cover image A Brush with God: An Icon Workbook

A Brush with God: An Icon Workbook

Peter Pearson, . . Morehouse, $24.95 (82pp) ISBN 978-0-8192-2203-9

Icon writer (that's fancy church-speak for "painter of icons") Pearson taps into Western Christians' recent interest in icons—but rather than writing yet another introductory book that explains what icons are, when they originated or how to pray with them, Pearson wants to help readers create them. (Well, okay: in the first chapter, Pearson rehearses the history of icons and ruminates about praying with them, but then he gets down to brass tacks.) Chapter two lists the supplies people need to write an icon and explains how to prepare the panels. Pearson then discusses steps like drawing, applying gold leaf and adding an outer border. After describing the different types of icon styles—Byzantine, Russian, Coptic, contemporary—Pearson walks readers through the steps for making icons of Christ's head and shoulders, the Mother of God and Saint Nicholas. Practical tips abound: avoid "fast drying" varnish, and if readers want to "communicate gold cloth," they should start with an earthy-orange or red base color. An appendix lists shops and Web sites where readers can obtain supplies, and a glossary will help them remember the difference between an iconodule and an iconostasis. Helpful illustrations round out the book. This is a fabulous resource—practical, spiritual and fun. (Oct.)