St. John in Silence: Egg tempera on wooden panel with 24kt water-gilded halos (10" x 11½", 2011).
St. Barbara of Cobalt: Egg tempera with silver leaf water-gilded halo (16" x 24", 2010).
St. Barbara of Cobalt (detail): Egg tempera with silver leaf water-gilded halo (16" x 24", 2010).
St. Barbara of Madoc: Egg tempera with 24kt water-gilded halo (16" x 24", 2010).
St. Barbara of Madoc (detail): Egg tempera with 24kt water-gilded halo (16" x 24", 2010).
Sts. Barbara: Egg tempera with 24kt water-gilded halo (16" x 24", 2010).
Diptych of Christ and the Virgin: Egg tempera on wooden panel with 24kt water-gilding and ebony frame (1½" x 2", 2009).
Diptych of Christ and the Virgin (reverse): Egg tempera on wooden panel with 24kt water-gilding and ebony frame (1½" x 2", 2009).
Diptych of Christ and the Virgin (assemblage): Egg tempera on wooden panel with 24kt water-gilding and ebony frame (1½" x 2", 2009).
St. Mark the Ascetic: Egg tempera on wooden panel with 24kt water-gilding (8" x 10", 2007).
St. Mark the Ascetic (detail): Egg tempera on wooden panel with 24kt water-gilding (8" x 10", 2007).
Elijah's Refreshment: Egg tempera on wooden panel with 22kt water-gilding (36" x 36", 2007).
Elijah's Refreshment (detail): Egg tempera on wooden panel with 22kt water-gilding (36" x 36", 2007).
Elijah's Refreshment (detail): Egg tempera on wooden panel with 22kt water-gilding (36" x 36", 2007).
Virgin and Child: Egg tempera on wooden panel with 22kt water-gilding (4" x 6", 2007).
St. Nicholas the Wonder Worker: Egg tempera on wooden panel with 22kt water-gilding (19" x 23½", 2006).
St. Gabriel: Egg tempera and 22kt oil-gilding on wooden panel (17¼" x 24", 2004).
These works represent a selection of icons that I’ve painted over the past decade. I began writing icons in 1996 with Fr. Nathanael Smyth, of blesséd memory, at the Monastic Brotherhood of St. Theodore the Studite and learned many things from him about the attitude with which one should approach life, iconography, and the arts. In 2002 my hands were blessed to follow a vocation as an iconographer and at this time I began to seek out such work. In 2004 I traveled to England and studied egg tempera techniques with Aidan Hart, which opened up a new way of creating icons and convinced me of the beauty of using natural materials. And, in the summer of 2011, I successfully defended thesis at the Donau-Universität Krems by connecting specific places and their local pigments through a concept I called, “Local-colour” and was granted my Masters of Fine Art.
Dear Chris,
This is such a beautiful website and you eloquently described your quest – it draws one in and opens one’s eyes…
With love,
Carol & Colin
Carol & Colin—Thank you for your kind words. As with life, it’s a work in progress; but I’m glad it spoke to you. —Christopher