The Rev. Peter Pearson continues the ancient art of icon painting.
By: Jillian Kalonick
It was love at first sight, says the Rev. Peter Pearson, about when he first saw a Byzantine icon painting.
"I was 12, and I’d been invited to the home of my elementary school art teacher," says the Rev. Pearson, who is pastor at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in New Hope, Pa. "She had an icon hanging on the wall, and I’d never seen anything like it before… I asked a whole bunch of questions, and the next day I went to the public library and found books on Byzantine art."
For 15 years, the Rev. Pearson was self-taught in the art of painting icons from Eastern Christianity, using acrylic paints and gold leaf on birch panels to create sacred images of Christ, Mary, angels and saints. Although he was devoted to the art, he could not find an Orthodox icon painter who was willing to teach someone who was outside of the religion, until he met 95-year-old Russian iconographer Dr. Nina Bouroff.
"The only thing I can imagine is that when you’re 95, the rules don’t matter anymore, at least as much as they used to," says the Rev. Pearson. "She said if I wanted to learn, she would teach me. I guess one of the things that surprised me is I found I was not that far off. I also learned the canons of iconography, which are sort of the rules. Unfortunately, there is no rule book. You learn rules by learning with a master iconographer."
Icons by the Rev. Pearson, who has now studied the ancient art form for more than 35 years, will be on view and for sale at "It’s a Magical Christmas," a holiday bazaar held by St. Philips at 36 W. Bridge St. in New Hope Dec. 9 and 10. Greeting cards with images by the Rev. Pearson will also be for sale, along with works by local artists, homemade goods and other gift items.
The Rev. Pearson, who earned a master of divinity degree from St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pa.,, had further formal training in icon painting with Philip Zimmerman at St. John of Damascus Academy of the Sacred Arts, an Orthodox school of icon painting in Ligonier, Pa. The Rev. Pearson’s icon workbook, A Brush with God (Morehouse Publishing, $24.95), was published in 2005, and provides students with a guide to Byzantine, Russian, Coptic and contemporary icons, as well as a step-by-step guide to creating them. After spending years studying the art on his own, he now teaches monthly icon painting workshops around the country, and icon kits are available for purchase on his Web site.
"Some people think it’s just odd," the Rev. Pearson says. "I think for a lot of folks, icons are an acquired taste. They just look a little primitive, and sometimes they seem crude. First of all, they’re based on ancient principals of beauty, so they have spiritual depth that transcends time. It’s something that I tell people at my workshops even if you never paint another icon, you’ll never look at them the same way again."
The vivid, arresting colors are deeply symbolic, but represent different qualities in the Byzantine culture "a different canon of color," says the Rev. Pearson. A deep maroon color represented royalty, and became the color Mary and Jesus wore; black, which might in modern times represent sin, instead was symbolic of ignorance, or a need for illumination. Green was symbolic of life, but also hope. After first studying the Russian styles of icon painting, which tends to have a transparent look, "almost like layers of glass." The Rev. Pearson then studied Syrian and Greek icon painting, which favors a heavier application of paint. His own icons are done in the Russian tradition, which he admires for its simplicity and elegance, and he’s particularly interested in the Novgorod style, which was favored in Russia from the 12th to 15th centuries.
"Some of the Russian painters were in the middle of forests they had to use what they could find at riverbank and grind up (for paint)," he says.
The Rev. Pearson, who creates icons on commission, now has his works displayed all over the world, including in Guatemala, Germany, Ireland and Japan. After publishing A Brush with God, "I get e-mails from people all over the world asking questions and making comments.
"For someone who’s really new to this, it’s like they have to do it," he says. "It’s a driving passion."
Icons by the Rev. Peter Pearson will be on display and for sale at "It’s a Magical Christmas," a bazaar sponsored by St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, at 36 W. Bridge St., New Hope, Pa., Dec. 9, 10 a.m.-9 p.m., and Dec. 10, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Proceeds will benefit building improvements for the church. For information, call (215) 862-5782. The Rev. Pearson on the Web: www.nb.net/~pearson. St. Philip’s on the Web: www.stphilipsnewhope.org

