How My Renaissance-Inspired Artworks Are Created
My artworks are created in the tradition of early Renaissance and Giottese painting.
Not as a reconstruction, and not as nostalgia - but as a continuation of a way of working that values time, material knowledge, and reverence.
This is the same layered, deliberate approach once used for sacred altar pieces and polycrome statues. Before any paint is applied, each panel / statue goes through a long and quiet preparation process, involving many stages and natural materials. Some of these materials have been used for centuries not only because they perform well, but because of what they were believed to carry - visibly, symbolically, and energetically.
The Linen Ground
The process begins with fine linen. Historically, linen was highly valued as a support for sacred and important works, and it continues to be used for its stability and responsiveness. It is also often cited in both historical and contemporary discussions as having a particularly high vibrational quality when compared to other textiles.
The linen is carefully mounted onto a wooden panel, forming a surface that feels alive rather than inert - a ground that will later respond to light and material rather than simply holding it.
Building the Surface: Handcrafted Gesso
Onto the linen, I apply between twelve and fifteen layers of traditional gesso, made from rabbit-skin glue and natural chalks. The exact recipe, thickness, and rhythm of application varies from one artwork to another. There is no single formula.
This stage takes time. The surface is allowed to rest between layers, slowly building up a smooth, dense ground that can later carry both gold and paint. When finished, it has a quiet luminosity — not shiny, but capable of reflecting light softly.
This is where much of the work really happens, even though it will later disappear beneath everything else.
Bole: Preparing for Gold
Once the gesso is complete, layers of bole are applied. Bole is a fine clay mixed with natural glue, and it forms the essential foundation for water gilding.
Traditionally, bole is red and yellow, although I also work with blue or black in certain cases. The choice is not decorative. The colour and character of the bole subtly affect the warmth, depth, and brilliance of the metal that sits above it.
Small decisions at this stage have a long reach.
Gilding with Genuine Gold and Precious Metals
Onto this prepared surface, I lay genuine 23¾-carat gold, as well as white gold, platinum or palladium, using the traditional water-gilding method. In this technique, there is no external adhesive. The gold is activated by moisture, drawing tack from the glue-rich layers beneath.
Across cultures and periods, gold has been associated with light, permanence, and the sacred. In practical terms, it also has a unique ability to reflect and hold light in a way no pigment can.
The act of laying gold is still (no air movement), quiet and focused.
The Gilder’s Tip and Frankincense Balm
The metal leaf is lifted using a gilder’s tip and guided into place. My tip is lightly infused with a balm containing frankincense - a resin that has been used for centuries in sacred and contemplative contexts.
This step is very much about technique combined with attention. Gold responds immediately to the slightest breath or movement, as well as to changes in room temperature and moisture content.
Burnishing and Ornament
Once the gilding has dried, the surface is burnished to a high sheen and then further worked through punching, glazing, carving, pastiglia, sgraffito and fine incisions.
These marks are subtle. They are not meant to dominate the surface, but to interrupt it, it is all about catching light differently as the viewer moves.
The result is not static. Light shifts. Shadows appear and disappear.
Painting in Natural Tempera
Only after all of this does painting begin.
The colours are made by hand from pure pigments, some derived from minerals and crystals such as malachite and azurite. They are prepared using traditional tempera-based binders, including egg, casein, and natural resins.
Paint is applied slowly, in thin layers with great attention to how colour settles into the surface. Often in silence, sometimes with classical music, sometimes with aromatic oils present in the space. This final phase is less about adding and more about balancing - allowing colour, gold, and surface to settle into relationship with one another.
A Living Tradition
Although these methods are rooted in early Renaissance practice, the works themselves are made for contemporary spaces. They are not replicas. They are individual responses, shaped by material, context, and intention.
This way of working is rooted in reverence, and in the belief that : “beauty has the power to lift the mind and spirit toward something higher.”
If you are interested in acquiring an existing artwork or discussing a commissioned piece, you can view selected works on my Art Projects page.