Traditional Painting Techniques
Traditional methods and materials, gilding and gesso panels
This course introduces students to the techniques of some of the master painters from the 14th through 17th centuries. From grinding and preparing pigments to the formulation of a range of traditional recipes central to egg tempera and oil painting, the tutor demonstrates how essential this careful preparation was to all the great masters. The technique of preparing a gesso panel is also taught and students are able to prepare their own panels. Gilding techniques are demonstrated and applied. Students are guided in techniques used to apply gold to paper, velum, glass, wood, stone and gesso. Mordants are discussed and techniques for handling the gold leaf are practiced. By the end of the course students are normally quite confident in the use of loose leaf gold. The purpose of these classes is to give students a thorough grounding in traditional techniques, the principles underlying them, and some of the alchemical symbolism involved in the preparations.
Icon Painting
This course covers the essentials of egg tempera painting, especially as it is used within the tradition of Orthodox sacred icons. Students are free to choose their own subject —figurative, geometric or otherwise— but the emphasis is on how tempera is used to indicate spiritual values. The course begins with a discussion about elements essential to any sacred art. Students then choose and draw their subject, which is transferred to a gesso panel. The teacher introduces and demonstrates each stage in the painting process to the group, and gives personal help to each student while they work.
Indian miniature painting
The course begins with an introduction to the practice of Indian miniature painting through a series of demonstrations and slide lectures. Students should produce their own painting by the end of the course. The technique is illustrated step-by-step so that each aspect of the craft, from the initial preparation of colours to the final detailed painting, is revealed. The experience enables students to understand both the practical and philosophical wisdom that lies within this ancient tradition.
Persian miniature painting
Beginning with a brief overview of the different schools and styles of miniature painting and manuscriptillustration, and focusing mainly on the Persian tradition, the course explores the themes, colour symbolism, and patronage within the tradition. Design layout and composition, with reference to spatial relationship, is also considered. Through a series of practical demonstrations covering paper treatment, pigment preparation, and brush technique, students are directed in the use of traditional methods and materials to complete their own miniature painting.
