Glass Painting Techniques & Secrets from an English Stained Glass Studio by David Williams & Stephen Byrne Dog roses, Daffodils & Poppies

Transcription

1 Glass Painting Techniques & Secrets from an English Stained Glass Studio by David Williams & Stephen Byrne Dog roses, Daffodils & Poppies Copyright 2010 Williams & Byrne Limited

2 Hello and Welcome! Thanks for joining the newsletter and for downloading this guide. The idea here is to give you a good sense of the kind of glass painting that you can expect to learn about with us through the newsletter and within the web site itself. Yes, it s kiln-fired glass painting for sure. It s also properly done, by which we mean that we don t cut corners or try to do things on the cheap : high standards are important. We are very keen on technique and doing things properly, taking as much time as needed to do the best job, and so forth. Therefore this guide is only an introduction so that you can be sure that you ll be happy with the newsletters which are to come. If this guide looks interest to you, then that s wonderful please stay with us and join in with the conversations that we ll have with you and others in the weeks and months ahead. (If the guide isn t right for you, we re sorry, but it s better to know about this as soon as possible.) Over the next few pages, here s the kind of information that you ll get from us:. A list of the basic tools and materials you ll need for this particular project; 2. The design itself, pretty much full-size;. A brief step-by-step guide with photographs of the glass at each stage. We start with the cut-line itself, then move onto the coloured glass that s been cut to size, then onto undercoating, copy-tracing and so forth, finishing up with painting with oil (this is a huge and wonderful subject check the web site for more information) and firing; 4. And we show you how to get in touch with us and ask questions, and how to get more information when you need it. Now some people express surprise that we re happy to put in this work for other glass painters around the world. Actually we make no secret of the fact that it s a pleasure (in 5 years there have only ever been two people who were rude, and we re sure they must have just been having a bad day, which is awful for them, since they ended up by losing out on so much). Time and time again we hear from people who say how relieved and excited they are to find this wealth of information all readily available. We re all very lucky to live when we do. Even 10 years ago, it wasn t possible to share information as we now can. It would have been hard for us to have encountered one another. For our part, we regard it as a privilege that you re willing to spend time with our newsletters, videos, photographs and posts on the web site. And we look forward to hearing back from you by way of s or comments or whatever. Here s to whatever it takes for all of us to bring our own glass painting to a new level of beauty and also to share that skill and knowledge with others, wherever they are. 2 Copyright 2010 Williams & Byrne Limited

3 Flat wide brushes for the undercoat. Flat wide blenders for blending and softening water-based paint. Small round blenders for blending and softening oil-based paint. Various thin tracing brushes. Various large tracing brushes. Various scrubs, stipplers, sticks and needles. Also: Oil-based paint Paper tissue e.g. kitchen roll Kiln Controller Glass Light box, paint palettes, covers, water, palette knives, water-based paint (our usual mixture of tracing black and tracing red). Copyright 2010 Williams & Byrne Limited

4 4 Copyright 2010 Williams & Byrne Limited

5 1. The cut-line. Our original design measures 210 mm wide by 297 mm high roughly 8 1/4 inches wide by 11 1/2 inches tall: in other words, exactly the size of this piece of paper. Therefore re-scale the image if you wish to. Then use good quality tracing paper and prepare the cut-line either for leading or for copper-foiling. (We prepared ours for leading.) Notes to leaders: the example cut-line shown here only goes to the inside edge of the border lead, so you will need to choose the size of your border lead and also draw the border lead accordingly. Also note that the thickness of the lines in ink must match the heart of your lead. 5 Copyright 2010 Williams & Byrne Limited

6 2. The glass. Choose your glass and cut it to size. You can use whatever colours you like. Groze each piece of glass. This prevents the glass from cutting your fingers. It also prevents the glass from damaging your brushes when you are painting. As you wish, also prepare an easel to stick your glass to so that you can correctly assess the colours and (later on) assess your painting. Clean the glass thoroughly several times. Note: in England, we don t use cutting shears (as many people do in the US, for example). Rather, we put a piece of glass on top of the cut-line. Then, with our glass cutter, we cut to the inside of the lines on the cut-line. Copyright 2010 Williams & Byrne Limited

7 3. The undercoat. Now paint a medium-darkness undercoat on the front of every piece of glass. This primes the otherwise slippery surface of the glass so that it s easier to trace on. To do this, prepare your glass paint. Take a thin, wide brush. Test the paint on your light-box and adjust it as needed. Take your first piece of glass. Load your brush with paint and clean it thoroughly several times. Then use your brush to cover it with a medium-darkness undercoat. As needed, or as you wish, while the paint is still wet, take your blender and remove any unwanted marks from the undercoat. Note: the idea of undercoating may be new to you. Just write and ask for more information as needed. 7 Copyright 2010 Williams & Byrne Limited

8 4. Copy-trace. Prepare some glass paint that is suitable for tracing light, thin lines. Place the design on your light-box. Put your first piece of glass on top of the design (that s why it s called copy-tracing). Load your tracing brush. Test your paint on your light-box and adjust it as needed. Then copy-trace the lines. Remember to move the glass and the design around on the light-box so that you are always in a comfortable position to paint. When you ve copytraced the first piece of glass, put it on one side. Continue with the remaining pieces in exactly the same way. 8 Copyright 2010 Williams & Byrne Limited

9 5. Reinforce and block in. Put your design on one side where you can see it as you paint. (Sometimes, with a small design like this one, it is possible to keep it on the light-box.) Prepare some glass paint that is medium-dark and thick (but not so thick that it is impossible to paint with it). Test it on your light-box and adjust it as needed. Take your first piece of glass. Look at the design. Use the same tracing brush as before to thicken and darken lines as you see here. Also, block in as shown. Put the first piece of glass on one side and let it dry. Continue with the next piece. And so on. 9 Copyright 2010 Williams & Byrne Limited

10 6. Highlights. Take a pointed wooded stick. Make highlights approximately as shown. When you make highlights, it is a good idea from time to time to hold the piece of glass up to the natural daylight rather than only examining it on your light-box: this can help you to be objective and sensitive. Also remember that you can always add more highlights but that you cannot take them away: therefore add highlights wisely. Also remember that you must respond to the pieces of glass in front of you. There is nothing which is absolutely correct and necessary about our highlights. It s the spirit of your highlights which is important. 10 Copyright 2010 Williams & Byrne Limited

11 7. Softened highlights. We usually use the tip of a finger or the fleshy ball of our thumb to soften highlights. It is essential that your hand is dry. It is also essential to be gentle and light: work slowly and respond to the glass in front of you. It s alright to stop working on a piece and return to it later when you ve done other pieces. Your finger / thumb (or whatever) must also be clean: wipe it occasionally on a cloth or paper tissue. When you ve lightly used your finger / thumb to remove some paint, also lightly dust the glass with your blender, then look at the glass again: either stop there or rub away a little more, then dust again with your blender. Wash your hands thoroughly. 11 Copyright 2010 Williams & Byrne Limited

12 8. Oil wash and oil-mid tones. Prepare some oilbased glass paint. This technique is fully described in Part 6 of Glass Painting Techniques & Secrets from an English Stained Glass Studio, our studio s glass painting manual that, from time to time, you can order as a download. If this is new to you, check the Real Glass Painting site for video demonstrations. Paint a light oil wash over the entire surface of each piece of glass. Then prepare a darker mix of oilbased paint and add some medium-dark shadows to the darker parts. Lastly, take a small round-headed blender and soften the shadows by blending them with the oil wash. Let the paint dry overnight as protected from dust as possible. 12 Copyright 2010 Williams & Byrne Limited

13 9. Reinstate the highlights. Either use a wooden stick and/or take a piece of paper tissue, shape it as needed, then dab or cut through the oil-based paint. Always remember to hold the glass carefully: although the water-based paint (underneath) has gum Arabic in it, the oil-based paint (on top) has now softened the gum Arabic. This makes the adhesion of all your painting more delicate than before. Therefore, your highlights can also now be subtler than before. This is part of the magic of painting with oil on top of unfired water-based paint: the highlights can also be more refined. 13 Copyright 2010 Williams & Byrne Limited

14 Choose a firing schedule which is suitable for oilbased glass painting and fire your glass. Then assemble it, cement it and polish it. Note: the colours of our panel look different because the picture above was taken against daylight and the other pictures were taken on a light-box. Practical Suggestion Cut your glass. Then choose only one piece of glass: some leaves, for example. Paint this one piece of glass all the way through from start to end as described here (steps 3-9): this will give you a clear understanding of the whole process. Then clean the glass. Now paint all the pieces as described. 14 Copyright 2010 Williams & Byrne Limited

15 Important - Do Read This Why do we give you these 3 original designs and step-by-step instructions? The reason is, we want you to be very clear about the kind of glass painting that, if you wish, we can help you with through the newsletters and also through the posts which you will find on the blog. So, if this isn t the kind of glass painting that interests you, that s fine of course, and at least you will know where to find good information when you need it. More Information Needed? Now we re perfectly aware that most people do not do all their glass painting in a single firing. (And, yes, sometimes we also use two firings.) Our approach, therefore, may be very different to the kind of glass painting that you do. Which means that some of the steps may sound new and complicated to you. Clearly, in an introductory guide like this, we cannot say all there is to say. And, if we did, you d probably suffer from information-overload. Which would be counter-productive because the whole idea is to work with you over the weeks, months and years ahead and give you the confidence and skill to take your glass painting forward in whatever way is best for you. If you do need more information about any particular steps, there are three options. You are welcome to us at studio@ realglasspainting.com, and we ll always do our best to help. Please understand in advance that this is a free service. We are working with 1000s of glass painters all around the world so therefore our time is necessarily limited here. to time is that it also comes with direct oneto-one support from us. In other words, we spend a lot of time answering your questions and working with you as directly as possible. So we can only take on 20 new people every three months or so. The downloadable manual covers essential techniques like the best way to mix your paint, how to lay an undercoat, how to shade before your trace, how to trace and highlight, and how to paint with oil. The online videos are where you can watch these things actually being done. Also included with the 4th edition of this online manual is a 96-minute step-by-step demonstration of how to paint a stained glass face. This is amazing whether or not you ever intend to paint a face because it shows you, step-by-step, the same techniques that you will need for just about any stained glass painting project that you do. You see it all in beautiful detail. It s a manual with videos really, though, it s a process whereby you and we can work together on the particular things which interest you. See here the kind of experiences that others have had with us: reviews/. It s wonderful for some people. Maybe it s what you re also looking for. Think it over. It s up to you. The newsletters and the Real Glass Painting blog are always yours whatever you decide. And like we say, it s only a few times a year that people join, so there s no rush here. Goodbye for Now We hope this guide gives you a good idea of the kind of glass painting that the newsletters will cover. When we can help with anything, just get in touch. Legal notices Terms and conditions For terms and conditions, please see www. realglasspainting.com/terms. All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Williams & Byrne Limited. Notice of liability The information in this publication is designed to provide information about the kiln-fired glass painting techniques used by Williams & Byrne Techniques Limited. Every effort has been made to make the publication as complete and accurate as possible but no warranty of fitness is implied. The information is provided on an as is basis without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the publication, Williams & Byrne techniques Limited, their employees or associates shall not have any liability to any person or entity with respect to liability, loss, or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in the publication or by the products described or mentioned therein. See the terms and conditions at www. realglasspainting.com/terms for full details. Web Site You can also search the Real Glass Painting web site. For example, there are several free video demonstrations showing undercoating and how to overcoat with oil. To search, use the keywords and/or the categories which you will see in the right-hand column. If there is something you want which will also be useful to other people, then just tell us, and we will consider it as a post. That way everyone gains from your suggestion. Downloadable manual and videos From time to time throughout the year, we make available the studio glass painting manual which also comes with several hours of online video. The reason it s only available from time 15 Copyright 2010 Williams & Byrne Limited