Who is the best teacher for icon painting?

Leonid Ouspensky (1902-1987) always said, with regard to learning the craft of icon painting, that, “the best teachers are the ancient icons.” That remains true for any iconographer concerned for traditional painting.

What type of paint did icon painters use?

Early icon painters tended to use encaustic paint, which employs hot beeswax as a binding medium to bind pigments and facilitate their application to a surface. This painting method was later superceded by tempera paint, which uses egg yolks instead. Icons varied in size from the miniature to the very large.

What are icons made of?

Panels for icons are made of solid wood, usually poplar or mahogany , varieties of wood which are chosen for their stable, non-warping qualities. Solid oak struts are inserted in grooves cut into the back of each panel, across the grain to retard warping.

What is a church icon?

Church icons were sometimes of a more permanent construction, appearing in fresco murals or glittering mosaics, which were used in church interiors as decorative and instructional art. See: Ravenna Mosaics 400-600.