Icons’ painting …
Professionally speaking the icons are not painted, but written. It derives from Greek language, in which the word ‘ write’ meant every activity, which left a mark. It was writing, drawing and painting. Now people who write the icons tell their own stories and theories. One of them says that the icons are written because they are the story of God written with a help of painting.

What to start with?
It is a very difficult to write an icon and it is really difficult to say how much time it takes to make an icon. The process of the icon making is complex and each copy is a masterpiece. Some need more and some less effort to complete it. Three stages can be distinguished in the icon making:

 STAGE I
Preparation of the plank – the plank must be stick to some smaller oblong planks in such a way so as their veins were not in the same position. The wood must be of a proper age, not wet, without knots and resin. Most often it is wood from leafy trees. In the past the icons were written only on lime tree, but later on almost each type of wood started to be used.