Clone of The Good or Penitent Thief and the Cherubim- St Dysmas Demas eggtempera painting on driftwood

The first man to enter heaven was the Penitent thief on the cross -pictured here at the gates of heaven right under the "flaming sword" or the Cherub that guards them. The man that said : "...And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise..." - Tradition  (apocrypha gospels) holds his name to be Dysmas or Demas and he is actually the first saint of the church .

The dimensions of this light recycled beach wood can be compared with my hand in the pics and are approx:

38x7.5 cm

The theme is inspired by a medieval fresco found on Panagia Kera in Crete.  This small piece of wood was treated specially, left to dry for days and then a layer of gesso was added. Several layers of egg tempera a. Finally the icon was varnished on the top, with shellac and resin varnish to last. 

Gift wrapping: The icon comes tenderly protected in its individual handmade felt bag, together with some instructions how to care for it, a little sachet of herbs from our garden in Crete -and our typical icon favors - Perfect for a personal gift.