St. Elias - base coat of face, hair, and hands

The base coat is applied in several layers, shown here in four stages.

Green Earth Light, Yellow Ochre, and Venetian Red - the colors mixed to make the base coat for the flesh and hair.

Before painting over the gilding, it is necessary to prepare the gilded surface with garlic, applied directly with a clove, shown here. The garlic acts as a glue to adhere the egg tempera to the gilding. Without it, the paint cannot be applied evenly in these areas.

St. Joseph - base coat of inner robe

St. Elias - base coat of ochre robe

The base coat of the ochre robe shown in these images is pure Ochre de Rue (Brown Ochre). In certain areas, I had to paint this lighter base coat over the darker base coat of the outer robe. For coverage, I had to add a bit of Buff Titanium to the Brown Ochre in these areas.

St. Joseph - background

Finished Background

Fourth Layer (applied diagonally)

Third Layer (applied diagonally)

Second Layer (applied horizontally)

First Layer (applied vertically)

When the icon is not to be gilded, as in this case, the background is painted after the cartoon has been inked.

Ochre is the most commonly used color in the background of an icon without scenery or gilding. This ochre is a mixture of Green Earth Light, Yellow Ochre, and Buff Titanium. She used mostly Green Earth Light and only a very small amount of Buff Titanium. Green Earth Light is coarse and requires grinding with a pestle.

The layers, shown here in five stages, are applied vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, rather than unilaterally, to create a cloudy or atmospheric texture. Some iconographers use a puddling technique to achieve this.

St. Elias - base coat of scarf

The base coat of the scarf, shown here in two stages, is a mixture of Greenish Raw Umber Dark, Genuine Green Earth, and a small amount of Buff Titanium. The scarf will ultimately be white, but the darkest colors are always applied first as the base coat.

St. Joseph - inked cartoon

The drawing is transferred to the panel and then black ink mixed with water is brushed over the lines with a small fine brush.

St. Elias - completed base coat of robe

Several layers of Pompeii Red proves it a much darker color than the initial layer alone seems to indicate. Note than the base coat of the robe is applied directly over other elements, such as the hands, pictured in the detail below.

St. Joseph - completed cartoon

Katie Russell's completed drawing before it has been transferred to her panel