Enduring Icons: A versatile Russian artist blossoms in Louisiana
Born in a beautiful resort town on the coast of the Black Sea in southern Russia, Larisa Ivankina Clevenger spent many mornings swimming in the sea. Loving the outdoors, she also spent much of her time hiking and mountain climbing. “I was always close to the sea and to nature,” she says. “I find myself today enjoying the painting of seafood scenes in keeping with the wonderful New Orleans tradition of fine food and dining. I also love painting flowers, either still life or in the wild.”
Clevenger, who resides in Chalmette, has designed stage sets and costumes for several plays, the latest of which was “Degas in New Orleans” at the Southern Repertory Theatre. The multi-talented artist also excels in the ancient art of Byzantine-style iconography.
In Russia, Clevenger’s love of art took her through an early master’s degree in art (she finished high school at age 14) and then into a career as a teacher and a working artist. Clevenger received formal training in iconography, painting and fresco restoration, lithographic techniques, sculpture, metal casting, and clothing design. The old buildings and churches in Russia provided Clevenger with her first opportunity to restore paintings and religious icons, a skill she would later use among the most historic churches and structures of New Orleans.
She eventually became a sought-after painter in Russia (she still exhibits at the museums) and created an art program for the Russian school system in the early 1980s. Later, she met her future husband, an American from New Orleans. They eventually moved back to Louisiana, settling in Chalmette. “The second floor of our home has a studio with a skylight. It has very good light,” she remarks. “We have a canal in the back yard with alligators, and there are flowers blooming. It is very inspirational.”
Clevenger’s first New Orleans studio was inside the historic St. Jude church. The restoration techniques she had acquired in Russia were put to use again as she restored wood-carvings, oil paintings, religious icons, and a large painting of the Resurrection scene. “Some of them were in awful shape. It was like building from zero. But I loved the work,” she says. Clevenger went on to do major restoration at other churches in New Orleans, and established a reputation for herself in a city filled with artists.
Diminutive in stature, Clevenger speaks with a lilting Russian accent as she teaches workshops and private lessons to artists from several of the local area art guilds on iconography, watercolor, oil, and acrylic painting.
“I am also a Jackson Square artist,” Clevenger explains. “I adore working in and around the French Quarter because it so reminds me of the old European cities. While displaying and selling my art at Jackson Square, I love to plain air paint the surrounding city scenes, like the famous St. Louis Cathedral and my second favorite, Muriel’s restaurant.”
Clevenger has exhibited throughout the United States and her major contributions of religious art in New Orleans include icons, murals, and large oil paintings in her distinctive style at churches such as St. Jude Shrine and the Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Vincent de Paul. She also completed a series of the 14 Stations of the Cross in egg tempera on mahogany wood in the Byzantine style for Blessed Francis X Seelos Catholic Church in New Orleans.
Clevenger’s expertise for creating icons in the Byzantine style involves a lengthy process that requires training and experience. An icon is not simply a piece of art, it also carries spiritual meaning. It is the image of a man or a woman who is united with God; it can also be Christ or the Virgin Mary. St. Luke was the first one who painted the Virgin Mary while she was still alive. On icons, the eyes are portrayed as large and wide because they have seen great things beyond the material world. The forehead is often large and high, expressive of spiritual wisdom.
Clevenger explains to her students that choosing a good quality of wood for an icon is very important. The wood is sanded to attain a smooth finish, and then it is coated with a linen fabric dipped in lukewarm rabbit skin glue to prevent it from cracking as it ages. “I use and teach the Levkas technique used in wood preparation for iconography since the 14th century,” Clevenger explains.
A sketch of the Saint or scene is transferred to the wood that will be painted. Using the technique of oil gilding, several coats of shellac are applied to isolate and smooth the surface. Mixion glue is then applied, then after several hours, gold leaf is applied. Gold gilding is a very delicate procedure and requires great experience. Acrylics or industrial colors are not used because they fade after a while. The natural pigments used by the first iconographers have retained their original color. Colors play a very important role in Byzantine iconography. Gold is reserved for Christ and symbolizes divinity. Blue, red, and green are also reserved for Christ and the Virgin Mary. “Today people paint on plywood, not in the authentic way. I do it from the old way,” Clevenger says.
A New Orleans treasure, Clevenger conducts numerous workshops on authentic iconography in her adopted home town. The undeniable beauty of Louisiana has captured her artistic imagination like it has so many others before. Clevenger can be contacted at (504) 276-2693 for information on her workshops, private lessons, and upcoming exhibitions. ✦
