Drawing Closer to Christ: A Self-Guided Icon Retreat Kindle Edition

I have only started reading this book and the spiritual reflections and discussion are very good. I just discovered, however, that the instructions are for painting icons with acrylic paints, rather than the traditional egg tempera. I was a little disappointed (and a little not). I am still finding my way regarding what medium(s) to use and have used acrylics myself - so I am certainly not intending to imply that the medium makes the icon. It just would have been nice to know this before purchasing the book and I didn't find this information in the preview. Hence, I am letting other prospective buyers knows this in the event that it matters to them.

Refreshing book. Worth the forward alone. There is a brief history to answer the idolatry questions of mostly Protestant sources. He says a lot about prayer. His theological explanations are brief and in depth enough to be spot on, for both Catholics and Orthodox. The writer teaches the basics: the steps--and directs the painter in exactly which pigment colours, and equipment to use. The advantage of this is that a beginner will not face the tangles that can occurr if he doesn't know how hard/soft the pigments are...how they grind. His pigment choices are right, as concerns tradition. I dislike acrylics, but they can work. If you want to supplement, I suggest you google something like Prosopan steps to painting icons, which will involve you deeply in the egg tempera process, gold leaf, and then some unnecessary nonsense. I have had 2 teachers, read quite a bit, etc. painted. If I could take this writers class, I would. A valuable book which puts a lot of information in a thin volume; and the print is very readible. Illustrations w/ each step.

The author does an inspired fob in taking the student of iconography into the deeper levels of the reality of the icon. This is a good introduction into a second sight into layers of reality that exist beneath the visual. I appreciated the seven day guide paralleling the creation story. My only comment is that this should be for a more advanced student. It seems that the tasks assigned for each day (maybe we are talking biblical days) are too complex for the time period allotted. When I work on an icon, I am give myself a month in order to be focused yet not frustrated.

I've always been attracted to icons. This book does it all; it tells you their history, explains the spiritual meaning of everything that goes into an icon, and describes how to make one.

Drawing Closer to Christ is a self-guided icon retreat that likens the steps of writing the icon with the days of the Creation narrative. I enjoyed the explanations about icons in general and the daily theological reflections. I do not come from a religious tradition that uses icons and have been interested in learning more about them. I took two classes prior to buying this book so had written two icons previously. I would not recommend it to someone who had never written an icon. It wasn’t always easy to understand the steps. It would have helped to have more pictures of the icon at each stage rather than refer to the finished picture as a reference. That said, I learned a lot and also enjoyed it from a spiritual and theological standpoint.

This is for someone who wishes to be self taught. It is step by step andoffers insights as to the spiritual component of writing icons. It is a didacticfrom a seeming friend.

Good product

Interesting book.

INSTRUCTION

Good theology but very disappointed that all the painting steps are in gray scale. When a person buy a book to study a painting process , they need to see the color layers. Would be 5 stars if painting steps was in color. As a artist, I need to see color Mr. Malham.