JOIN USPainting on glass
Stained glass paintings that adorn ancient and classical structures have served as an inspiration to a simpler form which can tried out by you with a little patience and talent.
If you visit your stationery shop or fancy stores in your neighbourhood, you are likely to find readymade glass painting kits accompanied with instructions. You will find that there are kits that suit your age and experience with this genre of painting. You could try out one or two of them just for the fun of it and then try out something on the given lines to make your work unique.
Decide on design first
First of all, decide on a design and draw it on a sheet of paper. If you are not good at drawing, get hold of a design that appeals to you no matter how complicated it might appear.
Then go to a hardware shop that sells plain glass and get a plain glass of four mm thickness cut to the exact size of your design. Get the edges of the glass grounded so that it does not hurt while you are handling it.
When the glass is ready, procure a small sample tin of black acrylic oil paint and a set of pearl paints. You will also need some thinner to erase mistakes that you might make and two round-tipped brushes numbered triple zero and one.
It is important that you should complete the outline in one sitting; therefore set aside around two hours when you are not likely to be disturbed.
Place the glass over the design and draw the outline using the oil paint and the triple zero brush. In case you make mistakes, dab the error spot with a drop of thinner and wipe it away using cotton wool.
Make sure that it does not leave any stain on the glass. When the outline is done, leave it to dry for at least four to five hours You could fill in the colours in a series of sittings.
When you draw the outline and paint, you are actually working on the reverse side. If you want to give special effects like shading and dimension, remember that in glass painting, the colour applied first will be seen foremost.
Therefore you must use your shading techniques in the reverse format. For instance, if you are painting sunset or sunrise on paper, you will paint the main colour, orange, first and then tinge it with yellow, but in this form of glass painting you should tinge the yellow first and then get on with orange.
These techniques require some expertise and imagination because you have to think on the lines of a corollary.
If you want the wavy effect, you must work on the outermost layer first. If you want to get dimensional effect of space you should make tiny dabs with paint in a darker shade along the outline.
Once you are through with the painting you get it framed in such a manner so that the side you worked on is at the back.