BASICS OF GLASS PAINTING

Greetings my dear friends...

I am as excited as you are to begin our journey into the delightful and exciting world of Glass Painting.

Glass painting is a very delightful and popular art. Glass painting is a relatively easy technique, but delivers amazing results. The best part about glass painting is that it is not a very expensive craft. So lets get started with the basics of glass painting. Once you have mastered the basic techniques of glass painting you will enjoy playing around with different paints and textures and creating your own unique designs.

You do not require any special tools for glass painting.  

The first step in glass painting, is to find a suitable piece of glassware and clean it with warm soapy water. You can find many items in your own kitchen like empty jam, jelly and coffee jars, glasses, bottles to start with. Craft shops have a lot of items like candle holders, vases, etc..

My favorite places to shop are Ikea, Micheal's, Walmart and Bed Bath & Beyond for they have a good availability of clear glassware.

Here is a list of the materials you will need -

  

Glassware that catches your fancy...can be a bowl, a plate, a vase, a votive holder. Make sure that the glass is cleaned in warm soapy water and completely dried.

An HB and a 2B pencil for drawing templates (with a fine point). A mechanical pencil works well too.  A good quality eraser, ruler and a compass, fine tip artist pen, masking tape,  and a pair of scissors. A few good quality artist brushes ranging from very fine to medium and a flat brush. Remember to clean the brushes immediately  after you complete your work. Water based paints can be removed with warm soapy water whereas oil based paints need to be removed with turpentine or thinner as recommended by the manufacturer. Foam brushes to cover larger areas or for a stippling effect.

Glass Paints - The wide range of paints available for painting on glass, makes it difficult to decide which products to use. The most important facts to consider when choosing glass paints is the color range, the transparency, the permanence, the price, the simplicity of application or a combination of all these factors. Glass paints  are available in both transparent and opaque colors. Paints that can be baked are more durable than air dry paints. If you are working on a decorative piece, air dry paints work fine. Pebeo Porcelaine 150, Pebeo Vitrail, Delta Glass Paints, Liquitex Acrylic Glossies, are few available brands of glass paints. I prefer Pebeo colors. These colors should be allowed to air dry for at least 24 hours and then can be baked in a domestic oven at 350-375 degrees F for about 60 minutes to make them permanent. I prefer to allow them to dry for atleast 48 hours. They are  100% dishwasher safe and food safe. These paints are non-toxic and durable enough to stand up to everyday use.

Glass paint markers are available for outlining designs on glass. Pebeo's Vitrea 160 line offers 18 markers (9 glossy colors and 9 frosted colors). I prefer to use the Pebeo applicator bottles with a metal tip.You can fill these bottles with liquid glass paint for fine lines.The metal tips should be washed in warm soapy water immediately after use.






These are the basic materials you will need for beginning your adventure with Glass painting.

Like with any other field of learning, however much knowledge or experience you have gained, you will never have learned enough. You will always come up with new techniques and ideas. I will share with you the tricks and techniques I have learned over the years and rest assured that I will be with you to help you pursue your passion.

So pick up your paint brush and transform the world around you.!!!!

GLASS PAINTING

As I begin my blog about the various art forms, I would like to welcome you all to the fabulous world of Glass Painting. I am so excited to share my thoughts and ideas with you.
I had this fascination for stained glass paintings right from a very young age. It all began with my visits to the church on my school campus, and the spectaular stained glass windows that filled me with awe and reverence. At that time however, I did not think that I would at any point in time, actually consider painting on glass. 
The effects of light falling through colored glass is so delightful and fascinating, but the art of 'Stained Glass' seemed so complex and time-consuming. It wasn't until I came to the US in 2002 that I came across various glass paints at Blicks - an equally fascinating art store - "a treasure trove" - as my friend Shantala calls it. It dawned to me that I could, with practice, achieve similar results with glass painting. Of course it will not be appropriate to compare stained glass art with decorative glass painting, as they are both distinctively different in their techniques. 
With infinite resources available at the local library and on the internet I was able to explore and research various techniques and processes of achieving stained glass effects on clear glass without the complex process of cutting and piecing involved in stained glass-work.  You do not need to restrict your creativity to clear glass. China and porcelain can deliver equally amazing effects.


A little creativity and the wide range of glass paints available can transform a simple piece of glass into something special. You can decorate plates, glasses, bowls, bottles, trinket boxes, mirrors, picture frames, vases, cabinet doors, storage jars, candle holders, votive holders and more. The possibilities are endless.


For crafters and artists, painting on glass has become a very creative field. You will find hand-painted glass everywhere - from art and craft fairs to sophisticated boutiques to home decor stores. The delightful part of glass painting is finding objects that arouse your creativity. You can find interesting pieces in antique shops, flea markets, discount stores, kitchen stores, etc. My favorite haunt for glass products is IKEA.

Glass painting can turn in to a very addictive hobby. You will probably end up giving color and life to every piece of glass you can lay your hands on, like I do. Over the years I have spent endless hours pursuing my interest in glass painting and created many interesting pieces. You can check out my portfolio at www.studio4837.com

Through my blog I would like to introduce you to the exciting world of GLASS PAINTING.

Next time I will provide you with a list of materials you will need to get started.

Asta la Vista..... until next time.

ART

Who could imagine a world without ART? Art plays a very important role in making our lives rich.
Art stimulates different part of our brain with a wide range of emotions. It is a vehicle for  individual creativity and self-expression. Art can mean something different to every person.

Art is a broad topic and there is no universally accepted definition of ART., that it is impossible to go with a single definition. Traditionally the word ART was used to refer to any skill or mastery. It is derived from the latin word 'ars'.  Art is a global activity which encompasses a host of disciplines, for example - Fine Arts, Liberal Arts, Visual Arts, Decorative Arts, Applied Arts, Design, Crafts, Performing Arts, Culinary Arts, and so on.

Art exists in everyone of us in some form or other. It would not be wrong to say that ART is all about self-expression.It is a medium through which you can communicate your thoughts, feelings and emotions to others. This can help people who feel the same way, but cannot express themselves to relate to these feelings and emotions. It is so much a part of our life that we fail to stop and think about it.

Art is classified into many specific categories depending on the materials used,such as drawing, painting, sculpture, glass art, metal art, fine art photography, animation, collage, murals, etc. Painting can further be classified into watercolors, oils, acrylics; sculptures in wood, stone, bronze, etc. I intend to make people aware of what Art is as I understand it and try and help everyone find their personal preferences.


I want to recognise my mentor, the Late Mr K B Kulkarni for helping me develop my skills. I learned not only about Art from him, but also some important life lessons.  After years of learning every kind of Art from Oils, Watercolors, Pencils, Pastels, Acrylics, Mosaics, Glass, I have discovered that I can do my best at painting on glass.
Through my blog I intend to pass on my ideas to those who would like to learn or know more about  'Painting on Glass'.