Garrett sells mounted prints for $20 to $50, and small icons on wood for $200. If he needs help, he consults his wife, or asks God to guide him. Paints are labeled, and he knows color theory. Garrett uses 23-karat gold because the lower the karat, the whiter the gold looks.Īs for the challenge posed by his red/green color blindness, Garrett said he adapted early on. Garrett uses modern materials, including a synthetic, long-bristled script liner brush and acrylics (largely because they dry quickly and he can create the same effects). The ancients used brushes made from natural hair (such as badger) and painted with tempera (egg yolk, water, pigment). It is considered important to be in the right frame of mind before working conflicts should be resolved. It's technically very, very well done," Garrett said.īefore working, iconographers always say a prayer. His work was influenced by Eastern and Western traditions. His favorite iconographer is Michael Damaskenos, a 16th-century Greek who painted in Venice. All of the saints before the 11th century are the same for the Catholic and Orthodox churches (before the East-West Schism), he noted. Garrett will make icons for any Christian denomination, but does icons only in Orthodox style. It took a few years to build up enough referrals to make a living. He considered pursuing a degree in marine biology but ended up with a liberal arts degree.ĭegree in hand, he committed himself full-time to iconography.
ICONOGRAPHER PRAYERS FREE
To improve his skills, he spent his summers and free time in an apprenticeship - even after he was in college. He found that he enjoyed the quiet, contemplative nature of iconographic work. People would say, 'Oh, that's beautiful,' and I believed them." It was several years before he could give away his work to anyone other than family members, he joked. "I couldn't tell that my stuff wasn't good.
ICONOGRAPHER PRAYERS SKIN
One of his earliest had the skin tone of Kermit the Frog.
ICONOGRAPHER PRAYERS PROFESSIONAL
When he was 14, he took his first summer job, helping a professional iconographer at the retreat center where his father worked. It's where your family says their prayers together," he said. "In every Orthodox home, you're supposed to have an icon corner or wall. He grew up surrounded by icons - most painted by his father, who was self-taught - and was always intrigued by them.
Garrett doesn't recall having much talent for drawing or painting as a kid. His dad later went to work at a library at the Antiochian Village retreat center near Pittsburgh, and that's where Garrett grew up.
Garrett was born in Yonkers, N.Y., where his father studied at an Orthodox Church in America theological seminary, St. Many religious iconographers do not sign their work, or they put their name after the phrase "by the hand of." "The hand of the iconographer is supposed to be guided by the Holy Spirit," Garrett said. "I tend to think of myself as a technician who is working for the church," he said. Garrett doesn't use "artist" to describe his vocation. The main purpose is to portray the Gospel message. But that's not their primary purpose," Garrett said. "There's nothing wrong with appreciating their beauty.
Like the Orthodox monks and clergymen who came before him, Garrett views the icons he paints primarily as ministry, not art. Some ancient religious leaders, including Pope Gregory I, saw icons as a way to communicate the church's message to the illiterate. "It's another way of telling the story of faith," he said. "A lot of people learn best visually, or their hearts are captured visually by painting. He sees icons as "windows to Heaven." "They teach us about holy living and holy lives," Wettstein said. Iconography isn't part of the Episcopal tradition, but it's not uncommon to find icons in Protestant churches, Wettstein said. I think a lot of people in the parish were moved by how beautiful it was," said Father David Wettstein of St. After 40 days of prayer, the church unveiled the 3-by-4-foot icon at its 49th anniversary celebration in September. With a parishioner's donation, the church commissioned an icon of the Martyrdom of Stephen. His work is in several churches, among them, St. Garrett has been commissioned by individuals and churches all over the country over the past 17 years, finding jobs through old-fashioned word-of-mouth and through his website /. He carries forward the ancient tradition of Orthodox Christian iconography in a modest West Boise, Idaho, house that he shares with his wife, Lisa, and her cat, Cecelia. The 34-year-old paints nearly every day, re-creating scenes from the Bible and heavenly images of the risen Jesus, Christian saints and angels on wood and canvas. The 34-year-old paints nearly every day, re-creating scenes from the Bible and heavenly images of the risen Jesus, Christian saints and angels on wood and canvas.īOISE, Idaho - Matthew Garrett makes a living from the tip of his paintbrush.
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