When we look at an Orthodox icon, we may first notice the gold, the colours, the solemn faces, or the distinctive features of Byzantine art. But an icon is much more than a beautiful religious painting.

For the Orthodox Church, an icon is a sacred image. It does not simply illustrate a biblical story or represent a saint. It makes visible, through colour and form, the reality of the heavenly world and bears witness to the person depicted in it.

This is why the traditional painting of an Orthodox icon is not simply an artistic exercise. It is a process that requires patience, discipline, knowledge of the tradition, and above all, respect for what the icon represents.

An icon is not simply a portrait

An Orthodox icon does not aim to reproduce a person exactly as we might see them in an ordinary portrait.

The purpose of iconography is different.

The faces, gestures, garments, colours and proportions are shaped according to a visual language that developed over centuries within the life of the Church. The iconographer does not freely invent this language. Instead, he or she receives it, studies it and works within it.

This does not mean that every icon looks exactly the same. On the contrary, there is room for the hand, sensitivity and experience of each iconographer. But personal expression remains connected to the tradition.

The goal is not simply to create an attractive image. 

Living in Greece, a country that has been continuously Orthodox for almost than 2,000 years, we have the experience of venerating many miraculous icons. What is worth noting, however, is that many of these icons—perhaps even most of them—are not of particularly high aesthetic or artistic quality. This helps us understand that God grants His grace to icons according to criteria other than their aesthetic or artistic merit.

The tradition of Byzantine iconography

Orthodox iconography is deeply connected with the Byzantine artistic tradition. Its visual language developed over many centuries and can be seen in icons, manuscripts, frescoes and mosaics throughout the Orthodox world.

The earliest Christian images appeared in the catacombs of Rome during the first centuries of Christianity, when wealthy patrons of the then-persecuted Christian communities had the means to adorn their tombs with imagery inspired by their faith.

These early images were based on the classical conventions of mural painting that had existed up to that point, but with one distinctive feature: the eyes.

Bearing in mind the belief that the eyes are the mirror of the soul, artists began to depict figures with disproportionately large eyes—a characteristic that was later adopted, to a great extent, by Byzantine painting.

As byzantine iconography continued to evolve its most recognisable characteristics became to be its approach to the human figure.

The figures in an icon are not painted as ordinary people standing in an ordinary earthly space. Their appearance points beyond everyday physical reality. The composition, perspective, colours and light all contribute to this purpose.

This is why Byzantine icons can sometimes appear so different from Western religious paintings.

An icon does not attempt to create the illusion that we are simply looking through a window into an earthly scene. Instead, it invites us into a different way of seeing.

Why is gold used in Orthodox icons?

Gold has a particularly important place in Orthodox iconography.

The golden background is not merely decorative. Gold does not behave like an ordinary colour. It reflects light, creating a surface that seems to shine rather than simply absorb the light around it.

In an icon, this can suggest the uncreated light and the reality of the Kingdom of God.

For this reason, genuine gold leaf is traditionally used in many icons, especially for halos and backgrounds. The application of gold is itself a demanding part of the process. The surface must be carefully prepared, and the gold must be handled with precision and patience.

When light falls upon the finished icon, the gold changes with it. The image can appear different in the morning, in the evening, or under candlelight.

This living quality of gold is one of the things that makes an icon so distinctive.

Why egg tempera?

Traditional Byzantine icons are commonly painted using egg tempera.

Egg tempera is a medium made with pigments bound with egg yolk. It is very different from modern acrylic or oil painting. It dries relatively quickly, but the painting process itself is slow because the colour is built gradually through many thin layers.

This allows the iconographer to develop the face, garments and other elements step by step.

The technique requires control.

Too much pigment, too much binder, or too heavy a layer can affect the surface. The iconographer must constantly observe how the colour behaves and how each new layer interacts with those beneath it.

The result is a surface that has a particular depth and luminosity.

For me, this slow process is part of the meaning of icon painting itself.

The wooden board

The icon begins long before the sketch.

The wooden panel must be properly prepared before it can receive the painting. Traditionally, the preparation involves several stages that create a stable and suitable surface for the subsequent layers.

The preparation of the board is not something that can simply be rushed through.

The iconographer  eventually works on a surface that has been built carefully layer by layer, just as the painting itself will later be built through many layers of colour. There is a tradition of placing 33 layers of natural gesso, as were the years of Jesus Christ. 

In this sense, an icon is a work of patience from its very beginning.

Painting an icon is a slow process

One of the questions I am most often asked is why an icon takes so long to complete.

The answer is simple: there are many stages.

To save time I take the boards from a craft workshop that prepare them with the traditional way. After this there are the following stages: transferring the drawing, applyinh gold leaflaying in the colours, building the faces, painting the garments, adding the final details and completing the finishing process all require time.

Some stages may be almost invisible to someone seeing only the finished icon.

But they are essential.

A face that appears simple at first glance may have been developed through numerous subtle layers. The fine lines and highlights that define the features are among the final stages of a process that began much earlier.

This is why a handmade Orthodox icon cannot be compared simply with a printed image or a digitally reproduced artwork.

It carries the time and labour of the person who painted it. But, as I have already written in a post of mine: «Even from these stones God can raise up children for Abraham». God can give his Grace even in a printed icon. I don't doupt at all. 

The iconographer's role

An iconographer is not simply an artist who paints religious subjects.

The work requires both artistic skill and familiarity with the tradition of Orthodox iconography and theology.

When I paint an icon, I am not trying to make the image completely my own. I am entering into a tradition that existed long before me and will, God willing, continue long after me. I try to keep in mind what old iconographers were always saying: our hand is just a tool of God's Grace.

My task is to learn from that tradition, to understand it as deeply as I can, and to serve it through my own hands.

An icon for the home

For many Orthodox Christians, an icon has a place in everyday life.

It may be an image of Christ, the Mother of God, a beloved saint, or the patron saint of a family member. It may be received at baptism, given as a wedding or anniversary gift, placed in a prayer corner, or simply chosen because of a particular connection with a saint.

An icon can become part of the life of a home.

It is not simply something to look at. It is not just an artwork but much more.

It is an image before which a person may stand in prayer. It is a mirror for our souls.

That is why creating a commissioned icon is something I approach with particular care. The person who orders an icon is often choosing something that will remain in their family for many years and, perhaps, be passed from one generation to another.

Why I paint icons

For me, iconography brings together several things that I deeply value: tradition, craftsmanship, history, beauty and faith.

I love the physical process of it — the wooden board, the pigments, the gold, the brushes and the gradual development of the image.

But beyond the materials, there is something more important.

An icon asks for patience.

It asks the painter to slow down.

It asks us to remember that some things cannot be hurried.

And perhaps this is one of the reasons why I continue to be drawn to this ancient art.

Every icon begins as a prepared wooden board and a drawing.

Little by little, through colour, light and countless careful brushstrokes, an image emerges.

And when the work is finally complete, what remains is not simply a painting.

It is an image rooted in a living tradition.

A small piece of that tradition, carried forward by human hands.

Interested in a hand-painted Orthodox icon?

I create Byzantine-style Orthodox icons by hand using traditional egg tempera techniques and genuine gold leaf.

If you would like to commission an icon of Christ, the Mother of God, a particular saint, or another sacred subject, you are welcome to get in touch and discuss your commission with me.