UKIAH, CA., 8/21/25 — Religious iconography is the ancient art of painting religious figures. The particular branch that Father Damian, Abbot of the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Redwood Valley, practices is Byzantine iconography. The Byzantine Empire, from the 5th century AD into the 15th century, stretched across much of Eastern and southeastern Europe, North Africa and West Asia, with Istanbul as its centerpiece.
The area fostered its own blend of Christianity called Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, or Orthodox Christianity, practiced in Russia, Greece, Ukraine, and neighboring nations. Holy Transfiguration Monastery belongs to a Ukrainian Catholic denomination, which preserves Ukrainian culture and practices iconography.
An icon painter for over 30 years, Father Damian soon found himself teaching the tradition to others. His classes are full, mainly with young people age 30 or younger, who have grown up in turbulent times and are seeking connection with disciplines that have withstood the test of time.
Icon painting is the opposite of self-expression; it is about emptying the self in favor of what the icon represents: love, wisdom, tranquility. “I copy what is handed down a hundred years ago,” Father Damian said. “I don’t have to make it up.” Father Damian has several paintings in the Grace Hudson Museum’s current show, “The Art of Wonder,” on exhibit until October 19.
Icon paintings are a form of prayer. Revered persons — Jesus, Mary, various saints — form the centerpieces. Since they represent only the light, no shadows are drawn. “I have a very small palette, only nine colors, that are made directly from the earth,” Father Damian says. He gets these colors from Natural Pigments, an arts supply store in Willits. He believes in using humble materials, such as egg yolk and clay.
Icon painting reorients human perspective. “People think the icon artist is unable to communicate proper perspective,” Father Damian said. “We want to show a vanishing point…. If there is a vanishing point, it is out here with you, a point where everything is disintegrating. I’m always disintegrating. I’m looking at people who have been dead for hundreds of years, and yet they’re fully alive.”
Father Damian speaks from 2-3 p.m. at the Grace Hudson Museum, 431 S. Main St, Ukiah.
For more, visit www.gracehudsonmuseum.org or call (707) 467-2836.Caption: An icon painting of Saint Hildegard, a 12th century abbess, mystic and writer, by Father Damian, Abbot of the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Redwood Valley, Calif., is on display at the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah, Calif. until Oct. 19 as part of “The Art of Wonder” exhibition. (Father Damian and the Grace Hudson Museum via Bay City News)