Religious Icons

Religious Icons

Apply a layer of Gesso to your canvas to seal and prepare the surface.

We used a piece of stiff cardboard to scrape the Gesso onto the canvas.

When the Gesso is dry, paint the surface and edges with Burnt Umber brown paint.

Thin coats dry quickly!

Carefully rip around the outside of your image. Use a flat surface and hold the image down with one hand and rip slowly, pulling toward you with the other hand.

Leave a gap between your rip and the image where possible

RIP - DO NOT CUT!!

Play around with where your images should go. Remember to BALANCE your work.

Plan ahead and leave a space for your words.

Choose some phrases to add to your icon. Try passages from the Bible, Corinthian Calendar or hymns.

Print them onto a word document and change the font until you find the one most suitable.

Print them in a variety of sizes

Carefully rip around your phrases and position them on your canvas.

Mix PVA with water to make a thin runny solution and glue all images and phrases to canvas.

Try to avoid putting glue on top of image or phrase.

Using a thin brush paint around the edge of the angel/person in your image.

Paint over top of the paper background so that it becomes brown.

BE CAREFUL

Smoothly edge the words with brown paint also.

Use a watery solution with a little brown paint and wash over the words to take away the stark white background.

Use a piece of chalk to plan the halo of the main feature/s of your Icon.

Rip small pieces of textured wallpaper and use PVA to glue them over your canvas background.

Using a variety of patterns will give your icon interest and greater depth.

Pieces of lace and doily can also be used to add texture and interest. Glue them using PVA also.

Leave the corners for crackle.

When the surface is covered with wallpaper or other textures, paint it brown again!

Check to make sure that all pieces are glued down and not flapping up! Glue them down if they are sticking up.

Paint the corners with Naples Yellow. When they are dry paint them again to give them at least two coats.

Use Indian Yellow and Crimson to paint the halo around the heads of your religious figures. These will need a couple of coats to get good coverage.

Using a big DRY brush dab a very small amount of rich gold paint onto the end and then brush the excess off onto newspaper. Lightly brush the gold paint over the bumps on your canvas and watch it come alive.

Repeat this with Crimson paint and Rich Gold until your icon shines just the way you want it too.

Pour crackle medium onto the Naples Yellow corners. Quickly spread it and then leave it – it doesn’t like to be fiddled with! Let it dry naturally.

As the crackle dries it breaks open leaving cracks in the surface.

Push brown paint into the cracks and cover the Naples Yellow paint.

With a damp cloth wipe the excess paint off.

Clean the paint away, leaving the brown paint in the cracks to dry.

Use Shellac to adhere the gold leaf. Try not to get the shellac on your fingers as it acts like glue to the gold leaf. Use the wooden end of the paintbrush if necessary to push the gold leaf onto the canvas.

Work with just a tiny bit at a time, and be careful with it as it is fragile like a butterfly wing.

Use every little bit as it is very expensive!

Finally…

Brush shellac over the entire surface including the images. Try to spread it evenly and not let any puddles form.