Icon of "The Holy Brothers Apostles - Andrew the First Called, and Peter the Rock" written in acrylics and 24K leaf on an edge glued board with oak reinforcing on the back, set in a hand made maple frame that is also gilded in 24K gold leaf, measuring ca. 18.5" x 14.5" x 5/8" (not counting the frame.)
The model for this icon is the original icon presented by Athenagoras the Patriarch of Constantinople to Pope Paul VI on the occasion of Paul's visit to the Holy Land.  You can find this image on the internet, and then note the unique details of my icon, i.e. the framing, lettering and colors I chose.  The square knot, crosses, and expanded lettering are unique.  This is not a copy, this is an original, and as such it's protected by copyright, as are all of my icons.  Email me or call for price and terms.

GUARDIAN ANGEL, done in egg tempera, natural earth pigments and 24K gold leaf, at St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral school for iconography, NE Minneapolis, MN in October 2013.  The board is solid ash? imported from Russia measuring ca. 13" x 10" x 1 1/8" routed out and coated with marble dust gesso.  My instructor was Dimitri Andriev.  Est. time to write this icon is ca. 55 hours.  To get an idea of the price, call up your plumber or electrician and ask them how much a job lasting 55 hours will cost, then add ca. $200 for "parts" (gold, pigments, board, etc.) :-)   Then, call me or send me an email and we'll discuss terms - remember we have to allow for drying time so the total time from order to delivery is about six weeks.

This is a larger icon of The Annunciation, it measures ca. 20" x 16" x 1.25 " and is done on cherry plywood using acrylic paints.  Hopefully you can zoom in to see details.  The final lettering will be added when everything has dried some more, only the monograms of the Blessed Virgin Mary are in place right now.  Here the Archangel Gabriel greets Mary, who is holding her drop spindle in her left hand.  The red thread on it matches the canopy above her head, which symbolizes the veil in the temple.  I'm thinking I will integrate a silver "gilding" into the ray of light shining on Mary's head.  Everything is gilded in 24K gold leaf.

  So, another icon of the major liturgical events of the Incarnation of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is now ready.  To purchase this icon, or to commission one similar to it, please contact me for details and prices.

This icon of PENTECOST is quite large, ca. 25 x 11x .75 inches!  It has 33 figures; with Mary the Theotokos in the center, flanked by Mary Magdalene and Peter and dozens of disciples clustered around.  Done in 23.5K genuine gold leaf and acrylic paints and inks.  A similar hand written icon can be yours for $2,500.00 whereas prints are available from $50.00 up to $300.00 depending on size.  Prints can be gilded with gold leaf for an additional charge.  Hopefully you can zoom in on this photo, but if not, let me know and I'll give you another link that will blow your socks off!  :-)

This is a close up of a processional cross that I am working on.  As you can see the basic colors have been laid down now, and I've just begun doing the detail work.  This has a ways to go, and then the gilding will be added - and that's only the first side!  The other side will be some version of the "Tree of Life" - lots of green, blue and golden brown - the very colors of our precious little planet itself!  The whole icon is about 24" tall by 20" wide by 2" thick.  All of the yellow areas will be gilded, and there's lots of detail gilding to be done before it's ready.

This is the icon "Hodegitria" or One Who Shows the Way - it was done as a 'teaching icon' for a class I taught for the Cannon Valley Elder Collegium, September to November 2012.  It measures about 9x11 inches on 3/4 thick plywood.  Acrylics and 24K gold leaf painted on gesso.  Merry Christmas!

Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles!

Mary Magdalene icon in the process of being gilded with 23.5K gold leaf!  This icon of one of my favorite apostles is smaller than the last one I did.  After the gilding is done I usually let the icon rest for at least a week or so - that way the varnish under the gold can really set up hard.  Then, when I begin painting the details it's not as likely that my sleeve or buttons will scratch the gold.

My icons at Bethlehem Lutheran, Minneapolis were well received.

Nineteen of my icons were on display in the Gallery of Bethlehem Lutheran, Lyndale Ave. South, at 41st Street in Minneapolis, and a dozen others were in the show cases, all during Advent 2011.  

The congregation chose one of my icons of the Blessed Virgin Mary with Jesus on her lap, "Hodegitria" for their annual Christmas card that was reproduced as a full color card and mailed to all families of Bethlehem Lutheran.

I gave two gallery talks, one to a middle school age class and one to an adult forum age group.  Lots of excellent questions and interest in the icons as "theoscopy" - or theology in full color vision!

 This large icon stood at the entrance to the Gallery.  It was dramatically lit and served well to introduce people to the icons.

 Full scale shot of two larger icons hanging on the wall.  The head of the cleric is Bishop Eivind Berggrav, the Bishop of the Resistance in Norway during WWII, and the saint who worked to reconcile Norway and Germany after the war.  The elaborate icon is of St. Olav, the patron saint of Norway.

The plaques below were mounted at the entrance to the Gallery that described the icons and their purpose.  I received many comments about the icons and the links to the scriptures that I had provided.

St. Ladislaus of Hungary - an icon in process.  This is a "naming icon" done on commission for a family.  If I ever figure out how to make him NOT stand on his head, I'll resubmit this blog entry!  But for now I'm still giggling at the silly things this blog does ;-))

At work on an icon of Martin Luther as a monk.  The official portraits of him date some twenty years after he entered the Augustinian Friars in his early 20's, so I regressed that portrait back to his early days.

My icon of the "Icon made without human hands" ready for final details and lettering.  I'm pleased that the gilding came out so nice.

Detail of one of my icons of St. Mary Magdalene.  This icon was purchased to be presented as an ordination gift to a Methodist minister.

 I'm laying out the drawing of the icon of Pentecost.  To get the scale of the figures right for the icon board I placed a sheet of white paper on the board, then I drew directly on the vellum with pencil, then I traced over the pencil with India ink.  After that I put a carbon under the vellum, removed the white paper, and traced the drawing directly onto the gesso of the board.  It's a bit round-about, but since the drawing is ca. 24 inches long and 14 inches high, the icon board was the best surface I had to work on!

 This is the exterior of a new icon I'm "writing"

the ICXC are the Greek abbreviation of JESUS CHRIST.  There is some more color to be added to the cover, and some gold too.  Below is the icon when it's open.  The labels identifying St. Mary Theotokos, Jesus, and St. John the Baptist have to be added.  The icon stands about 7 inches tall and 4 inches wide when closed.  When it's complete, I'll post another set of photos.

You might have to zoom in on the Seraphs which are lightly painted in white and black on either side of the seated Jesus.  The prototype model for this triptych is the "Diesis" type of icons - where the central icon is of Jesus, and the side icons are of Mary his mother, and John who was the forerunner of the Messiah.  Both of them are gesturing toward him with their hands and inclined heads, saying, "Don't look at us, look at him, for he is the Messiah, the Savior of the World."

St. Olav of Norway

St. Olav (Olaf) of Norway was martyred on 29 July 1030 - killed at the Battle of Stikklestad, near Trondheim, Norway.  My icon shows him as a crowned king, holding the battle ax that killed him, and the orb of the eternal heavenly kingdom.  The large domed nails of the frame add weight and dimension to the icon.  I painted this on a one inch thick wood panel, in acrylics, using 24K gold leaf.  The patron is Norwegian and the icon now lives in Oslo, Norway.  It measures ca. 7.5 inches by 10 inches.

Mary Magdalene - Apostle to the Apostles

Mary Magdalene is the first witness to the Resurrection.  My icon of her shows her carrying an expensive container of myrrh to be used for the final anointing of Jesus' body - she is on her way to his tomb early on Sunday morning.  I portrayed her as somber, somewhat in shock at what has happened to him, with the predawn light glistening on her outer robe.  She is 30 something, now tall, strong and healthy after her encounter with Jesus who healed her and cast out the 7 devils that had tormented her.  Soon she'll arrive at the tomb - and the glorious news of the Resurrection will be made clear to her!  And, she in her turn will tell the whole world what has happened!

Copy of Rublev's "Holy Trinity" icon in process

Here's what my copy of Rublev's icon "Holy Trinity" or "The Hospitality of Abraham & Sarah" looked like as it was being painted.  The gilding is done, and the large blocks of color are being laid in place.   It's always tricky to try and photograph gold - the reflections keep blowing away the automatic exposure settings!

Is this perhaps the oldest Christian icon we know of?

I'm working on, and have nearly finished (for now) a moderately large round icon, ca. 22 inches in diameter, that depicts the Baptism of Jesus.  The original is a huge mosaic in the dome of the Arian Baptistry in Ravenna, Italy which dates to ca. 430 A.D.  And yes, Jesus is NOT wearing anything at all.  Didn't bother them.  Doesn't bother me.  Your mileage may vary.  Since I shot this photo I've worked on the details some more.  I needed to clean things up a bit so that I could hang this icon in the ICON SHOW at BETHLEHEM LUTHERAN, 4100 Lyndale Ave. S., Mpls - all during Advent 2011.  When working from a mosaic original I find that I have to fight the urge to "go pontillist" (if that's the right spelling of a word that means refer to the school of French 19th Century painters?) and paint itty bitty dots of paint so I would end up with something that looks like a photograph of a mosaic.  I might try that sometime, but not right now.

This is the preliminary design for an icon of "Haakon the Good" who as a Viking king of Norway caught between the powerful pagan interests of some of his nobles, and the increasing popularity of the Christians.  The great dragon on his right represents the culture around him.  The Christ figure is taken from an ancient stone cross.  He's in the middle.

He was a Christian.  When he was elected King over Norway he asked his nobles if they would convert.  They refused to change.  He refused to abandon Christ.  They worked out a deal - the first recorded instance I'm aware of whereby "freedom of religion" was extended to all parties involved.  The net result ... many years of peaceful co-existence.  As his death approached he was asked if he wanted a Christian funeral or a pagan one.  He chose a pagan one, saying that he did not feel worthy of being buried as a Christian.  His modesty prevailed, even to the end.  His was a wise and fair reign.  Long may he be remembered - as a Christian!

The original icon was presented as a "naming icon" to my grandson, Haakon Erik Olav Homstad on his 10th birthday.  Long may he live!

Icon work & hay fever (weird combination)

I always got a kick out of irascible John the Baptist, a.k.a. John the Forerunner.  What a preacher he must have been to hear, that nearly the whole population of ancient Jerusalem hiked through the Judean desert going east to the Jordan just to hear him!  The prototypes of him that I like the best show him as a deeply sunburned hippie, carrying a scroll with a single word on it ... REPENT.  If you haven't listened to Leonard Cohen's "The Future", look it up on iTunes.  REPENT is the repeated phrase in that one.  In its vulgarity, its naked truth telling, its preaching to power ... it is the incarnation of John the Forerunner.   Strong stuff.   Sort of like hay fever that forces me to see everything through blurry eyes, hacking coughs, and sneezes - no matter what I had in mind originally!

There is an equally strong stuff sculpture of J.B. that is in the Baptistery at St. John's Abbey, Collegeville, MN.  Tall, gaunt, rugged and oozing power ... I can imagine him on stage singing Cohen's lyrics.  I can imagine this icon doing the same thing.  Not a comfortable being to have around.  But then, remember Leonard's poem and song, "There Ain't No Cure For Love" - look it up.  You'll find them both in his "Live From London" album.

A photograph of the original of this icon just blew me away when I first saw it many years ago.  Later on I learned that the original is highly likely the oldest icon in existence since it has lived in the monastery of St. Catherine in the Sinai since it was placed there by the Emperor Justinian in ca. 550AD.  It was done in encaustic (hot wax) technique.  Its colors are as bright today as when it was finished and dedicated.  My copy is done in acrylics and 23K gold leaf.  It measures ca. 11" wide by 20" tall on a 3/4" thick panel of plywood.  Completed in September 2010.

The Incarnation of Jesus Christ, or The Nativity.   This is one of two traditional views in the Incarnation icon - one view (my favorite for theological reasons) is where Mary is facing and holding the infant Jesus; the other view is where Mary is turned away from Jesus who is sleeping in the manger.  I like all of the figures in the icon, the shepherds, the angels, the midwives, the visitors from the East bearing gifts, and Joseph and the "strange character" talking with him.  COME AND SEE THE ICONS at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 4100 Lyndale Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN during Advent 2011.  The exhibit will open with an official announcement - expected to be just before the first Sunday in Advent, 27 November 2011.