I suppose that the good news is that I have been able to start a new project since my return from Canterbury. Regular readers of this blog will recall that for a long time I was having great difficulty in getting off the ground with a new project. At my worst I was starting to … Read more
One reason why I have not posted for a little while is that I have been away on a course. The event took place in Canterbury, and the subject was Ikon painting. I did something similar eight years ago, but when I came to consider using this material again I realised that I really needed … Read more
After a long period of wrestling with myself today I finally got around to doing something I ought to have done a couple of weeks back. I erased my first independent attempt to painting an ikon, following my earlier attendance at a course in ikon painting. After poking about with it for some time, hoping … Read more
I’m enjoying immensely reading Aiden Hart’s book about ikon painting. It has been a real eye-opener in several respects I never anticipated. The thing that really made me sit up and take notice this afternoon was his section on perspective. I had never noticed before the fact that in ikon painting it is possible to … Read more
Today, finally, I got down to experimenting with egg tempera, having spent the best part of a week putting off the need to actually commit to it. There is, however, just so much time you can pass preparing the gesso surface before taking the plunge. The task turned out to be more difficult than I … Read more
Just finished the tenth coat of gesso on my new ikon project. I can’t see me going for the full monastic thirty.
I have to admit that I really don’t know the best way to tackle my current problem. The course I attended recently on ikon painting has certainly stimulated the imagination. Also, I feel a degree of challenge as to whether I can do it for myself, outside of the supportive framework of the course. Added … Read more
Although I have done a certain amount of reading about colour since I took up art seriously, I don’t think that I had a sound a grasp of it until I went on the ikon-painting course at Mirfield, last week. Of course, I was aware of the origins of the “earth colours” in natural soils, … Read more
…. as soon as I’ve had a good night’s sleep. I had no idea that painting ikons could be quite as tiring as it turned out to be. The course was really excellent, and I’m delighted to have made the decision to take part. A number of aspects of the experience are very much in … Read more
Tomorrow I will be starting a course in ikon painting, at the monastery of the Community of the Resurrection, in Mirfield.* It is likely that I will not be posting again before the week-end, for various reasons. Certainly I have not decided to become a monk, but I did seize enthusiastically the opportunity to join … Read more