HOW TO PAINT AN ICON BY THE PROSOPON METHOD
Here’s a very condensed description. Although the technical pages provide more detail, I recommend that
you enroll in a workshop, or a series of classes, before trying it yourself.
• You need a special wood board. It is usually poplar, carved with a recess ("kovcheg" or “ark”) in the center,
then covered with smooth but absorbent gesso. A flat panel made from half-inch plywood will also work, as will
smooth "Claybord" from the art store. I buy my boards and panels professionally prepared, artworks in their own
right. The whiteness of the gesso represents the uncreated light of God, eternally pre-existent before time.
• Find an image you like (available from pattern books and teachers), Xerox to size, carefully position it with
the top of the head at inner edge of recess, and transfer it to the board. Locate and mark the center of the halo.
• Incise your drawing into the gesso, taking special care to delineate the facial features.
• Apply liquid bole, a mix of finely ground red clay and animal-skin glue with a drop of honey, to the edges of
the board and to any areas to be covered with gold leaf. The red clay symbolizes the earth from which God
created Adam. After the clay dries, sand and burnish smooth the areas to be gilded.
• Gilding is tricky! Gold leaf is only a few molecules thick. Wait for a cool morning. Breathe closely and
warmly onto the red clay to bring out a bit of condensation, then immediately apply a small piece of gold leaf,
smoothing it into place. In this process we remember how God breathed life into Adam. Repeat for 2 or more
layers. Within a few hours of gilding, you can burnish the gold leaf to a high sheen, or impress decorative designs
with a round-tipped stylus.
• Mix egg tempera base. This requires the liquid part of an
egg yolk, without white or membrane. Separate your egg, and
carefully remove the white without breaking the membrane
surrounding the yolk. Puncture the yolk, hold onto the membrane,
and let the yellow run into a jar. Mix in two parts of dry white wine,
or use 1/3 teaspoon of white household vinegar and two parts
of distilled water. For a large chicken egg, "one part" equals
one tablespoon. For a larger or smaller egg, adjust the recipe
proportionately. Refrigerated between uses, it will last for 3 to
7 days.
• Mix and apply paint. Historically, an iconographer had to locate and grind his own pigments, so colors are
used frugally. Pigments have distinctive textures and weights, as well as colors. Mix a bit of powdered pigment to
a paste with a drop or two of egg tempera base, then thin with more egg tempera base and, if needed, with distilled
water. Egg tempera paint behaves similarly to water color, and is suitable for both opaque and transparent
effects. Because it does not bead up on a fine brush, this medium is capable of delicate details and elegant line
work. It dries quickly on the absorbent gesso.
• Working with board flat on the table, use a compass with ruling pen attachment to paint a bright red line
around the halo. Next, apply dark and earthy “roskrish” or base colors. Base color for flesh areas is “sankir,”
typically a dark olive drab, but sometimes nearly black. Use little circular brush strokes with a fairly full brush for a
mottled texture, representing the Chaos or primordial energy at the beginning of creation.
• Paint over the incised lines with a fine brush, to outline the features and the folds of the clothing.
• Now apply the first highlight. Lighter tints, covering 2/3 of the base color and blended for gradual shading,
bring out the sculptural quality of each form, and symbolize the light of the Cosmos or natural order. Although
crude and chalky, the icon is starting to take shape.
• The first float makes everything better. Apply a thin wash or two of slightly brighter color over each area,
including internal lines, again using a fairly full brush and small circular brush strokes. Paint spreads out ahead of
the brush, which barely touches the board. Now the color starts to become rich and luminous.
• A smaller second highlight represents the Anthropos, the light of human intellect and culture. On clothing, it
cuts diagonally across the first highlight, producing faceted or cubist-like effects. On hands and faces, it blends
into and strengthens the first highlight.
• The second float, in a brighter and purer tone than the first, softens the highlights.
• A third highlight symbolizes the Theocosm, the spiritual or angelic light. It is much smaller, more intense, and
more dynamic than previous highlights, reinforcing and embellishing them.
• Apply the third float, using brightest and purest pigments. The surface vibrates with subtly shifting colors.
• Repaint the lines with a fine brush, in colors slightly darker than the color of each area. Use black for the
eyebrows, upper eyelids, and pupils of the eyes.
• Details include a line between background color and red clay edging; and other symbols, inscriptions, and
decorations. Paint in the whites of the eyes, tiniest crescents of pure white. Now the icon comes alive!
• The final highlight reinstates the Prosopon, the light of God. It takes the form of little sparkles on the clothing
and fine lines on flesh areas, especially around the eyes, known as “ozhivki” or life-giving lines.
• Paint a pure white outside line around the halo, recalling the fresh white board waiting for your next icon.
The painting phase is complete.
• After the paint has cured for 2 or 3 weeks, place your icon on paper towels and apply olifa, a warm linseed oil
mixture. Check periodically, keep it warm under an incandescent desk lamp, and spread the olifa for a nice even
finish. After a few hours, remove excess oil with the edge of your hand. Oiling increases visual depth so that all
layers (including mistakes) become visible. It protects the surface, deepens colors, softens whites, and imparts a
characteristic gentle sheen. Place the icon in a warm dust-free place to dry until the surface no longer feels tacky,
several days to several weeks.
• Now you can take your icon to church to be blessed! The blessing establishes a formal spiritual link with the
person or event pictured, and completes the icon.
Here’s a very condensed description. Although the technical pages provide more detail, I recommend that
you enroll in a workshop, or a series of classes, before trying it yourself.
• You need a special wood board. It is usually poplar, carved with a recess ("kovcheg" or “ark”) in the center,
then covered with smooth but absorbent gesso. A flat panel made from half-inch plywood will also work, as will
smooth "Claybord" from the art store. I buy my boards and panels professionally prepared, artworks in their own
right. The whiteness of the gesso represents the uncreated light of God, eternally pre-existent before time.
• Find an image you like (available from pattern books and teachers), Xerox to size, carefully position it with
the top of the head at inner edge of recess, and transfer it to the board. Locate and mark the center of the halo.
• Incise your drawing into the gesso, taking special care to delineate the facial features.
• Apply liquid bole, a mix of finely ground red clay and animal-skin glue with a drop of honey, to the edges of
the board and to any areas to be covered with gold leaf. The red clay symbolizes the earth from which God
created Adam. After the clay dries, sand and burnish smooth the areas to be gilded.
• Gilding is tricky! Gold leaf is only a few molecules thick. Wait for a cool morning. Breathe closely and
warmly onto the red clay to bring out a bit of condensation, then immediately apply a small piece of gold leaf,
smoothing it into place. In this process we remember how God breathed life into Adam. Repeat for 2 or more
layers. Within a few hours of gilding, you can burnish the gold leaf to a high sheen, or impress decorative designs
with a round-tipped stylus.
• Mix egg tempera base. This requires the liquid part of an
egg yolk, without white or membrane. Separate your egg, and
carefully remove the white without breaking the membrane
surrounding the yolk. Puncture the yolk, hold onto the membrane,
and let the yellow run into a jar. Mix in two parts of dry white wine,
or use 1/3 teaspoon of white household vinegar and two parts
of distilled water. For a large chicken egg, "one part" equals
one tablespoon. For a larger or smaller egg, adjust the recipe
proportionately. Refrigerated between uses, it will last for 3 to
7 days.
• Mix and apply paint. Historically, an iconographer had to locate and grind his own pigments, so colors are
used frugally. Pigments have distinctive textures and weights, as well as colors. Mix a bit of powdered pigment to
a paste with a drop or two of egg tempera base, then thin with more egg tempera base and, if needed, with distilled
water. Egg tempera paint behaves similarly to water color, and is suitable for both opaque and transparent
effects. Because it does not bead up on a fine brush, this medium is capable of delicate details and elegant line
work. It dries quickly on the absorbent gesso.
• Working with board flat on the table, use a compass with ruling pen attachment to paint a bright red line
around the halo. Next, apply dark and earthy “roskrish” or base colors. Base color for flesh areas is “sankir,”
typically a dark olive drab, but sometimes nearly black. Use little circular brush strokes with a fairly full brush for a
mottled texture, representing the Chaos or primordial energy at the beginning of creation.
• Paint over the incised lines with a fine brush, to outline the features and the folds of the clothing.
• Now apply the first highlight. Lighter tints, covering 2/3 of the base color and blended for gradual shading,
bring out the sculptural quality of each form, and symbolize the light of the Cosmos or natural order. Although
crude and chalky, the icon is starting to take shape.
• The first float makes everything better. Apply a thin wash or two of slightly brighter color over each area,
including internal lines, again using a fairly full brush and small circular brush strokes. Paint spreads out ahead of
the brush, which barely touches the board. Now the color starts to become rich and luminous.
• A smaller second highlight represents the Anthropos, the light of human intellect and culture. On clothing, it
cuts diagonally across the first highlight, producing faceted or cubist-like effects. On hands and faces, it blends
into and strengthens the first highlight.
• The second float, in a brighter and purer tone than the first, softens the highlights.
• A third highlight symbolizes the Theocosm, the spiritual or angelic light. It is much smaller, more intense, and
more dynamic than previous highlights, reinforcing and embellishing them.
• Apply the third float, using brightest and purest pigments. The surface vibrates with subtly shifting colors.
• Repaint the lines with a fine brush, in colors slightly darker than the color of each area. Use black for the
eyebrows, upper eyelids, and pupils of the eyes.
• Details include a line between background color and red clay edging; and other symbols, inscriptions, and
decorations. Paint in the whites of the eyes, tiniest crescents of pure white. Now the icon comes alive!
• The final highlight reinstates the Prosopon, the light of God. It takes the form of little sparkles on the clothing
and fine lines on flesh areas, especially around the eyes, known as “ozhivki” or life-giving lines.
• Paint a pure white outside line around the halo, recalling the fresh white board waiting for your next icon.
The painting phase is complete.
• After the paint has cured for 2 or 3 weeks, place your icon on paper towels and apply olifa, a warm linseed oil
mixture. Check periodically, keep it warm under an incandescent desk lamp, and spread the olifa for a nice even
finish. After a few hours, remove excess oil with the edge of your hand. Oiling increases visual depth so that all
layers (including mistakes) become visible. It protects the surface, deepens colors, softens whites, and imparts a
characteristic gentle sheen. Place the icon in a warm dust-free place to dry until the surface no longer feels tacky,
several days to several weeks.
• Now you can take your icon to church to be blessed! The blessing establishes a formal spiritual link with the
person or event pictured, and completes the icon.
| All rights reserved. |
Betsy Porter
Art and Iconography
ICON-PAINTING TECHNIQUE
Art and Iconography
ICON-PAINTING TECHNIQUE
| Betsy Porter painting an icon, using her traveling studio setup |
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MORE DETAILED INFORMATION
ON HOW TO PAINT AN ICON
Supply list and sources, including pigments
Laying out your icon on its board
Gilding the halo
Studio tips for the iconographer; using the ruling pen
Color recipes for egg tempera painting
Roskrish or base colors; icon brush strokes; line work
Highlighting the icon; floats; repainting lines
Shell gold; gold lines over paint
Inscriptions, books, and scrolls
Finishing touches and details; corners, borders, ozhivki
Applying olifa; anointing the icon
Landscape, buildings, and furniture in icons
Step by step painting of some recent icons
ON HOW TO PAINT AN ICON
Supply list and sources, including pigments
Laying out your icon on its board
Gilding the halo
Studio tips for the iconographer; using the ruling pen
Color recipes for egg tempera painting
Roskrish or base colors; icon brush strokes; line work
Highlighting the icon; floats; repainting lines
Shell gold; gold lines over paint
Inscriptions, books, and scrolls
Finishing touches and details; corners, borders, ozhivki
Applying olifa; anointing the icon
Landscape, buildings, and furniture in icons
Step by step painting of some recent icons
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON EGG TEMPERA PAINTING
www.eggtempera.com is a large site with an extensive gallery and a forum
for technical guidance.
Egg tempera is a beautiful medium, which can be used for many other types
of painting besides icons!
www.eggtempera.com is a large site with an extensive gallery and a forum
for technical guidance.
Egg tempera is a beautiful medium, which can be used for many other types
of painting besides icons!
Above Left; Plateau by Patricia K. Kelly
egg tempera on panel, 11 x 14 inches, 2003
Right; Evening Shadow by Betsy Porter
egg tempera on Claybord®, 14 x 11 inches, 2003
egg tempera on panel, 11 x 14 inches, 2003
Right; Evening Shadow by Betsy Porter
egg tempera on Claybord®, 14 x 11 inches, 2003
ABOUT EGG TEMPERA PAINT
The formulation described here uses all-natural ingredients for paint you can make yourself. This is like the
difference between canned food and fresh!
Egg tempera paint dries quite quickly, like watercolor, but "cures" more slowly. If you have ever inadvertently let
egg yolk dry on a dish or pan, you know how difficult it is to remove. Egg tempera paint uses egg yolk to hold the
pigment granules together. As the egg yolk sets up, the paint cures and becomes hard. Once cured, it is very
stable and will retain its colors for many centuries.
The cured egg tempera paint, when applied in many layers, is brittle and will crack easily, so it should not be used
thickly on a flexible surface such as paper or canvas. It requires a dimensionally stable, absorbent surface -
traditionally a wooden board covered with natural gesso made from marble dust, chalk dust, and animal skin glue.
(Acrylic gesso is plastic and non-absorbent, suitable for acrylic or oil paint, but not for egg tempera.)
When working with egg tempera paint, try to plan your work so as to allow the paint to cure overnight or preferably
longer between layers. If you are working intensively, it's good to have a second piece to work on, while the first
piece dries and the paint cures.
The formulation described here uses all-natural ingredients for paint you can make yourself. This is like the
difference between canned food and fresh!
Egg tempera paint dries quite quickly, like watercolor, but "cures" more slowly. If you have ever inadvertently let
egg yolk dry on a dish or pan, you know how difficult it is to remove. Egg tempera paint uses egg yolk to hold the
pigment granules together. As the egg yolk sets up, the paint cures and becomes hard. Once cured, it is very
stable and will retain its colors for many centuries.
The cured egg tempera paint, when applied in many layers, is brittle and will crack easily, so it should not be used
thickly on a flexible surface such as paper or canvas. It requires a dimensionally stable, absorbent surface -
traditionally a wooden board covered with natural gesso made from marble dust, chalk dust, and animal skin glue.
(Acrylic gesso is plastic and non-absorbent, suitable for acrylic or oil paint, but not for egg tempera.)
When working with egg tempera paint, try to plan your work so as to allow the paint to cure overnight or preferably
longer between layers. If you are working intensively, it's good to have a second piece to work on, while the first
piece dries and the paint cures.
OTHER MEDIUMS FOR BYZANTINE ICONOGRAPHY
This site addresses only egg tempera painting, which was the primary and classic medium used for historic icons, and
which has become my preferred medium.
Historically, beautiful icons and religious art were made in numerous other forms and mediums, including mosaics,
fresco painting, hot wax encaustic painting, back-painted glass, embroidery, stone carving, wood carving, precious
metals (sometimes set with jewels), ceramics, illuminated manuscripts, woodcuts, tapestry weaving, copper enamel,
stained glass, ironwork, lace, and more.
More recently, artists have made icons and sacred are in such mediums as oil paint on canvas, acrylic paint, batik,
beads, sequins, felt, applique, quilting, collage, photography, and cold wax encaustic painting - whatever art materials
and methods they are accustomed to use.
These living art forms await your exploration, your creativity, your response to the touch of the spirit!
To learn the basics of your medium, enroll in a workshop or a series of classes, talk to artists experienced in the art
form, and read whatever information you can find. By becoming familiar with the tools and techniques of your chosen
medium, you will minimize the inevitable trial, error, and frustration when you embark on the challenge of making your
first icon. If one medium disappoints you or does not suit you, try another.
Good luck, and enjoy your icon-making!
This site addresses only egg tempera painting, which was the primary and classic medium used for historic icons, and
which has become my preferred medium.
Historically, beautiful icons and religious art were made in numerous other forms and mediums, including mosaics,
fresco painting, hot wax encaustic painting, back-painted glass, embroidery, stone carving, wood carving, precious
metals (sometimes set with jewels), ceramics, illuminated manuscripts, woodcuts, tapestry weaving, copper enamel,
stained glass, ironwork, lace, and more.
More recently, artists have made icons and sacred are in such mediums as oil paint on canvas, acrylic paint, batik,
beads, sequins, felt, applique, quilting, collage, photography, and cold wax encaustic painting - whatever art materials
and methods they are accustomed to use.
These living art forms await your exploration, your creativity, your response to the touch of the spirit!
To learn the basics of your medium, enroll in a workshop or a series of classes, talk to artists experienced in the art
form, and read whatever information you can find. By becoming familiar with the tools and techniques of your chosen
medium, you will minimize the inevitable trial, error, and frustration when you embark on the challenge of making your
first icon. If one medium disappoints you or does not suit you, try another.
Good luck, and enjoy your icon-making!