Painting St Odelia Step-by-Step: Lime Tree (Part 3)

In Part 1 of this tutorial series on St Odelia of Alsace we did the underpainting, and in Part 2 the garments, and now we get to the lime tree. My client wanted me to depict her with a lime tree as she had planted 3 lime trees to signify the Holy Trinity and that was the reason I chose to paint the icon using the underpainting technique. One of the basic principles of Byzantine iconography is the contrast between warm and cool colours and we paint cooler colour on top of warmer ones to project them off the painting surface towards the viewer ( you can learn more about this in the tutorial on The Function of Colour and Light in the Icon). This meant that painting a green tree with green fruit is something of a problem. So I decided to use the underpainting as a warm proplasmos for the tree and then paint the limes in a cooler green. The real-time bonus video for the process of painting the lime tree is available on Patreon here.

Bonus Video Collection

You can now purchase access to all the real-time bonus videos for the St Odelia blog tutorials for €20 without a Patreon subscription here.

Underpainting

This is where we left off at the end of the previous tutorial. The lime tree has been painted with the underpainting (yellow ochre + black+ a touch of mars red) and it has been built up in the darker areas with the addition of black, as seen in Part 1.

Underpainting 2

Now using yellow and black we further build up the darker areas, and create a rhythmic movement of the leaves.

Underpainting 3

With the addition of some more black we further build up the darker areas.

Grapsimo Details

Again I add some more black and start building up rhythmic leaves in the darkest areas.

Limes Proplasmos

Now using yellow ochre, black and white I paint in 3 limes (I couldn’t paint 3 lime trees on an icon this size so I settled for three limes to signify the Holy Trinity

Limes 1st Grapsimo

With the addition of black, I paint in the 1st Grapsimo.

Limes 2nd Grapsimo

For the 2nd graspimo I add some more black and just a touch of medium mars red, just to make the limes “pop” off the surface.

Limes 1st Photisma

The 1st Photisma is made with the proplasmos and some white.

2nd Photisma & Reflection

For the 2nd Photisma we add some more wine. I have also painted a “reflection” around the darker edge of the tree. This is a technique used by masters like Panselinos to distinguish between two dark areas, where one form disappears into another. It is very important in Byzantine iconography that each individual form can be distinguished.

Final details

Then finally I go back and create some more leaved with the grapsimo.