To celebrate the 2026 jubilee year commemorating the 800th anniversary of the passing of St Francis of Assisi, the September Essentials of Iconography Workshop focuses on a contemporary prototype of St Francis, composed from art historical images. The model emphasizes the immediacy of the saint’s face and his modesty.
As we open up the icon of St. Francis’ face with paint, each day’s session will be accompanied by morning and afternoon readings from the saint’s own writings and the earliest biographies by Thomas of Celano, St Bonaventure and others.
We will work with the materials and technique of historical iconography – egg tempera and natural earth pigments, painted onto a 9” x 12” wood panel prepared with linen and true artists gesso. The process of painting, or “writing” the icon, parallels its vision of a transfigured reality; beginning with deepest colors, we illuminate the real form of the saint’s body with subsequent layers of lighter colors. We will explore how the icon’s use of symbols, inverse perspective, color, and internal sense of order make it a singular form of religious art. It expresses what Christians believe is reality – a world of matter filled with spirit.
Because of time constraints, the background of the icon will be painted; technical emphasis will be on calligraphic line work to construct a drawing, color mixing, and blending tones to create lighter seamless passages of light. All materials and tools needed to make on icon are included.
Students attending the workshop should arrive with basic brush skills, a familiarity with the color wheel, and experience mixing colors.
This week-long workshop will include five consecutive days of studio time. Check-in begins Sunday night at 4:30 PM, followed by dinner at 5:30 PM for students and instructors. Dinner will be followed by a workshop introduction and conference, ending at 9:00 PM. Hands-on instruction begins early Monday morning, and the last meal will be lunch on Friday. The art studio will be available on Friday afternoon to complete your icon.
