Iconography image is structured by lines, color values, shapes, textures, space, and movement. There is a world beyond straight lines and curves, yellow for the sun, green for the grass, red for roses, etc. The earth's abundance and diversity can be found in tiny colored particles which make up egg tempera paint. We use it to create divine image.

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Egg Tempera Paint is fine ground Earth Pigments.

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The color in Byzantine iconography feels ancient when you look at it because it is! The individual colors are lustrous,  granular, sandy or soft ochers, they are radiantly bright and precious. The sheen from the egg yolk can turn the surface glossy and look as if it is saturated with life.

The depth of the color is created as a result of many thin layers, each with distinct tone and personality. When one pigment dries and another layer covers it, I grieve. I am forced to conceal the spontaneously beauty revealed by the application of another layer of color. Yet with enough layers, new forms arise, rich, and deep in quality.

The layers become transparent after 3 to 6 months, and the under painting is magnificent. The end product seems to be inevitably harmonious just because the pigments themselves were created side by side in time and space, in the same way the planet evolved. Ancient earth history mixed with the human expression for the divine, what a match!

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Please, Join us in the Workshop

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Even if you do not have a particular bent towards religious imagery, you cannot deny the quality of the pigments and their fascinating character.

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Such simple beauty is intriguing, pushing around small particles of dirt which dry and form unimaginable patterns. I am fascinated by drying sand at the beach, mud puddles and water, or cracked earth in the desert. These patterns repeat themselves on an icon but in minuscule format. The practice of Iconography is pure delight.

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