I unite three kingdoms through the process of painting: the animal kingdom, through egg and glue; the vegetable kingdom, in the wood; and the mineral kingdom, in the pigments, chalk, clay and gold.

Each painting becomes a microcosm of the cosmos containing the beauty of our planet. For me, the process of painting is a form of prayer: an offering to the Creator in gratitude of creation.

My process embodies the beauty of natural materials as well as the beauty of our spiritual nature.

The techniques and process are inspired by the sacred icon of the Byzantine and the Italian artist of 15th century. They haven’t changed since Renaissance art.

Each painting involves many processes and many hours in making.

materials and techniques

Gilding

Gilding is applying very thin of genuine gold leaf to a surface. Water gilding is the Rolls Royce of the gilding world. It is the pinnacle of this craft and produces the best results with the most longevity. It has many different stages that must be completed for the final finish, and each stage is a skill and craft in its own right. It consist of applying loose sheets of genuine gold on a layer of prepared red clay (bole). The bole supplies a flexible surface that allows for polishing the gold with an agate burnisher (stone) thereby obtaining a brilliant and very smooth effect. The bole gives the gold red reflections due to the gold transparency. This technique of gilding requires a significant investment in materials and long practice to obtain good results.

Egg tempera

Egg tempera is the most-durable form of painting, being generally unaffected by humidity and temperature. It’s long lasting and the doesn’t yellow over time. It’s been used as early as the Egyptians and perfected during early Renaissance period.

Egg is mixed with pigments to produce paint. A collection of earth and minerals pigments such as ochres, hematite and oxides and mineral pigments like Azurite and Malachite and Cobalt are used in the paintings. I use high grade azurite that comes from the Azure stone to create luminosity and depth.

True Gesso

Gesso is a mix of animal hide glue (the by product of the animal industry) and chalk using ancient recipes. It is the base for each painting. It’s a long process of soaking the glue, then warming it and mixing it with the chalk. Chalk is natural material found in earth that artists have used for hundreds of years.

Each painting has a minimum of 8 layers of gesso. It’s then left to dry for few days before sanding to a very smooth finish ready for painting and gilding.