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Our Process of Creating Byzantine Icons
For creation of our icons we use and apply traditional Byzantine methods and materials which have been
tested over many centuries.
The base of the icon is a traditional high quality durable wood. Then the base is covered with a layer of
batiste or canvas and several layers of gesso made from rabbit skin glue and powdered marble. Such
prepared ground is both tough and absorbent and allows egg tempera paint to adhere strongly and
provides good, firm surface for so-called water gilding.
After completing the painting of the drawing to the panel, several layers of bole (burnishing clay) are
applied to the background to prepare them for the receiving of 24K gold leaf. After gilding, gold is
burnished using agate burnisher or, for a varied effect can be finished with so-called water matte method.
Since the egg yolk is very perishable and egg tempera paint cannot be purchased ready made, our artist
makes it professionally. Dry, powdered pigments are ground with water and then mixed with egg yolk on
daily basis. We use pigments which meet highest standards of permanency (sufficient even for fresco
painting). Our palette is built around the various natural earths, which are not only beautiful, but also
exceptionally stable, with real vermilion and a few other manufactured pigments added for contrast and
liveliness of color. Particles of pigment, when enclosed in egg medium, retain their brilliance and
freshness of color for centuries and the translucent character of tempera allows exploiting their optical
properties to the fullest extend.
As a final finish for our icons we use linseed oil based varnish, made with fossil resins: either amber or
copal. Such varnish is difficult to make and to apply, but for icons, which are first of all liturgical objects,
such varnish is the most appropriate. It is made by exposing linseed oil to the action of sunlight and oxygen
from the air for several months, then boiling it adding dissolved resin and a little bit of cobalt drier. Later the
mixture is thinned with turpentine and poured while still hot over warmed icon. It is left, protected from dust,
for several hours to allow the oil to penetrate the paint and to thicken through exposure to air. Then excess
of oil is removed from the surface. The icon has to be left in horizontal position and protected from dust for
about a week to dry. Oil varnish imparts a delicate sheen to the surface, makes the paint inedible for
insects or rodents and protects it from oil or salt from hands, and is not brittle.
Finally a degree of aging can be applied to the icon, which depends of your personal choice. You can view
several aging results in our list of Completed Icons and chose the style your like. Of course, you may also
elect your icon not to be aged. Let us know what your preference is when placing the order.
While some other works of art require some special conditions for their preservation (most typically
protection from light), paintings in egg tempera on wood, finished with linseed oil based varnish are best
preserved under the same, moderate conditions of light, humidity, temperature and cleanliness of air that
are optimal for human habitation. This is why our Byzantine Icons are a timeless investment set to be
enjoyed by many generations of your family.
For creation of our icons we use and apply traditional Byzantine methods and materials which have been
tested over many centuries.
The base of the icon is a traditional high quality durable wood. Then the base is covered with a layer of
batiste or canvas and several layers of gesso made from rabbit skin glue and powdered marble. Such
prepared ground is both tough and absorbent and allows egg tempera paint to adhere strongly and
provides good, firm surface for so-called water gilding.
After completing the painting of the drawing to the panel, several layers of bole (burnishing clay) are
applied to the background to prepare them for the receiving of 24K gold leaf. After gilding, gold is
burnished using agate burnisher or, for a varied effect can be finished with so-called water matte method.
Since the egg yolk is very perishable and egg tempera paint cannot be purchased ready made, our artist
makes it professionally. Dry, powdered pigments are ground with water and then mixed with egg yolk on
daily basis. We use pigments which meet highest standards of permanency (sufficient even for fresco
painting). Our palette is built around the various natural earths, which are not only beautiful, but also
exceptionally stable, with real vermilion and a few other manufactured pigments added for contrast and
liveliness of color. Particles of pigment, when enclosed in egg medium, retain their brilliance and
freshness of color for centuries and the translucent character of tempera allows exploiting their optical
properties to the fullest extend.
As a final finish for our icons we use linseed oil based varnish, made with fossil resins: either amber or
copal. Such varnish is difficult to make and to apply, but for icons, which are first of all liturgical objects,
such varnish is the most appropriate. It is made by exposing linseed oil to the action of sunlight and oxygen
from the air for several months, then boiling it adding dissolved resin and a little bit of cobalt drier. Later the
mixture is thinned with turpentine and poured while still hot over warmed icon. It is left, protected from dust,
for several hours to allow the oil to penetrate the paint and to thicken through exposure to air. Then excess
of oil is removed from the surface. The icon has to be left in horizontal position and protected from dust for
about a week to dry. Oil varnish imparts a delicate sheen to the surface, makes the paint inedible for
insects or rodents and protects it from oil or salt from hands, and is not brittle.
Finally a degree of aging can be applied to the icon, which depends of your personal choice. You can view
several aging results in our list of Completed Icons and chose the style your like. Of course, you may also
elect your icon not to be aged. Let us know what your preference is when placing the order.
While some other works of art require some special conditions for their preservation (most typically
protection from light), paintings in egg tempera on wood, finished with linseed oil based varnish are best
preserved under the same, moderate conditions of light, humidity, temperature and cleanliness of air that
are optimal for human habitation. This is why our Byzantine Icons are a timeless investment set to be
enjoyed by many generations of your family.
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