In the early 1990’s , my photographer husband, Mick Hales, was writing a photographing a book called “Monastic Gardens”. I was in graduate school at the time pursuing a Masters degree in Art Therapy, but I accompanied my husband to some beautiful convents and monasteries in the USA and Europe.

It was while visiting the convent of St. Georges Des gardes in France that I was introduced to their iconographer, Sister Myriam. During our 4 hour meeting, Sister Myriam showed me what made a good icon and explained their history and purpose to me.

Suddenly I realized that what I had been searching for all my life as an artist was contained within the art of Iconography- they were great artistically, they had meaning, and they were about God.

I came away from that visit determined to study icon writing, which I did for the next ten years, and then I began teaching others about this method of prayer and painting. I feel so blessed that God chose to give me that encounter which changed my life. I am forever grateful and happy now to be sharing the gift of iconography with others whom God is calling to learn and practice it.

SEE MY RETREATS PAGE FOR LIVE CLASSES. AND

MY ONLINE ICON CLASS PAGE FOR PRE RECORDED, SELF PACED CLASSES.

Icon Prints!

I know that original Icons can be beyond people’s budget, so I have created a great site where you can get prints of any of my icons. You can order framed or unframed, on paper, or wood, and in many sizes. Please take a look at Christinehalesicons.com so that you can have some of my icons for your home or church.

ICON RETREATS FOR 2026

I am giving three in person icon writing classes in 2026. My approach to teaching icon writing is two fold:

1. to simplify the very complicated process of painting Byzantine style Icons using egg tempera and gold leaf gilding- as they were painted in the early centuries.

2. to bring my understanding of the creative process into my teaching methods so that students are able to create their own unique icon from the same drawing and process as everyone else is learning.

I encourage students to practice lectio divina in relation to their icon and prayer process for the class. My classes are a wonderful way to introduce people to the sacred, time honored practice of painting and praying.

Take a look at my retreats page and join us in this prayerful and fun spiritual discipline!

February 10-13, St. Petersburg, Florida

March 24-27, Sarasota, Florida

July 14-17, Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY

Eyes of Fire

By Christine Simoneau Hales

This book was written to invite readers into a deeper understanding of Christian icons and their central place in the history and development of Western art. By recovering this perspective, the book encourages a renewed and creative reverence for a sacred tradition that has shaped culture, theology, and visual language for centuries.

At the same time, it is a personal narrative—my own journey toward grasping the full cultural and spiritual significance of icons, and the courage required to continue making art that stands outside the prevailing norms of the twenty-first-century art world. Icons carry a profound visual theology: they are rich with meaning, symbolic of both the natural world and the reality of God’s Kingdom, and grounded in a way of seeing that unites faith, beauty, and truth.

Above all, this book is offered as an encouragement—to iconographers, artists, and those who feel called to this work but have not yet begun. It seeks to affirm that it is still possible to create art that is truly uplifting, deeply prayerful, and capable of healing the fractures of contemporary culture. Through the language of sacred image-making, icons continue to speak with clarity, compassion, and hope.

You can purchase it at: Amazon