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Our Public Relations team looked shocked. Anyone would have thought that we’d dismissed them and moved to a different Agency.
“It’s the end of the world!”
Or (much the same thing) that a particularly terrifying prophecy in the Book of Revelation had come to pass.
What on earth had we done?
I checked that my hands were in full view on the boardroom table, still holding the architect’s crumpled drawing.
What on earth had we said to cause such fright?
Here’s what to do when you need to use a tracing brush to paint a really fine line:
- Load your brush by twizzling it in the paint as usual
- Then draw your tracing brush against the palette and twirl it as you go so that the hairs all roll up like a rolled-up umbrella
This gives a beautiful point to the tips of the hairs.
A well-shaped brush
It also slows down the descent of paint, because the paint must now go round and round in a spiral (rather than dropping straight down the vertical hairs of your tracing brush).
Here’s a close-up shot. Look at the umbrella-like shape. Look at the pointed tip of the brush.
See how, with a shape like this, the paint must go round and round until it reaches the glass?
Imagine the delicate line that it’ll paint.
Gorgeous!
Now, while you’re here, also check the home page for the latest post. Just mouse right here.
Everything is clear now. What a fool I’ve been. For several weeks now, David has been as cheerful as a giraffe in a kimono, and I couldn’t work out why. Yes, work is going well. But, all the same, we’re English, which means – well, bowler hats, cricket bats and lots of milk with your tea. However, just this morning he thumped the latest glossy copy of Period Homes & Interiors on my unsuspecting writing desk (yes, and spilled my milky tea …). Oh well, few of us can resist dancing in the spotlight of media attention. And David likes to dance. Oh yes, see here. (It’s the second page he got all frisky about, bottom-right. Above it, you even see the Master’s hand, working on the Dinder Crest.)
It’s absolutely essential to aim high. Yet it’s also important that, aiming high, we accept fair comment and criticism.
Here’s one of a pair of windows that a priest got his brother to paint for his church. It’s irrelevant that the brother used non-firing glass paints. What matter is the underlying design and the lack of skill with which it’s executed.
It is so bad that it cannot be justified on the grounds that the congregation were usefully being tested for the strength of their human charity …
Here it is:
Until recently, this really did exist in an English country church …
There are, by contrast, hundreds of so-called modest activities which everyone can reallt focus on when they paint stained glass.
For example:
- Keeping the palette organized
- Keeping the paint well-mixed
- Keepting the brush well-shaped
Have a look at the short video below. It shows a single stage from the painting of Saint Martha (whose head is documented here).
Tip:
From the glass painter’s point of view, the most important activity happens on the palette (not on the painted glass).
Have a look now:
(Video not showing? Just got a rectangular black box? Maybe you need the latest version of Adobe Flash.)
I hope this is useful to you.
Best,
