The best material is still water-based acrylic size, it sticks to anything. Do dust the oil paint film with something like rice flour, corn starch, rosin dust - the word for these substances is "resiste" - the opposite of "assiste". Otherwise your gold will mercilessly stick to the oil paint film.

​@@danielbeskhyroun2638 Absolutely! The rabbit skin glue pellets need at least three hours to fully dissolve. I usually let mine sit overnight at room temperature. If you have the glue in a powdered form, similar to sand, it can dissolve in an hour or even less. Just a heads up, it's best not to let the mixture swell for more than a day, as it tends to spoil after about 24 hours at room temperature. On the bright side, you can store it in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks, or even a bit longer if needed.

I’d say yes - I have made a few boards with cradled 1/8 inch-thick MDF and hardboard, and it worked. As for alcohol in the gesso, it is entirely optional. In the winter, when the air is very dry, I a don’t add alcohol at all. Lastly, Birch plywood is no longer available (made in Russia, after all), so I switched to HPVA-good grade plywood.

You can try for yourself and see what happens. One makes a mistake like that only once.

Thank you, you are too kind. Water gilding is an incredible technique, it is also complex, unpredictable, and not as economical as oil gilding. I spent years and about 3 thousand dollars learning water gilding, about 10 years ago. Unfortunately, the growing cost of gold leaf stands in the way of people's desire to learn it. Eight years ago, I'd gild the whole background of an icon; a couple of years ago, I only gilded the raised border and the halo. These days, I am so stingy with gold leaf that I just paint instead.

William, the icon with the purple background has aluminum leaf, on oil gold size. There is no gold leaf; or it might just be the effect of lighting. After that first try, I didn’t like it, and it was the only time I tried it. I typically try anything at least once. As for water gilding, I only apply one layer of gold leaf. Even if there are imperfections, I leave them as they are. If it has a big holiday, I might fault it, but otherwise I don’t futz with it. Double gilding silences the color of the bole, and I like the bole to speak. The relationship between the bole and gold is the same as between the singer and the accompaniment. Neither should be too loud.

@@paulstetsenko5721 ok, thank you.

@@paulstetsenko5721 follow up questions about the bole. How do you apply it? By flooding it or with a dry brush and how many layers do you place?

@@williamhuber9639 Not too dry, not too wet, just in the middle. If too wet, the puddles will dry and be somewhat raised. I make my bole rather watery, so it takes many layers to build-up the stratum. The thicker the layer of bole, the better will gilding go. Besides, I seek a certain effect, which a thicker layer of bole provides. But I don't want to do it with 5-6 layers of thick bole solution; this will not do. So it takes a few hours. I generally don't count how many layers I place. I make a small batch of bole+glue solution, and finish when the jar is empty.

@@paulstetsenko5721 ok thank you.

No, I don't do any dry sanding. The foam sanding block suffices. But we all have different hands and different touches, so if you need to give it a light dry sanding, go for it. My boards are quite "perfect", to the point of being like porcelain, which is not always good. There has to be some tooth, even very fine tooth for the paint to grab onto.

Got it. maybe my sanding sponge is too course... Is there a specific sanding block you like to use/recommend? Again - thanks @@paulstetsenko5721

the lines will be very pronounced and dark. You will be fighting them. I suggest to use some pigment instead of graphite, something that is just a smidge darker in value than proplasmos or whatever local color you are working with. If the proplasmos is dark cool greenish hue, make transfer paper using red hematite or red oxide. I have sheets of colored transfer paper I made in different colors and different pigments, for multiple purposes to transfer lines onto egg tempera paint layer.

Thank you that is helpful. @@paulstetsenko5721

grazie, da un monaco all'altro

Kim, that thing is called "table saw sled" or sometimes "cross-cut sled". They are easy to construct (which I did), and general designs are easily available on the internet. You can also buy one, ready made. Procuring wood is difficult nowadays. Baltic birch plywood, which I had used for ages, is now of such bad quality that I had to switch to HPVA plywood (birch or maple veneer) sold at Loew's and HomeDepot. Getting real wood suitable for gessoed boards is next to impossible, at least not where I am at now.

Thanks that’s helpful!

I don't know. I never tried. These days, I switched to varnishing with Paraloid B-72. It is superior to any varnish I have ever tried.

@@paulstetsenko5721 do you solve it in acetone??🙏

I use xylene. When I tried acetone, it dried way too quickly. I dissolve pellets of Paraloid B72 in xylene, 1 part B72 to 8 parts of xylene by weight (important!) and apply this solution with an airbrush. Works like a miracle. You cannot even see the varnish, the surface looks like unvarnished egg tempera. I have learned this through Koo Schadler. Good bye, olifa!

Roberta, if an icon board with "kovcheg" is made out of wood, then yes, the inside part is carved out. These days, it is done with a router. However, plywood is not good for that sort of carving; at some depth, one would just hit the glue/epoxy layer and there is no point of trying to do anything after that. The idea came to me when I saw a Cretan 18-c. icon in a museum. Over the centuries, the glued strips got unglued--not excessively so, but one could see the cracked seams. This gave me an idea to try this on my plywood boards. Plywood offers something that natural wood boards do not: plywood boards are stable and will not warp.

Dear Sister Marie, To protect the gold, I have two options. 1. Lacquer Varnish Gloss, somewhat diluted with Lacquer Thinner, something like 2 parts Lacquer, 1 part Thinner. This dulls gold the least. Apply with a squirrel brush transparently. Avoid puddles. Dries very quickly. 2. Polyuretane Varnish Gloss, diluted to water consistency (1 part varnish, 2 parts mineral spirits). This varnish is stronger than Lacquer Varnish, but it dulls the gold just a bit. It is not advisable to varnish full strength without diluting, otherwise gold begins to look like cheap metallic paint. I gild first, then put the lacquer protection, then paint. With olifa, you can apply it pretty much the next day after finishing painting. Olifa is not a surface varnish. Even if the processes of curing within the paint layer are not finished, varnishing with a penetrating oil (such as olifa) abort the process of curing and turns the egg tempera into an oil painting. You have to wait for the paint to cure if you apply a surface varnish (non-penetrating).

@@paulstetsenko5721 Thank you so much! God bless you!

@@paulstetsenko5721 Hello! Your response was very helpful. Perhaps St Colmcille sent you to me. Before I buy the products you have on the video, can you help me figure out what I already have here? 1) I have here a boiled linseed oil, but it has "resin in it." Product: "Matt Olifa Kremer (HARTDROCKENOL) Resin solution. Fast drying. It consists of a boiled mixture of resin (rosin) with linseed oil. It gives hardness, depth and brilliance to oil colors and egg tempera. Does not alter unstable pigments. It is applied like the classic olifa." Can I use this Kremer olifa? What is resin? Should I still add the cobalt drier, which I have. Or should I just buy regular boiled linseed as you show in your video? 2) You wrote to use mineral spirits. I have here something called: "Lefranc Essence de Petrole minerale, Lefranc odorless petroleum essence, Dilutes paint, mediums and varnishes." Is this mineral spirits? Keeping you in my prayers of thanksgiving.

@@s.MarieThereseLanger Kremer's "olifa" is an excellent product. Resin is added, which I believe add hardness to the cured film. You don't need to add a siccative, Kremer has already some in it. Petrole minerale IS mineral spirits. Use without reservation.

@@paulstetsenko5721 Thank you!

In dir ist Freude - appropriate for Christmas, actually. All pieces are from the same collection Bach's Das Orgelbuchlein, and most of the cycle is organized around the church year. This chorale prelude is on a Christmas song

@@paulstetsenko5721 Thank you so much, sir! Merry Christmas, and God bless!

That is, unfortunately, true. By impregnating the egg tempera paint layer with hardening oil (this is what olifa is, linseed oil with added siccatives), we turn it into an oil painting. The oil goes down all the way to gesso and the wood, changing the nature of the painting for good. Restoration of olifa-treated egg tempera painting is a complex process and does not go without some draw-backs. As an alternative, in the last year, I have begun using Paraloid B-72 as a replacement for olifa. It is difficult to work with, but is completely removable and is very strong. I apply it with an airbrush. Warning: the solvent for Paraloid B-72 is toluene or xylene - both are hazmats, very toxic, and extremely noxious. You'd need to use it outdoors with a cartridge mask or in the spray booth. The final results are very good, but it is a hassle to apply. I have learned about Paraloid from Koo Schadler.

@@paulstetsenko5721 thank you. God bless !

@@paulstetsenko5721 is it possible to varnish with dewaxed shellac and olifa not pass trough?

@@user-ug5vx4hx5x please rephrase your question. I am not sure of what you're asking

@@user-ug5vx4hx5x if you meant "if I put a coat of shellac and then varnish with olifa", the answer is "no, olifa does not penetrate shellac." There may be a nastier problem developing later: blooming.

Mother Iuliania's "The Iconographer's Labor" www.sacredmurals.com/texts/the_iconographers_labor.pdf (I translated this work 6 years ago from Russian, free to download.) Very little is offered in English of comparable value, but there are few books such as "Techniques of icon and wall painting" by Aidan Hart, a few other.

@@paulstetsenko5721 Brother, this is a great beginning. I'll take a look. Thanks!

@@paulstetsenko5721 I've read parts of the book and it's the best resource I've found in the topic of making gesso icon boards. Thanks again!

No, not really. The lighter fluid is just a carrier to dispense the particles and distribute them evenly. There are several factors that might contribute to that smudging. 1. The hardness of the graphite. For lighter lines, I would use a harder grade, something like HB or 2H. A harder graphite does not smudge as much as the softer grades. The thing is, graphite is the same in all grades; it is the amount of binder that differs from grade to grade. Experiment with different grades and find which one suits you best. 2. The quality of transfer paper onto which graphite is deposited. If it is too slick, graphite does not get rubbed into the microscopic grooves and will rub off easily. I remember I was out of my regular transfer paper and used a piece of baking parchment, which I thought was close enough. I regretted immediately. All of graphite ended up smudging the gessoed panel. 3. The nature of the surface of the panel. I use it with true gesso panels, they are as smooth as porcelain or ivory. Canvas has texture, therefore it creates a bit more abrasion than you really need. Here is my proposal. Instead of graphite, use some lighter colored pigment such as burnt sienna or even red ocher. If it smudges, it will not be as noticeable or detrimental. Also try Saral transfer paper. They have different colors now, and they are not expensive. I tried them, but I found the colors (including graphite) too aggressive. So I continue using what I have made. I have a large folder where I keep DIY transfer paper, not just graphite but also various colors, from white to dark brown. To make those, I used my dry pigments. The principle is the same, deposit the powder using a solvent that won't buckle the paper, then as it dries, rub it into the paper so it stays in. It works really great. I credit Koo Schadler with this latter invention. She showed this at her egg tempera workshop. And as you might have heard, she is truly the Supreme Queen of Egg Tempera in the US.

@@paulstetsenko5721 Thanks, I will try to use the lighter fluid next time and perhaps I will try pastel colours and see. I was thinking that perhaps the lighter fluid melted the wax of the graphite stick and the melted wax helped the graphite powder to attach to the paper. I have seen a video where after the initial application of graphite, the paper is rubbed with a cotton ball, to eliminate the excess of graphite powder, the transfer lines are not very strong, but still visible. Take care, 😁👍

Thank you! You know, I made this video 5 years ago, and these days, I make transfer paper pretty much out of any dry pigment: titanium white, red ocher, yellow ocher, indian red.... you name it. All done in the same way as shown in the video, except with dry pigment I just put a small pile of pigment in the center, pour some solvent (any quickly evaporating non-water based will do: methylated alcohol, mineral spirits, gas lighter fluid, lacquer thinner, you name it.

These days, I put a thin (really thin!) coat of lacquer. Unlike other varnishes, it only minimally dulls the gold. I tried about 15 of them, from polyurethane to shellac to acrylic... Lacquer turned out to be best so far. There is no varnish that does not dull gold. The reason for that is that the most attractive quality of gold is its sheen. When you place a protective varnish on top of gold, you replace the sheen of gold with the sheen of varnish. For the varnish not to affect the gold, it has to have the same refraction index as the air. There is no such substance. But thin coat of lacquer seems to work well. It cools gold and pushed it back a bit, but unlike other varnishes it does not turn gold leaf into yellow-green paint.

You're welcome. May I ask what you mean by "what version"?

@@paulstetsenko5721 what rendition, who is playing it, where might I find this specific recording?

@@quicksanddixon6757 It's me playing. In my old days, I used to be a good organist (see my other videos), with all works of Bach under my belt. I recorded Das Orgelbuechlein on my home organ and self-produced a CD in some limited numbers, and sold it at concerts when I was still playing them. They went very quickly, so at this point all I have is digital files stored someplace on my computer.

@@paulstetsenko5721 an iconographer and an organist? very impressive! I found what I was looking for on your channel - kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2nSk3x9r5lnaas I love this! The sound of the organ at 1:06 is wonderful, thank you!

Hi Maria, I use cheap synthetic brushes I buy at Michael's, and they last quite a few years. At the end of their life-cycle, I buy a new set. They do rust at the ferrule, nothing I can do about it. At the end of the gessoing session, I wash the brushes (and everything) with HOT water and dish soap, and just let everything dry. Hot water dissolves rabbit skin glue and all of it--glue, chalk--is washed away. I don't have a video on water gilding technique. I wanted to make it for years, but I just don't have time. Besides, water-gilding has to be taught by a teacher who observes what the student does and suggests corrections. Any book, any video will tell you what to do, but they cannot correct your mistakes. Somebody knowledgeable has to watch what you are doing and make course corrections. It is difficult to do something like that with a video. I'd have to anticipate all possible mistakes that can happen. Gold leaf does not stick and flakes off? Possible causes: too little water, or is absorbed too quickly, or the gilder waited too long to apply gold leaf etc. Gold is covered with unpleasant yellow stains? Too much water, too much glue in the gilder's liquor, too hard of a push on the leaf, too this, too that... Variables are endless. Do you see my point?

Thank you for your answer. It is very helpful. I understand your point about gilding, it makes a lot of sense.

As a lowly monk, I cannot paint icons for sale, accept commissions, or anything of the sort. I can do that only with the Abbot's blessing and through him. Please contact Fr. Sergius, the Abbot of St. Tikhon's directly. Here is the link: sttikhonsmonastery.org/contact

Sorry, I don't gesso canvas. However, if you look up "The Iconographer's Work" by Mother Iuliania (easily found in Google), in that book she describes the process in detail.

Hi Marcao, 1. Plywood's advantage over regular wood is that it does not warp. Birch panel will eventually warp, so you do need splines in the back. Suggestion: instead of splines in the back, see if you can do side splines. See the book "The Iconographer's Labor" by Mother Iuliania; you can find it online, in PDF. 2. I have never used hide glue. I heard it is very strong but also brittle. I have seen some contemporary icons made on boards with hide glue as a binder for gesso; they were all cracked. I would suggest making a few samples and adding plasticizer (linseed oil or glycerin) and experimenting with it. 3. By no means plaster of Paris is chalk. Chalk is calcium carbonate whereas plaster of Paris is semi-hydrated calcium sulfate; it will turn into solid matter once you mix it with water. Do not use it.

@@paulstetsenko5721 Thank you so much for your response! 🙂 I now have the rabbit skin glue and the chalk on order, and will get some plywood soon. Thanks for the tip on side splines-I’ll look into that too. Have a great day! Marcao

One can do anything he or she wants.