Techniques and Materials Reading Room
Sacred art is the product of a living workshop tradition dating back to the earliest Christian times (and before), where artists learned their craft through discipline, observation and generations of accumulated knowledge. From preparing wooden panels and grinding pigments to gilding, drawing and painting, every stage of the process was shaped by techniques refined over centuries.
This Reading Room explores that practical tradition. Here you’ll find articles and videos on historical materials and methods, medieval workshop practice, artists’ manuals, and modern demonstrations that seek to recover the skills behind the great works of Christian art.
Ancient techniques and materials
Why are they green?
If you’ve ever looked closely at a medieval painting and thought the faces looked strangely green, you’re not imagining it.
Process and Instruction Videos from the studio
How to hold a pencil
Gesso day
I thought it would be fun to start posting little workshop clips (very shaky, very unprofessional) showing some of the technical side of the painting process as I learn it myself. You can read all the books you want about all this but there’s just no better way to learn it than by actually giving it a go.
A Romanesque decorated box
Some friends of mine here are moving back to the US in a few weeks, and I wanted to give their ten year-old daughter, a bright girl who loves art, a going-away present. I got her a dip pen and nibs some ink and practice paper to go in it.
What I've been working on - Madonna and Child in the Sienese Gothic manner
This is the painting that has been occupying most of my time over the past few weeks, and is the main reason posts here have been a little thin. I had the commission a long…
Where next? - More Reading Rooms
Foundations of Sacred Art Reading Room - What’s this all about?
History of Sacred Art Reading Room - Who did what, when?
Spirituality of sacred art reading room - Why is all this important?
Modern Revivals and Contemporary Debates Reading Room - What’s going on now?
Techniques, Methods and Materials Reading Room - How can I start creating?
Pilgrimages and Field Studies Reading Room - What should I go see?
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