Welcome back.
Let’s start work again right now.
Today’s video – 2 key points
I’ve often noticed how uncomfortable new students look when they paint stained glass.
All cramped and tense.
And really really stiff.
Scarcely moving at all.
And that’s not the way to do it.
Glass painting and motion
Glass painting is actually a very fluid activity.
You’re nearly always moving and changing your position – sometimes slightly, sometimes hugely.
You’re always searching out the best angle – the best position – from which to paint the next few strokes.
And this is always changing. So that’s the first thing we’ll take a look at in today’s video.
Glass painting and preparation
Another thing is knowing what you’re going to do before you do it.
OK maybe I am a bit of a control freak. (My poor family.)
All the same, with many styles of glass painting, ours included, a huge amount of creativity and invention occurs much earlier – for example, when you prepare the design, and also when you work out how to interpret that design on glass.
But when the time comes for you come to make the piece for real, for the client if there is one here – it’s really important you’ve already discovered all the answers.
When you’re doing it for real, it’s usually not the time to be inventing things, or improvising, or making anything up as you go along …
And this has different consequences at different times. Here in this video you’ll also see what it means for highlighting.
As you’ll see, we always have a prototype, we always have test pieces where we’ve practised first.
Glass painting and demonstration
Music by Chopin this time:
Ask questions as you wish.
Download the free stained glass design right here.
Best,
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Hi Stephen,
I’m curious to know what the “darker” surface is that surrounds the piece of glass you’re painting. Is it paper or glass? And is this the surface that you’re rotating as you paint?
As a somewhat shaky-handed painter it’s important for me to be able to draw the stroke in a comfortable direction, and that often means moving the glass. But with a drawing underneath this can be tricky. Tips appreciated!
Hi Patrice,
Good question – it’s one of the tips you get in the DVD. Here’s the answer: it’s a piece of card we’ve cut to size. The glass sits within. This helps prevent eye-strain. It also helps you judge more accurately the darkness of your glass paint … precisely because the card helps stop “light-box blindness”.
So first comes the design itself. Then the card is placed on top of the design and fastened to it with something we call “Bluetack”. (Plasticene works just as well). Then the glass fits snugly in the hole.
All very easy to move around as needed.
I hope this helps.
All the best,
Stephen
Stephen,
I am leaving the same comment as the previous posting. I really liked your use of the card stock around the fish you were painting. I sometimes get eye strain from looking at a bright light table for too long. I am going to try that! I also appreciated looking at the completed window – It shows that you hand painted every figure because they had different trace lines and matting.- Great work!
Thank you for your e-mails
I learn something new every time.
take care & happy new year
Kelley Mooers
Kelley,
Thanks for your message. It’s really useful to us to get news from you about exactly what you find useful. It also helps draw other people’s attention to good points: so thank you for telling us about this.
Yes, indeed: card stock / card / cardboard. I had been going to say it makes good sense to cut out a light-blocking card stock template when you have a lot of glass the same size to paint.
But in fact we regularly do this even for a one-off piece. First, the time and expense are negligible. Second, it’s so much easier to see what you’re doing – because you’re not dazzled by the light.
Every happiness and success to you in 2011, Kelley!
Stephen
Hello Stephen,
I regularly read your email newsletters, and I notice that all the info you are sending me is only about kiln-fired glass painting. What I’m really interested in is stained glass painting. Do you have a section on your website that is about this topic? Please advise.
Thank you so much!
Manon
Hi Manon,
Thanks for your question. We can only cover kiln-fired stained glass painting on this site. If it’s non-fired glass paints you’re interested in, the manufacturers themselves are a very good source of information. I’m sorry we can’t help you here. We must just concentrate on what we know best: kiln-fired stained glass painting.
Happy 2011!
Stephen
Dear Stephen,
How nice it is to watch your videos, read along, and listen to your instruction. It is almost like you are right here. What a lovely job of demonstrating your skills and tips. Thank you so much for sharing with all of us, and for offering your teaching skills via email, videos, downloads, and in person, such as the AGG conference just now. It was truly a great experience getting to paint with both David and yourself. I will be keeping up with your posts and links. Thank you and I hope to attend your class in England at some point in the future!
All the best to you both! Fabulous teachers with a great sense of humor!
Cynthia Courage
Cynthia – thank you.
And what I say to you and mean with every bone in my body is: we look forward to meeting you again.
Best,
Stephen
It is awesome! Thanks for share your knowledge!