Painting Byzantine Style

I was commission to paint two icon murals by Saint John the Wonderworker (Eastern) Orthodox Church. It is a Christian Church in Eugene, Oregon.

The congregation, along with the visiting Bishop maxim

The inside of St John's, during a service.

St. John's bell tower, in the snow

St. John the Wonderworker Eastern Orthodox Church

Wikipedia says of the Orthodox church,

 The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also referred to as the Orthodox Church and Orthodoxy, is the second largest Christian church in the world, with an estimated 225–300 million adherents, most of whom live in Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, the Middle East, and Russia.

 Regarding icons, Wikipedia observes,

 Icons tend to be formulaic, following a prescribed methodology for how a particular person should be depicted, including hair style, body position, clothing, and background details. Icon painting, in general, is not an opportunity for artistic expression, though each iconographer brings a vision to the piece. It is far more common for an icon to be copied from an older model, though with the recognition of a new saint in the church, a new icon must be created and approved.

As an artist trained in Western representational art--as I am--making two 7' x 11' murals in this prescribed methodology is a great challenge.This method and style goes all the way back to Byzantine Christian Empire.

 I studied the older models and icon patterns for an entire summer--learning the prescribed methodology.

Then I began,

My initial study for the South mural. 

More detailed studies of individual heads.

More detailed studies of individual heads.

More detailed studies of individual heads.

Transferring the individual studies onto the life-sized paper.

The life-sized drawing, which will later be transferred onto the canvas to be painted.

I used a grid system to transfer my small drawing onto the larger, life-sized paper. One square inch became one square foot. This is a system of transfer that goes back to the Renaissance and Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci, as well as others.

I will continue to post here as the icon mural project develops!