Icon painting, or icon painting, is an ancient fine art that appeared simultaneously with Christianity. The first icon, that is, the image, is considered the so-called image of the Savior not made by hands, imprinted on a towel, with which Christ wiped his face. According to legend, this towel was presented to a certain king, who, praying in front of the image, was healed of a serious illness. The importance of the work of an icon painter is compared to the work of a priest leading a service.
Instructions
Step 1
Get a specialized education. Even after graduating from the graphic arts faculty, you will have only a general idea of icon painting and the laws of icon composition. Much in the creation of an icon contradicts the classical laws of painting: perspective, size, background, color - all objects and people are painted not according to the principle of proximity to the viewer, but in chronological order and taking into account the degree of importance.
Step 2
Strict fasting is prescribed before the icon is painted. Contrary to popular belief, fasting is not only a restriction in food (excluding meat, eggs, dairy products), but constant vigilance and prayer. Vigilance is not a round-the-clock lack of sleep, but attention to your words, actions and thoughts. A person who is angry with other people will not be able to paint a good icon. Prayer is defined as a conversation with God and the saints, a request to protect, support, help.
Step 3
The icon is written on a wooden base consisting of three parts. There are two explanations for this custom, a practical one and a sacramental one. Firstly, a voluminous wide piece of wood will begin to dry out and sag, while the paints may crack and crumble, the image will fade. Three vertical pieces of wood glued together will also bend, but not so much. Sometimes small icons are made on a single board.
Step 4
Apply primer. In Russian icon painting, there is still a tradition, borrowed from Byzantine art, to use levkas in this capacity - a mixture of chalk and fish glue. Levkas is applied in several layers, the last layer is sanded.
Step 5
Paint the images with birch charcoal, then dark paint. Often a drawing is done according to another icon, from which a new one is written off.
Step 6
Apply gold paint: halos, clothing details, light (background), decorative elements.
Step 7
Perform preparatory writing: clothes, landscape details, buildings, etc. At this stage, a special paint based on an aqueous emulsion with egg yolk - tempera is used. Only natural dyes are used. In different icon painting schools, the order of work on writing is somewhat different, but the general order is as follows: background (except for gold), mountains, buildings, clothes, exposed parts of bodies.
Step 8
Write Likes. The face of each saint is written according to certain canons: the shape of the face, beard, hair and eye color - everything is strictly regulated in accordance with the appearance of a person who actually lived. Recently, it has become possible to draw a face from a photograph.
Step 9
Apply white to define the volume of the protruding parts. Often, for the same purpose, after drying, a layer of dark paint was applied to the entire icon.
Step 10
Apply highlights with a mixture of ocher and white. Then "blush" with a thin layer of red paint: lips, cheeks, nose tip, etc.
Step 11
With liquid brown paint, paint the subtle details: hair, eyebrows, beard, pupils.
Step 12
Apply varnish to the dried image - drying oil. Wait until it is completely dry. The icon is ready.
