Suggestions are abundant on the internet for how to finish and seal your icon. There is enough on the internet to make us confused and even more to make us curious. I recommend you try everything and see what works best for you. The number of demos for preparing your egg yolk emulsion and application of colors is vast. But some of the little tips about the basics are missing. For instance, I suggest waiting two weeks before you tackle lettering.
Egg tempera takes a long time to dry. Lettering is slow and detailed, if you make an error on a fresh work you can easily ruin a background you have worked on to get perfect. So Let it dry and then do the lettering. POST I wrote with more info. I will try and drop a few more tips here in this post.
Now, I want to explain how to finish and seal your icon. My first tip having finished your icons, apply several coats may be up to 4 layers of thin egg yolk and water. This saturates your pigments and leaves them strong, and stable, with a slightly even mat semi-gloss finish. The most important tip; do not to try any finishing technique until your work has dried for at least 3 months.
Simplest Finish and Seal for an Egg Tempera Icon Painting
There are more than two ways to finish and seal your icon. Finishes for Egg Tempera come in many forms, oil, varnish, wax, and egg wash. Oiling an icon is the best!! This one will make you pull your hair out! But in the long run, it is the finest way and the most authentic. The natural colors become deep and rich, leaving the icon as if it is still wet with emulsion.
Waxing with premium quality beeswax finishes and seals your icon. This is my second way and easier. But here is a technique we can all do and it will help the life of your icon painting regardless of a future coat to seal it. Even if you apply a few egg washes that will enhance your icon painting. Preserving icons, protecting icons, and bathing them in enough emulsion is a valued finale for fine art iconography.
Two of three layers of thin Egg wash to finish and seal your icon
I am a passionate artist, designer, teacher, and author. My blogs and YouTube presence offer detailed information and resources for contemporary icon collectors and students. My profiles on San Miguel Icons, share a wide range of blog posts, stimulating observations on faith, Christianity, prayer, and painting techniques, blending historical content and personal insights to arrive at contemporary conclusions about belief and Byzantine-style iconography.
Mary Jane Miller teaches an introduction workshop for iconography using earth pigments. Her course will increase your appreciation for all mediums. By the end of the workshop you will feel able to tackle a final project using earth pigments on your own; to paint one image of your choice with egg tempera. The group usually grasps the idea of seeing in a new way, through reflecting and witnessing your influence over the dry pigments. Sign up today!!!!✨ ✨ Plus, any image you create, now you know how to finish and seal your icon.
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