True Fresco Workshop with Philip Davydov

St. Mary's Sacred Arts students had a rare opportunity to learn the techniques of true fresco painting when Philip Davydov recently visited Calgary from St. Petersburg.  Philip spent two full days preparing the materials for the workshop.  The biggest challenge was finding the quicklime at the right stage of processing needed for  fresco painting.  After many phone calls we were able to find a source at the Graymount plant in Exshaw.  Pat Burchnall graciously drove Philip to the plant, where the staff provided two bags of quicklime at no charge.

Students then spent three full days learning to apply the plaster, mix pigments, and applying the paint directly on to the plaster while it was still wet.  Each student completed two images.   The fresco workshop was held in the new art studio space created specifically for the St. Mary's Sacred Art Program.  Here are some examples of the student's work.

Photos from David Clayton's Gothic Illumination Workshop

In July, we were pleased to welcome David Clayton to Calgary to teach a workshop on gothic style illumination.  David led students in a study of the English gothic style of illumination that is often described as the school of St. Albans.  Its leading artist in the 13th century was a monk called Matthew Paris.  Images in this style can be found in the Westminster Psalter which served as an inspiration for the contemporary St. John's Bible.  David's workshop focused on having the students develop their own drawing of a traditional image and then painting it in egg tempera.  You can follow David's work and thoughts on the renewal of Sacred Art on his excellent blog, Way of Beauty


 Below are some examples of the work of the students completed during David's workshop.