The Dream of Tireless Icon and Fresco Painters

Macedonia is one of the countries with many religious sites that testify to significant religious movements and the awakening of a nation, such as the Macedonian one.

If you decide to take a larger tour around Macedonia and visit important churches and monasteries, you will notice that many of them have iconostases that tell legends and traditions.

Such works were created and are still created by people who are passionately in love with their craft, a profession they say is a way of life.

Today, we introduce you to Zlatko Lechkovski and Sonja Lechkovska, siblings and tireless icon painters and fresco artists from the village of Rotino in the Bitola region.

They tell Kajak.mk that the secrets of their craft were revealed to them by their father Ljupcho, and they further refined their skills in the studios of Nikola Krnchev and Risto Dimovski, who were students of the famous Russian painter Ivan Melnikov at the Church of the Holy Mother of God in Bitola.

Zlatko has been practicing this craft for 24 years, and Sonja for 14. Their love and inspiration for painting saints come from their admiration and awe of the old icons and frescoes done in the Orthodox Byzantine style that adorn Macedonian churches and monasteries.

Both say that the choice of what to paint begins with an idea. Once it is decided what exactly will be created, preparation for the work follows. This includes sourcing materials, preparing the base, priming, applying gold leaf, and creating the icon using various techniques — tempera, acrylic, oil paint — and finally, protecting it with a varnish.

For a piece to look priceless, careful attention must be paid during its execution. The process starts by painting with the darkest shade, then each successive layer is lightened with transparent glazes, finishing with rhythmic brush strokes called ozivka (bringing to life). This means icon painting is a work with light, where aesthetics and ontology merge inseparably.

Zlatko says that alongside the painting process, there is also a spiritual preparation—reading theology of the icon, the lives of the saints, patristic literature, and more.

According to him, the beauty lies in the fact that while working, one feels concentration, calmness, fulfillment, gratitude, quietness, and all those similar genuine emotions that creativity itself offers. During the process, the focus is often on the spiritual content of the icon, the reversed perspective, and the symbolism of the icon, which holds the inevitable glory and mystery of the Age to Come.

So far, they have worked in several churches in the Prespa region: St. Naum Monastery in Bolno, St. Petka Church in the village of Lavci, St. Elijah Monastery in the village of Kriveni, St. Spas Church in the village of Krushje, St. Spas Monastery in the village of Evla, and others.

In the Struga region: Assumption of the Virgin Mary Church in the village of Boroec, St. Elijah Monastery in the village of Globočica.

In their native village Rotino: St. Elijah, St. Nicholas, the Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin in the village of Gjavato, and the chapel of St. Petka in Gorno Orizari.

Demir Hisar region: Church of St. Elijah in the village of Sladuevo, Church of Constantine and Helena in the village of Vardino.

They have also worked in several churches in neighboring Greece: St. Irene, St. Nektarios, St. Elijah, and St. George in Ovcharani. In Greece, they use the technique called "canvas on wall," which means the icons are created on large canvases at home, then rolled up and transported to be glued onto the walls.

Besides Macedonia and Greece, their icons can be found in various countries across Europe and overseas.

You can contact Zlatko and Sonja at: 076/266-557, 070/591-249