glass painting techniques bydavid williams stephen byrne ... · 5 copyright © 20 0 williams &...

� 4th EditionCopyright © 20�0 Williams & Byrne Limited

Glass Painting Techniques & Secrets from an English Stained Glass StudiobyDavid Williams & Stephen Byrne

Dog roses, Daffodils & Poppies

2 4th EditionCopyright © 20�0 Williams & Byrne Limited

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;

The design itself, pretty much full-size;

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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;

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 �0 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

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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 e-mails 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.


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).


1. The cut-line. Our original design measures 2�0

mm wide by 297 mm high — roughly 8 �/4 inches

wide by �� /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.


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.


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.


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 copy-

traced the first piece of glass, put it on one side.

Continue with the remaining pieces in exactly the

same way.


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.

�0 4th EditionCopyright © 20�0 Williams & Byrne Limited

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.

�� 4th EditionCopyright © 20�0 Williams & Byrne Limited

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.


8. Oil wash and oil-mid tones. Prepare some oil-

based glass paint. This technique is fully described in

Part � 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 oil-

based 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.

�� 4th EditionCopyright © 20�0 Williams & Byrne Limited

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.


Choose a firing schedule which is suitable for oil-

based 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 � - 9): this will give you a clear understanding

of the whole process. Then clean the glass. Now paint

all the pieces as described.


Important - Do Read ThisWhy do we give you these � 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.

E-mail

You are welcome to e-mail 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 �000s of

glass painters all around the world so therefore

our time is necessarily limited here.

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

to time” is that it also comes with direct one-

to-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

9�-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: www.realglasspainting/

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 NowWe 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 conditionsFor terms and conditions, please see www.

realglasspainting.com/terms.

All rights reservedNo 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 liabilityThe 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.

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glass painting techniques bydavid williams stephen byrne ... · 5 copyright © 20 0 williams &...

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