Gilding is the process of adding gold to artwork. Today's efforts involved setting paper-thin gold leaf onto my icon. In brief, the steps involved begin with marking out the areas for the gold with yellow ochre, and then painting over those lines with a diluted glue known as "size". The fragile gold leaf is applied to the size much the same way you would apply a decal. It's a demanding technique that requires sharp attention, however, as is the case in much the rest of the art world, there are more difficult, expensive, and convoluted traditional methods of achieving the same effect.
The gold creates a dynamic contrast to the rich colour of the paint. Since I have yet to seal the gold onto the icon, it is too fragile to place on the scanner. I took a photograph instead. The ambient light in the room makes the gilding appear to glow.
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