superb illustrations of each step, this is a most comprehensive guide to the philosophy and practice of icon painting. In addition, this Icon Painting technique book can be read as a step-by-step guide of how to create your own icon. The 12-step sequence put forth here is a guideline or road map for the process from vision to creation. However, while easy to follow detailed instructions about technique and materials are provided, my main objective is to emphasize the mystical experience of the process itself, bringing the the Icon Painting technique to a better understanding of the two natures of Christ - flesh and spirit. Details; Looking at Icons Revealed, One Secret Prayer Method, Brief History of Iconography, Organic Egg Tempera, Icon of St Luke, Overview of How to Paint Icons, Wood, Linen, Gesso and Gold, First lines, Chaos of Color, Second lines, Highlights and Veils, Final Lines, Analysis of Icon Images, Mixing Paint for Lettering, Prayers for an Iconographer Egg Temepra and Earth Pigments 41 Rules for the Iconographer 42 Conclusion

Explores the history, meaning and techniques of icon paintings

This is the most comprehensive book to date on the techniques of icon and wall painting. Illustrated with over 450 colour photos and 180 drawings, it will be a source of pleasure and inspiration for the general reader as well as for the practising icon painter. The book is more than just a technical manual; it sets artistic practice in the context of the Church's spirituality and liturgy, with chapters on the theology and history of the icon, the role and symbolism of the iconostasis, and the principles behind the positioning of wall paintings within churches. The wealth of information in this book makes it an indispensable reference text, not only for iconographers but also for any painter working in egg tempera, fresco or secco. All the necessary processes are covered, including the making gessoing of wooden panels, gilding, preparing pigments, lime plastering and fresco, the various techniques for painting in tempera, right through to photographing the finished artwork. -- from dust jacket.

The Byzantine Iconography book, highlights the development of iconography through the ages, and its spiritual connotations. The particular elements of the Byzantine style are described as well as the characteristic method of presenting perspective and color application to create tridimensional effects. Some of the oldest and best known icons are shown; and how latter painters rendered the prototype maintaining the identity of the original subject. Insight on the multiple factors allows the reader to reach a deeper understanding of this rich artistic style, of increasing popularity. The second part of the book is a painter's manual with detailed instructions on the several steps required to paint icons, including how to prepare the gesso board, transfer of image, application of multiple color layers and application of gold leaf backgrounds.

This handbook is an in depth introduction to the theory and practice of Byzantine icon painting in egg tempera. The aim is to help all students aspire to create icons that are both sound theologically while being aesthetically beautiful. This volume focuses on the Face of Christ, especially in the Mandolin icon, and covers all the basics of icon painting. Subsequent volumes are planned which will look at the figure and the Kyykotissa icon, the design of festal icons, backgrounds and buildings . This handbook uses dozens of precisely chosen, clear illustrations, gives precise recipes for colours and mixtures, provides step by step instructions to follow, and links directly to video demonstrations which show some of the most difficult processes close up. It puts the practical aspects of icon painting in a clear historical and theological framework, introducing the application of the timeless principles on which the aesthetics of icon painting are built. As art for the Church's Liturgy, icon painting calls for the highest aesthetic standards and this book aims to help make that achievable for the average committed student. Icon painting is presented here as a vocation, rather than a hobby or an interesting artistic technique though this handbook will be of interest to anyone drawn to the world of the Byzantine liturgy and its icons. By encouraging students to do more than simply copy good examples from the past but to understand how the medieval Christian artist understood what he or she was doing and how they put that into practice, this handbook brings the world of the Byzantine artist back to life. Icon painting is opened up as a living art form for today's Church. The author, who has theology degrees from Oxford University and Heythrop College in London, has many years of icon teaching experience, founding the Bethlehem Icon School in 2010 at the Emmanuel Greek Catholic Monastery in Bethlehem, where he continues to teach from time to time. This handbook began as handouts for his students on the Prince's School of Traditional Arts icon painting course, while that was being run at the Bethlehem Icon Centre in Palestine, and has finally emerged as a companion to the online Academy Course in Icon Painting and for members of the Arbor Vitae Icon Academy which the author established during the Covid pandemic.

Jaroslav Folda traces the appropriation of the Byzantine Virgin and Child Hodegetria icon by thirteenth-century Crusader and central Italian painters and explores its transformation by the introduction of chrysography on the figure of the Virgin in the Crusader Levant and in Italy.

"The nature of the icon cannot be grasped by means of pure art criticism, nor by the adoption of a sentimental point of view. Its forms are based on the wisdom contained in the theological and liturgical writings of the Eastern Orthodox Church and are imtimately bound up with the experience of the contemplative life. The present work is the first of its kind to give a reliable introduction to the spiritual background of this art. The introduction into the meaning and language of the icons by Ouspensky imparts to us in an admirable way the spiritual conceptions of the Eastern Orthodox Church which are often so foreign to us, but without the knowledge of which we cannot possibly understand the world of the icon." -- Back cover.

Iconography and Meditation is an introduction to Icon Painting and their Secret Techniques revealed through the practice. This book reads as a step-by-step guide, for how to create your own icon. The 12-step sequence is a simplified road map for proceeding from vision to creation. Every step is accompanied by suggested meditations to focus the mind with more awareness on who we are painting. However, while easy to follow detailed instructions about technique and materials are provided, my main objective is to emphasize the mystical experience of the process itself. The painter or writer of an icon will come to better understand the two natures of Christ - flesh and spirit. The mystery is revealed in the process and meditation technique. St. Athanasius says: "Christ became man that man might become God." This simple statement has intrigued and confounded me my whole adult life. Eight words explain perfectly the relationship of flesh and spirit and how they are inextricably connected. When the icon painter paints an image of the divines invisible nature it is the same sort of relationship. Painting from the heart, leaving an imprint of our prayer. Mystical concepts are inspirational, and take a lifetime to fully grasp. I stumbled into icon painting with egg tempera and earth pigments. Discovering Organic Egg Tempera and its Secret Techniques inspired my desire to paint icons. For three decades I have experimented with different forms of prayer. Saints and theologians gave me a solid foundation for meditation; sitting for long periods of time in silence. The awareness of simplicity, of just breathing as a miraculous thing. The concept of ground stone and the inexhaustible dimension of mind made a strong impression upon me. Through meditation I found a new way to commune with the Spirit, and painting images with Mother Earth using egg tempera. If you can grasp the inter-relationship of flesh and spirit in any one aspect of your life, then it is possible to see it run like an electrical current through all of life.

Step-by-step instructions for painting icons, from original drawings through finished product. This is the sequel to the authors previous work, A Brush with God, for advanced beginners, intermediate, and advanced iconographers. It presents greater detail and instructions for creating entirely new icons. One major feature of this book is the full-page sketches that artists can photocopy and use as the basis of their own icons, providing a unique and much-requested resource. Includes eight full-color plates of the author's original icons. Chapters and topics include: Introduction and contemporary reflections on iconography, spirituality, and technique. Highlighting folds on full-length figures, including black and white renderings of draped legs, arms, and torsos. Architectural and landscape renderings in Byzantine iconography, including background shadow and highlighting techniques, plus inverse perspective. Festal icons, involving multiple figures, landscapes, architecture, furniture, vegetation, and animals. Construction of heads, figures, and analysis of whole compositions, sacred geometry and proportion.