My dear friend commissioned me to paint this self-portrait (Crowned by a Snake) for her. I posted the photograph online a couple times and she really liked it.

The photograph was taken outdoors by my son as I held his snake, Slithers. Slithers went up and over my head, through my hair, and I was crowned by a snake.

As my friend and I talked about the commission, she said she wanted it quite small. “Like an icon.” I decided to use 6×8 cradled board. Since it was small, I didn’t want detail to get lost by the canvas texture.

As I worked, the word “icon” kept coming back to me. I asked her if I could add gold leaf. She said, “Sure!”

I’ve never used gold leaf before, so asked my artist friend Roxanna Bikadoroff. We have some beautiful artwork of hers where she used gold leaf. She gave me some tips. It was daunting to read the process, but I was determined to try it.

Mona Lisa’s adhesive and sealer were used with their metal flakes product. This is really a composite metal that looks like gold. It’s a lot less expensive than actual gold leaf! This video from Blick Art Materials gave me more confidence before I began.

My paintings always extend around the sides of a canvas or board. So, with the gold leaf, I applied it pretty consistently on the background of the sides. Then, on the background of the front, I tapered it off towards the subjects.

A few errant flakes (they FLY from static electricity) got caught up in my hair. No worries, they worked there!

I’m quite pleased with the results and happy to learn something new. My friend said when she received it, “Your painting enchants me!” Next time I have another icon to paint, I’ll be more confident using gold leaf again.