Things you’ll never get from a book

Books are great. And being glass painters – apart from using an electric kiln, things haven’t changed much in 1000 years – we love traditional and well-made things. Like books.

Yet books can’t do everything. For instance, I can use words to describe the consistency of the paint until I am blue in the face … and you’d see what I meant in just 5 seconds. Easy. Quick. Clear.

So it didn’t take us any time at all to decide this was a project to write up and also put on video for you.

How to trace, shade and highlight a stained glass head

Thing is, you won’t get to see this kind of close-up detail unless you actually get to spend several days sitting alongside a glass painter in their studio.

And maybe that’s not too likely to happen, because it’s difficult to paint when you know someone is watching your every move …

David’s very good at it, though. (Nerves of steel!)

And both of us are good at using film to capture what happens on the palette, the consistency of the paint, how to load the brush, how the brush comes down on the glass, the angle of the glass, where the bridge is in relation to the glass – and essential details like that.

These are vital details you’ll never get from a book.

And the great thing is, this is not “just” about how to paint a stained glass head.

Absolutely not.

It’s a sequence of techniques you’ll be able to use time and time again, on hands, clothing, clouds, flowers, animals …

Watch the 96 minutes of online video, try things out for yourself, and you’ll be able to use these same steps and manoeuvres on countless other projects which come your way.

Right – what do you get?

Here’s what you get:

• Immediate access to an exclusive video channel containing 96 minutes of online video demonstration on how to paint a stained glass face
• Immediate access to a photo-packed 13-page PDF download
• 60-day risk-free, money-back guarantee

What’s in the video forum?

You get to watch 96 minutes of online video. You see what we do. You can watch and copy. Watch as often as you like. Watch wherever you choose.

Essential techniques you absolutely have to see:

• Prepare the glass for painting
• How to prime the surface with an undercoat
• How to trace the main lines
• How to lay down half-tones
• Softening the lines and half-tones
• More about softening and shading
• How to reinstate and block in
• Highlighting and softening
• Painting with oil
• Highlighting in oil

Best of all you get to see the palette, the consistency of the paint, how to load the brush, how to move from one thickness of paint to another, how to keep the palette organized, how to hold and move the brush, and vital things like that.

Have a quick look at this 3-minute excerpt on painting with oil on top of unfired water-based paint:

And just see what others say:

“I have spent a most pleasant time watching your online video demonstrations for the painting of St. Martha – they are great. Thank you!” (Peta Crooks, South Africa)

“I love the videos and guide to St. Martha – this is exactly the kind of guide I was looking for!” (Virginia Robbins, Boston, US)

“I’ve just been watching your excellent videos to accompany the St. Martha project. It’s just great to see the techniques demonstrated like this. It’s the best way of seeing what to do” (Sara Burns, Shropshire, England)

“I have enjoyed your videos and am going to probably wear them out while I learn from them” (Jack Delaney, Washington, US)

“The new videos are wonderful! Thank you so much for your care and generosity. Looking forward to trying this lovely approach to things” (Dorothy Plater, England)

“I’m viewing them again and again. Wonderful information on them. You guys are the best” (Guy Pondrom, Missouri, US)

What’s in the PDF download?

The download contains the kind of fascinating detail you will already expect from us:

• Overview
• Close-up step-by-step photos
• Clear instructions
• Full-sized water-colour design
• Full-sized black-and-white line-drawing to show you traced lines
• Full-sized photo of finished work

Coupled with the information you already have in Glass Painting Techniques & Secrets from an English Stained Glass Studio, you will know enough to attempt such a project for yourself.

“I’m finding the PDF on face painting so valuable as I am in the midst of painting two portraits for a Lutheran Church window to be installed in just over a month” (John Olsen, Ohio, US)

Step-by-step techniques and photos to support the 96 minutes of online video

Who’s it for?

As always with our publications, this guide is excellent for serious amateurs and professionals.

You’ll learn a particular sequence of techniques that you can also use in other painting projects.

In other words, whether or not you choose to paint a stained glass head, you can use the same sequence for leaves, clouds, hands, animals … what you will.

All that matters is your enthusiasm and interest.

Give that, and we will work together just wonderfully.

E-mail support

Detail you won’t see elsewhere

The brushes you must have and use. How to hold them. How to shape them. How to load them with paint. How to clean them.

How to organize your palette. Where to push the paint. How to control it. How to re-mix dried paint. How to move from runny paint to thick paint (and vice versa). How to move from dark paint to light paint (and vice versa).

How to build up layer upon layer in a single firing. The consistency and application of the essential undercoat. Copy-tracing and strengthening. Softening and reinforcing. Highlighting. Painting with oil and highlighting with oil. All in just one firing.

Watch and copy

Instant access to the online videos

My Offer to You

Here’s my offer:

• Instant access to full step-by-step instructions
  • Packed with step-by-step photos
  • Plus art-work
• Instant access to online video demonstrations

You get all this for US$14.97

Watch as often as you want.

Watch where you choose.

And watch when you want.

Remember – 96 minutes of useful, beautiful ONLINE video demonstrations

So, if this is right for you, just click here and download this guide right now.

US $14.97

The essential brushes for painting glass with water

Here’s a checklist of the brushes you must have for painting and shading glass with water-based glass paint:

1. A large hake
2. A three-inch blender
3. Different sizes of short-haired sable tracing brushes
4. Different sizes of scrubs

Water – why you need these brushes

This is where everyone starts – by painting glass with paint that’s mixed with water.

And yes, it’s absolutely fine to spend your whole time painting with water and glass paint like this.

That’s because water-based glass painting is the classical approach.

All the same, when you work and learn with us, we take you deeper into the foundations than anyone else.

Actually into knowledge that’s pretty much been forgotten …

Like how to shade before you trace …

And how to do all your painting and highlighting (front and back) in a single firing.

So now let’s talk about the real techniques of water-based stained glass painting.

That will tell you why you need these brushes (and not others) for your water-based work.

Let’s get going.

Why you need a hake

Perfect for an undercoat

Most books tell you to clean your glass then trace the design.

That is, trace your design on bare glass.

This is not just a bad way to learn.

Often it is also a bad way to paint.

Often a better way to paint is to prepare the glass for the lines you want to trace.

So how do you do this?

Well, if you were decorating a room, you wouldn’t paint on bare brick …

First you’d paint an undercoat. This undercoat prepares the wall for later coats of paint.

It’s just the same with glass. But who else tells you this?

And the brush you must have to paint an undercoat is the one you see on the left.

It’s called a “hake”. And it’s a “large” one.

This is the perfect brush to prepare your glass for tracing.

See, we’ve tested all the wide brushes we can find and this one is simply the best not just for priming your glass with an undercoat of paint but also for turning traced lines into subtle shadows.

This brush has it all.

Soft hairs. (They are beautifully shaped.) Good stitching (so the brush doesn’t go bald!). It’s lovely to hold and grip. And the long handle gives you a wonderful feeling of balance in your hand.

Now if we sound like madmen, just take a look at our gallery, and remember that nearly every single piece of painted glass was prepared with a large hake brush like the one here.

That’s the proof.

It’s often best and also simplest to use a large hake brush to prime the surface of the glass before you trace and shade

So get a large hake. They’re worth their weight in glass paint.

Where? In Europe, order your hake from PELI Glass. Elsewhere, go to Amazon.com and search for “Ron Ranson Hake Brush Large”.

Why you need a three-inch blender

Essential for shading water-based paint

The next kind of brush you definitely must have is a good strong “blender” like this one here.

It’s made from badger hair.

It’s used for blending and moving water-based paint while the paint is still wet.

(It can also used for adding texture to water-based paint when the paint is wet or dry.)

Now the wonderful thing is it can also be used for turning traced lines into shadows. And we’ll come back to this in a moment …

For now, remember you’ve just used the hake to cover the entire surface of the glass with a light undercoat of paint.

And now, while the paint is still wet, you use the blender to smooth away the wrinkles you don’t want.

It’s the only brush for the job. That’s why you need one like this.

Now you’re longing to find out about tracing and shading, so let’s move on.

Why you need short hairs on your tracing brushes

The reason is, it’s nearly always mad to use long tracing brushes! Listen to this …

I remember my first glass painting lesson.

And I don’t know what my teacher was thinking off but in that I guess she was no different from most others … She presented me with a “traditional” stained glass tracing brush whose hairs were as long as my little finger!

Mad!

Here’s the simple truth:

Yes, long tracing brushes have their uses.

But mostly you’re just making trouble for yourself by using them.

Yes we know very well when you look in a catalogue the “stained glass tracing brushes” will mostly be more than an inch long …

This is because the retailers don’t paint stained glass!

But we do it every day.

We do it for our living in the deepest sense of the word: it earns our income and it’s our life’s work.

So we know you absolutely don’t need long hairs which can’t be controlled because they’re more like whips than brushes!

You need short and elegant hand-made brushes like these ones here – four good tracing brushes like these to paint lines of different thicknesses and also different strengths of colour:

Short and perfect shaped hairs for fine and thick lines, for light and dark lines

With a set like this, you can paint everything from faint to strong, from the thin line to thick.

And it’ll be you who is in charge of them – not them who controls you.

That’s the whole point.

And that’s part of the big picture.

So, starting with our trusted friend the one and only hake:

Perfect for preparing your glass for delicate tracing

And a blender like this …

A large blender like this feels beautiful in your hand. It is just what you need for water-based glass painting

… you can make a lovely surface on which to trace.

Which means your short-haired tracing brush …

Perfect for delicate tracing

… will well and truly grip the surface of the glass, allowing you to paint an image like this:

Honey bee – painted front and back in just one firing

… front and back in just one firing – get the free newsletter.

But that’s not all …

The return of the hake and blender

This is where the wheels leave the tarmac and your plane takes off. See, there’s this exciting path you can also follow:

1. Say you’ve painted your undercoat and traced your main lines
2. Now you can use your hake again to cover the glass with a second wash of paint
3. Next use your blender to blur those traced lines into shadows
4. When the paint has dried, you can reinstate the lines, which, using lovely coloured glass, gets you an effect like this in just one firing:

Using a hake, a blender and various tracing brushes on coloured glass, painted front and back in just one firing!

Maybe this too sounds so weird you want to reach for the panic button!

But again we’d say, just check out the gallery.

A whole lot of the glass there was finished in just one firing – precisely because we used these brushes to turn our traced lines into the subtlest shadows:

The Classic Glass Painting Collection from PELI Glass

Classic Glass Painting Tools

Now for the first time you can get these classic glass painting tools in a single collection:

• A large hake
• A professional three-inch badger blender
• Four short-haired sable tracing brushes (sizes 0, 1, 2 and 6)
• Three hog-hair scrubs

We don’t take any payment or commission from sales. That is precisely why we can honestly recommend them. – Because we have nothing to gain. Except your satisfaction.

Yes our name (“Williams & Byrne”) is on the brushes. The reason is, we use these brushes every day.

PELI Glass has assembled this kit, on our advice, for you.

You can find PELI Glass here and ask for the “Classic Glass Painting Tools“.

They will give you excellent service and provide you with remarkable brushes.

Paint better, fire less – free newsletter

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