My name is Susan and I paint icons. I was raised in the Orthodox faith and I love the Church. I began painting 8 years ago. The first icons were for my parents as an anniversary present.
I had no idea how to begin painting an icon, however with 2 boards and the purchase of a small oil paint set, I began. I used the icon of Christ and the icon of the Theotokos that is in the Orthodox Study Bible as a guide.
I began painting the background and the clothing on the images and it was a challenge. When I came to painting Christ’s face and hands, I found myself in tears. How could I dare to paint the image of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and his mother the Theotokos. This was a privilege reserved only for priests and monks in a monastery.
Yet, I pressed on.
I completed the icons and was very surprised with the fruits of my labor. It was a very humbling experience. I found myself wanting to paint more, and after each icon was finished another was started. At the present time, about 60 icons have been painted.
I found a gift from God I didn’t know I had, and I am truly grateful. Some people are able to express their beliefs in words. I am not one of them. Perhaps what I am unable to verbalize, I can say with a brush and paints , and of course, God’s guidance. Without Him, I could do nothing. It is He who guides my hand and it is for His glory that I paint.
I had no idea how to begin painting an icon, however with 2 boards and the purchase of a small oil paint set, I began. I used the icon of Christ and the icon of the Theotokos that is in the Orthodox Study Bible as a guide.
I began painting the background and the clothing on the images and it was a challenge. When I came to painting Christ’s face and hands, I found myself in tears. How could I dare to paint the image of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and his mother the Theotokos. This was a privilege reserved only for priests and monks in a monastery.
Yet, I pressed on.
I completed the icons and was very surprised with the fruits of my labor. It was a very humbling experience. I found myself wanting to paint more, and after each icon was finished another was started. At the present time, about 60 icons have been painted.
I found a gift from God I didn’t know I had, and I am truly grateful. Some people are able to express their beliefs in words. I am not one of them. Perhaps what I am unable to verbalize, I can say with a brush and paints , and of course, God’s guidance. Without Him, I could do nothing. It is He who guides my hand and it is for His glory that I paint.