Icon Writing #2: Just beginning...

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The idea of icon writing is that you are copying from life, from an image that has been drawn and redrawn since St. Luke. (Photos taken with my iPhone whose camera lens needs a cleaning)

major blocks sketched (some lines were erased after this photo)
 Given that icons can be recognized by the styles (Russian Orthodox are quite distinctive) and by the materials used, being identical is not important.

What is important is the prayer that goes into it -- which for me is a mix of silent wonder at the layers of paint going on and muffled cursing when paint goes where it shouldn't.

Our workspace: I'm on the left, Helena on the right.
Putting on super-thin layers of paint requires patience because if you try to rush, this happens:


The paint lifts and then you have to be even more patient in putting layers over it because then it will lift more.

We only got two colors down in this session: the dark red base color of her veil, and the tiny parchment.



We're working on this one day a week. Getting done by Advent may turn out to be a bit optimistic!

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