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This icon was written for my son and was done on a large canvas measuring 24×36 inches. Orthodox Christians believe that a guardian Angel is appointed to one at baptism. A few weeks ago I asked the Lord to show me our kids guardian angels and this is what came out to be our son’s guardian Angel. I like how the eyes of this angel turned out. The eyes reflect a watchfulness which is a good thing for a guardian angel to have.

First step was to create a drawing. As always, I do my drawings on transparent paper. Transparent paper makes a good drawing material because it can be turned around to view the drawing backwards. When viewed backwards drawing problems are easily spotted.

Once a good drawing was made I then used an overhead projector to enlarge the drawing onto the canvas. Some artist don’t like using an overhead projector, but I view it as a tool.

Once the drawing is transferred onto the canvas, I used acrylics to outline the drawing. Using the outline color, I then worked in the areas that would be darker. This process is known as an underpainting and is a traditional method.

After the underpainting dried the next step is to cover then entire canvas with a yellow-gold acrylic wash. This unifies the canvas and will give the painting a golden undertone.

The final steps to the painting were all done in oil. First I painted the angel’s face and then went onto painting the garments, wings, halo and background. Once all the colors were blocked in I left the painting for a few days to give me time to study it. This process is important because over the course of a few days I able to pick out the weak areas that either need to be strengthened or lightened. Currently this piece is hanging in our livingroom. I tease our son saying his angel watches TV with him. After a few weeks of studying the work I may feel the need to work on a few areas especially the darker areas, but for now it is finished.

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