Painting St Sergius of Radonezh Step-by-Step : Garments (Part 1)
I was delighted to receive a commission for this icon of St Sergius as he is a saint who I wanted to paint for many years. So I took the opportunity to create both videos and to photograph the process of this icon. In this first part of the Series I will show the step-by-step process of painting his garments. The real time bonus videos of this process are available on Patreon and I will include links to them in the tutorial.
For anyone interested in learning more about the monastic garments and how to draw them I have a tutorial on Drawing Monastic Saints which is available for purchase in my Patreon Shop and is included in Patreon Memberships from €5 and above.
Sketch and Preparation
After gilding the halo, I first prepare the panel with some egg emulsion diluted 1:2 with water. I cover the panel with 2-3 layers of this solution as it seals the gesso making it easier to paint on. I then paint a layer of yellow ochre. This creates a warm layer that unifies the colours. Finally I paint over the sketch with a mixture of yellow ochre and black.
The Bonus Video of the sketching process is available here.
Background
The background is painted with a mixture of titanium white, a little yellow ochre and a tiny bit of black to cool it. Frame is yellow ochre, mars red and a little black and for the edge border more mars red and black are added. The halo is also painted in this colour.
Proplasmoi
The red for the mandya is a mixture of medium mars red (to give it a cooler tone), black and a tiny bit of white.
The blue koukoulion and analavos are a mixture of black and white.
The beige lention or zostikon is mixed with white, yellow ochre, a little mars red and a touch of black.
1st Grapsimo (Red)
For the grapsimo I’ve used medium mars red and a little black.
The Bonus Video for the red mandya is available here.
2rd Grapsimo (Red)
1st Grapsimo + black
3rd Grapsimo (Red)
2nd Grapsimo + black
1st Photisma (Red)
For the 1st photisma I add a touch of black to the proplasmos to cool the colour and then add white.
1st Photisma Glaze (Red)
We then take some of the 1st photisma and dilute it with egg emulsion and water to create a glaze. This we then use to blend the 1st photisma in the lightest areas so that there isn’t a harsh contrast. We also blend the transitions into the proplasmos without losing the forms of the 1st photisma.
2nd Photisma (Red)
For the 2nd photisma we take some of the 1st and again add a little white. We then create the forms within the 1st photisma. As I don’t want this garment to be too light I’m only using two photismata and the second one is only on the broader/lighter side of the figure, which helps to project the figure towards the viewer.
1st Grapsimo (Blue)
For the 1st grapsimo we take a little proplasmos and little black and a touch of medium mars red to warm up the colour a little.
The Bonus Video for the blue garments is available here.
2nd Grapsimo (Blue)
Again here we take a little of the 1st grapsimo and add a little black and medium mars red and paint it in the darkest areas.
1st Photisma (Blue)
The first photisma consists of the proplasmos + white. We build up the basic forms.
1st Photisma Glaze (Blue)
Again, for the glaze we dilute the 1st Photisma and create a transition in the lightest areas and from the 1st photisma to the proplasmos. For these garments I’ve only used one photisma so that they will be darker than the mandya.
1st Grapsimo (Beige)
For the 1st grapsimo I’ve added some yellow ochre , mars red and a little black with a little proplasmos. The colour is quite diluted so that it won’t be too harsh agains the light garment.
The Bonus video for the beige lention/ zostikon is available here.
2nd Grapsimo (Beige)
1st Grapsimo + mars red + black
1st Photisma (Beige)
The 1st grapsimo is fairly diluted titanium white.
2nd Photisma (Beige)
For the final photisma we use more pigmented white.
Scroll Proplasmos
The proplasmos of the scroll consists of white, a little black, and a touch of yellow ochre.
Scroll Grapsimo
Proplasmos + black.
Scroll Photismata
1st Photisma: diluted white
2nd photisma: pigmented white
Belt Proplasmos
Mars red and black
Belt Grapsimo and other details.
Proplasmos + Black.
For the final details (holes in the belt, polystavrios and the cord around the scroll) add a little more black to the grapsimo.
Glory to God!
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