Monday 25th – Friday 29th May 2026
Russo Byzantine Icon Painting
Irina Bradley Course Costs: to be confirmed
This 5-day course is suitable for beginners and students of higher levels of ability, no previous artistic experience is required. This course is designed to introduce students to the history of Byzantine art as well as the spirituality of this sacred tradition.
Irina teaches a liquid tempera technique, which is rare. She uses the best pigments, both earth and mineral and 24 carat genuine gold leaf. She teaches gilding and shell gold making as part of the course.
The aim of this course is to finish a small icon. Returning students can bring any of their icons to carry on working on them. Irina will also be demonstrating raised gesso technique. The students will have a choice either to paint an icon or to create a raised gesso pattern and to gild it. Students can bring more than one icon, but will be charged extra, please consult with Irina before the course.
Dr Irina Bradley graduated with a doctorate in icon painting and philosophy from the King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts, where she is a visiting tutor for their Master of Arts and the general public. She studied icon painting in Italy, Russia and Ukraine. Her work hangs in churches and private collections around the world, including Australia, Japan and the USA. Her work was featured on BBC’s Songs of Praise and the American TV programme, Artful. She has exhibited extensively in the UK, including Buckingham Palace in 2018 at the Prince and Patron Exhibition. For Irina icon painting is a prayer, as she teaches students to paint an icon she prays for all of them, irrespective of religion and nationality. There are many returning students who have been coming to her classes for years and travel to the UK from as far as Hong Kong, Australia and the USA.
For details and to reserve your place on the courses with a £100 non-refundable deposit, please contact us on 0208 194 2320 or by email to info@benedictine-institute.org
© Ealing Abbey, CC 28th October 2025