Studio Practice

There are paintings and there are paintings. In structure, intention and purpose religious painting is quite different from much other art and in the making of each piece I endeavour to bear in mind the place of the artist in their production:

“A window is only a window, and the board of an icon is merely wood, paint, and finish. But through the window I behold the Mother of God, a vision of the Most Pure. Yes, icon painter, you have shown Her to me, but you did not create Her; rather, you have parted the veil so that She, who was behind it, now stands as a real experience not only for me but also for you; and She appears to you and is found by you, but She is never invented by you even in the strongest currents of your highest inspiration.”

From ‘Iconostasis’ by Pavel Florensky (quoting St Joseph of Volotsk) St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, New York 2000

Materials

Painters and their studios who have created religious art have always paid great attention to the materials used.

Traditionally wooden panels have been used as a support for painting throughout Europe for hundreds of years. For stability and longevity seasoned oak and poplar are regularly chosen.

These panel paintings use 1 inch thick poplar as a support which is first cut to shape, sanded, and sealed with a size preparation of rabbit skin glue. To counteract the tendency for the glue size to shrink and warp the panel as it dries panels of medium to larger dimensions are also sized on the reverse. A layer of fine artist’s linen canvas is then applied to the face of the panel, which is sized again, trimmed, and resized along the canvas edges. A painting ground of whiting and glue size is then prepared and is applied in up to 15 layers. Once dry the panel is sanded again before a ‘lean, resin-rich’ thinned coat of titanium white ground or ‘underpainting’ is applied using the softest of rabbit hair blenders. This reduces porosity of the surface while allowing the paint sufficient grip. When thoroughly dry the panel is gently sanded again for extra 'tooth' and it is then ready for use.

For some paintings stretched canvas has been used instead of a wooden panel. Stretched canvas allows paintings to be of any size while avoiding some problems with large panels that they may need to be assembled from separate pieces of weed joined together. It also lends itself to working on more unusual shapes.

Crucial to the concept of this practice is that a direct and intimate relationship with a lineage of historical precedent is retained in the new work. This connection with the tradition of religious image making is primary and provides verification that these new works do indeed embody, convey and disseminate the Christian faith.¹ (For more details see ‘About the Work’.)

Each painting therefore begins with a search for an image that will speak to us today and which will also clearly convey its intrinsic spiritual essence. The image is then enlarged or reduced to an appropriate size and using an interleaf of thin paper which has been intensely dusted with an earth colour artist’s dry pastel the design is traced through to the prepared panel. The pastel linework is fixed with fine resin varnish.

Paints

The paints used are good quality artist’s oil colours. However, the oil content of paints today is generally too high for this kind of work and so the pre-prepared paints are mixed with a combination of Strasbourg Turpentine (or Venice Turpentine), Thickened Linseed Oil, and Genuine Turpentine. Different proportions are used according to the different pigments and the work in hand.

While this painting medium is ideal for panel painting many artists such as Titian, Tintoretto and Velazquez, as well as many other 16th century artists chose to use a resin-oil paint mix on stretched canvasses; especially for layers subsequent to the first laying out of the image.

Some art historians have voiced a concern that combinations of resin and oil paint, when used on a flexible surface such as a stretched canvas may have a tendency to crack. However, the real danger of paint cracking comes not from the mixed painting medium itself but from the paint being thickly applied. Before the mid 19th century thicker impasto paint was used only sparingly, usually for highlights or to provide touches of emphasis. If the paint layer is kept thin a resin-oil painting is no more likely to crack than one completed with straight oil paint.

Method

The painting method used involves working with multiple thin layers of paint in a variety of qualities of opaque, semi-transparent and transparent. Brushwork may be dry and lively or at times applied with great care and precision. Different layers dry at different rates, so to be sure the paint surface is dry as the stages of work progress each painting can take many weeks to complete. Studio work therefore necessitates working on a few paintings at once – true workshop practice.

The resin oil process works very well for translucency and richness of depth but is less good for sharp opaque highlights. As part of the process therefore highlights can be created by introducing touches of tempera to the painting which are then subsequently glazed over. As light passes through the transparent glaze layer the opacity of the tempera reflects back a bright clear colour.

The colours chosen for a painting take as a first consideration the colour of the source image. As work begins the visual practice of looking, comparing and considering comes into play and each piece takes on a life of its own. These are not historicist pastiches but look to regain the heartfelt and joyful spirit contained in the source painting and experienced by its audience when new. During painting straightforward imitation gives way to transcription and interpretation until the historic original is made fresh and new for its place in our world today. Some change a little; some radically. Art enters the process and the value of the finished piece is finally, as with all art, a matter of whether it speaks to the viewer.

Religious art before the Western Renaissance, and until more recent times in the Eastern Christian tradition, has typically included the names of figures depicted written within the space of the painting itself. There may also be some comment on an event taking place in the picture.

The works shown here also name the key figures and, given that they are created today, in a context of Modern English, names have been written in English. Abbreviations typical of the Eastern Christian Tradition are however retained in the original Greek since, over centuries of use, they have taken on the quality of signifiers which link the viewer directly to its historic origin, much as do the images themselves.

According to the effects required in different paintings the halos of figures may be finished with dry ground ‘gold’ mixed in a resin-oil medium, or with gold leaf, or by creating a particular colour shift in colours used.

The paintings are kept for some months to allow them to dry before being finished with a simple light (removable) matt retouching varnish. This provides some reasonable degree of protection and also a gentle sheen to the paint surface.

Each painting will of course require careful consideration of the environment in which it is kept. The level and fluctuations of temperature, humidity and direct light should all be regulated to avoid extremes as these paintings are made entirely from natural materials.

Finally, each painting has the name and origin of its source noted on the reverse, stating:

This last comment refers to the fact that, though the paintings are for sale, following their purchase I make no further claim on the life of the work. I claim the right to be recompensed for its making, but the image lies with the source and so is not mine to claim.

Monoprints

The monoprints are inspired by the same subject matter as the paintings but follow the practices of drawing rather than painting. They are made using the centuries old artists’ technique for transferring a preliminary drawing onto a panel or a wall before painting begins.

Following the lines of the image the drawing is first pricked through to create a stencil-like template. The whole drawing is then dusted with ground charcoal which passes through the holes transferring the image onto a prepared surface of hand coloured and toned watercolour paper. The delicate ‘dust-image’ is then fixed. Most prints are complete at this stage but some are reworked with washes of watercolour.

By using this cartoon pricking technique each monoprint is connected to the historic original in a very direct way, while the variations inherent in the process mean every one of them is unique. Each template typically produces no more than 8 to 12 variants before it decays to the point where it can no longer be used.

Every monoprint is accompanied by a signed certificate which describes the source image for the work. A firm backing and support is included with each piece but framing is left to individual choice.

By being 'made new again' each image is in essence identical with its historical source, and whether as painting or monoprint, is offered to a new audience as a support for our personal and collective faith. I hope each one will find a good home.