It's been years since I've painted the Apostle Paul so i was happy to have the opportunity to paint him again. This icon is for an infant and the parents were worried that the icon of St Paul is a bit austere  so I made his features a bit more gentle. 

Are you interested in learning Byzantine Iconography? I have numerous tutorials available on
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Sign up on Patreon for early access to the tutorials and many other benefits! The support I receive on Patreon makes the Byzantine Iconography Video Tutorial Project possible.
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Are you interested in learning Byzantine Iconography? I have numerous tutorials available on
​

I always love the opportunity to paint unusual saints, so I was pleased to have the opportunity  to paint the Righteous Melchizedek. It seems that since I started reading through the Old Testament I've started getting commissions for the OT Righteous!

Are you interested in learning Byzantine Iconography? I have numerous tutorials available on
​

Sign up on Patreon for early access to the tutorials and many other benefits! The support I receive on Patreon makes the Byzantine Iconography Video Tutorial Project possible.
​

Sign up on Patreon for early access to the tutorials and many other benefits! The support I receive on Patreon makes the Byzantine Iconography Video Tutorial Project possible.
​

It's not often that a Saint intervenes and expresses their opinion on how they want their icon. but that is precisely what happened with this icon of St Maria Skobtsova of Paris. The commissioner asked for a full gold background and halo. Something told me that was not what St Maria would want, but as the the customer wanted gold, that is what I would do...but St Maria had other ideas! I had laid down the shellac and started with the glue size, but it behaved strangely so I wiped it off with white spirit and decided to try again but the cup of gold size fell over spilling everywhere. So I started over from scratch. I started laying on the size again but as soon as I reached the halo it suddenly became thick and unworkable! Again the cup of gold size fell over! I tried a third time and the same thing happened! The size became thick and the cup fell over again! Finally the bottle of white spirits fell on the icon! St Maria was adamant. She did not want gold on her icon! So I sanded off the shellac and painted  the background red for the blood of the Holy Martyrs. St Maria pray for us!
For a detailed explanation on painting black garments see my blog post about Painting St Porphyrios.

Coming soon to Patreon on 5 October 2020, the first tutorial in the latest series of Byzantine Iconography drawing tutorials on drawing Christ crucified. Sign up to enjoy the full tutorial with real time footage and voiceover. The tutorials also have subtitles for the deaf. Sign up here to learn Byzantine Iconography and choose the benefits tier that suits your needs. 

 Are you interested in learning Byzantine Iconography? Here is your chance to get 50% off all Byzantine Iconography Drawing courses on Udemy from 26 - 30 November  with  the discount code NOVEMBERSALE2020! Just click on the links below to sign up for the course(s) of your choice!

Course includes:​

1. Introduction to Line, Rhythm and Drawing the Face
2. Drawing the Face in Dynamic Frontal Pose with Curved 
   Axes 
3. Drawing Ascetic Faces and Beards 
4. Drawing the Face in ¾ Pose Part 1 (Reverential Pose) 
5. Drawing the Face in ¾ Pose Part 2 (Upward Facing 
   Pose) 
6. Drawing the Face of the Infant Christ

Course includes:

1.  Drawing hands (Part 1)
2.  Drawing hands (Part 2)
3. Drawing the Half-figure in Frontal Pose 
4. Drawing the half figure in ¾ pose 

Course includes:

1. Basic Folds
2. Hanging Folds
3. Creating Volume with Line

Course includes:

1. Basic Structure of the Full Figure
2. Drawing Feet
3. Drawing a full figure Christ (Apostles & Prophets) 
4. Drawing Women Saints
5. Drawing Monastic Saints 

Course includes:

1. Drawing Hierarchs
2. Drawing Priests 
3. Drawing Deacons

Course includes:

1. Drawing Imperial and Noble Saints
2. Drawing Martyrs
3. Drawing Holy Unmercenaries (Basic Composition)

Course includes:

1. Drawing St John the Forerunner
2. Drawing Angels
3. Drawing Soldier Saints

Course includes:

1. Drawing the Basic 3/4 Figure
2. Drawing the Bowing 3/4 Figure
3. Drawing a Dynamic 3/4 Figure

Course Includes:

1. Drawing the Frontal (Enthroned) Seated Figure
2. Drawing a 3/4 Seated Figure (Introduction to Vertical or Relative Perspective)
3. Drawing a Reclining Figure
4. Drawing the Burial of Christ 
5. Drawing a Kneeling Figure