Glass painting Designs: Origin

Glass painting Designs: Origin

Gujarat was the cradle of Glass painting in India. This art painting form made its appearance in the eighteenth century. Glass painting designs and patterns comprises of engravings laid down on the back of the glass, and they are painted from the reverse.


Chinese artists who had settled in Gujarat influenced the local traditions of producing glass paintings designs also known as glass painting art. In India, painting on glass has been carried forward as a treasured legacy and today it is noted for its thematic variety, sheer brilliance, stunning clarity and use of rich colors.

Basic Material and Tools

• Cleaning Fluids / Thinner / Glass Cleaning Solution or Nail polish remover can also be used.


• Painting surfaces ( Glass ,Mirror ,Clear Plastic, Acetate Sheets(transparent sheets) or Bottles )


• Glass Colors (Fevicryl or creative craft) what you prefer


• Outliner readymade or can make at home . Learn to make glass liners at home at


• Cotton Buds & Cotton roll(Cotton buds are invaluable for mopping up the Mistakes.)


• Pattern/Design


So lets start

Step---1
Clean your glass with Dry cotton then with Glass cleaner or thinner or with water.


Step ---2
Set your Design or pattern under the Glass on a plain surface like Table.


Step---3
Use the Outliner and Draw the design over the glass.


Step---4
Then Let the Outliner for some time like 10 to 15 or 20 minutes to dry.


Step---5.
Then color it with your favorite colors. If any color comes out then use cotton buds to adjust it .And Use thinner if any color comes out the Design or dropped on any area of the surface.


Step---6
Let it Dry....and now your First painting is ready. Frame it and hang it.

Useful tips and techniques to improve glass painting design

• Take a theme if making more than one painting. It could be Krishna, angels, nature or any other of your choice


• Do no change the position of glass while doing work. Stick you pattern with glass tape, or another simple idea i follow is, v can mark the four corners of the glass on the design pattern with pencil, so even if it moves, we will know the exact position


• To avoid bubbles do not shake the bottle before painting... take little quantity...and apply in layers...Still if bubbles persist than burst it with a pin immediately.


• Adapt normal paintings or photographs into glass painting designs, download a picture that you like and convert it to a glass painting template by yourself & paint.


• When you apply the paint on the outlined design, make sure the surface is flat or else colour will spill in other areas.


• Beginners start with designs having wide areas to paint rather the very intricate designs


• To observe mistakes always work with good light possible if the light comes from down .Close the fan while painting else the thinner in the colour will evaporate.


• Once you have painted, never leave the painting in a bright open place else the color may fade and dust may accumulate if its a open space


• Never use a brush always work with nozzle provided by the company otherwise patches will appear.


• If you want to give shading for (e.g under water effect) to regular stain glass colours you can give light shades in certain areas, also leave certain areas blank and few with dark colours. .You can make colour light by adding white colour ,for brightness you can add yellow for high tones you can add black or blue....the trick is how u spread d colours .For outline you can use black liner or camlin’s transparent one.


• For skin colour use brown with white or flesh tint color which is available in camlin


• To paint on curved surfaces you need fast drying poly utherine medium and good quality glass strainers. It dries out in 2 minutes. Poly utherine medium is around 500/ per liters and glass strainers are around 150 to 200/ per 100 ml. But they are difficult to find.


• Normally when we store unframed glass painting . Cloth or paper sticks on the paint to avoid this sandwich the painting. Ideally it should be sandwiched with a glass piece when it is dry but you can also use OHP paper, the bubble plastic sheet

To prevent your glass colours from getting dry

I think there is no solution for storing colors for a long period of time , but keep using them and use thinner if they little gets or buy small bottles

To remove old glass painting designs

• Use a razor but you have to be careful otherwise scratches will appear.
• Another way is put a wet cloth on the painting and let it choke it for a day. The next day you will find it easy as the paints will be half way out.
• One can also use nail polish remover or thinner

Framing glass painting designs

• Framing the painting on reverse side makes a painting look neat and you dust does not stick on the painting ,but it can sometimes framing the painting on reverse side makes them look a bit dull


• To avoid that you can sandwich the painting...that is...put another glass-a thin glass-on top of the painting and frame it....this way paintings are safer because solvents and air don’t come in contact with the painting and also it does not look dull...


• You even try framing the painting the regular way seal it with card board, and can set any coloured paper/sheet, as per your requirement, it wont look dull and will actually give a lot of brightness..


• You can also use the background as foil for your glass painting design
For this you crumple the foil ( one that is use in kitchen), and then straighten it out, so that it is full of wrinkles and put t behind the painting .This definitely gives it a different look as the portions without color would also look filled, and won't stand out as much.

Add new dimensions to your glass painting Design

(painting made by using oil colours on glass)


-Use oil colours on glass it takes time to dry but shading comes out great. Oil colour is used with linseed as base. Fill the colours first with of brush. Then take small ball of cotton and a small piece of cotton cloth with fine mesh (preferably used one new cotton cloth have starch) place the cotton in the center of the cloth and then make small pouch. Now using the pouch mix the colours together using small strokes... see the effect. Use colours liberally else empty patches may develop while using this technique.


- Acrylic colour can also be your choice to enhance your glass painting design as it takes less time to dry and the result is bright. Use flat brush to apply colour.


-Gel colours can also be used on glass it gives a very beautiful glossy effect. Gel colour has a combination of hardener and gel and is available
in any store easily.


- for the tinted effect you can use fevicyrl fabric glue, after giving the outline, let it dry and then put some glue and make the surface rough by using a brush.... let it dry for 24 hrs... then apply solvent based stain glass colors.. not water based colors!!!


-for the crystals effect..... You get the crystals from the art shops.. stick it wit the fabric glue.... after leaving it for 24 hrs... use water based stain glass colors!!!!





( a tanjore style glass painting)


-for Tanjore glass painting design you can use oil colors, stone paints(for jewels),gold dust with varnish(gold ornaments).

Experimenting with glass painting designs

Do not restrict yourself to painting stain glass painting only you can also make



( photoframe made using glass paints)






( use of glass paint on cutlery to make it even more attractive)






• Looking mirror(Make design on the edges of the glass)
• Cards(With transparent sheets/ Acetate sheets)
• Book marks(With transparent sheets/ Acetate sheets)
• Trays
• Photo frames
• Decorate boxes , windows ,doors
• Lampshades
• Bottles, plates, drinking glasses, water jars.
• Try it on kitchen storage bottles they look very pretty when put together
• Take a piece of polished glass, paint it, and use as a bracelet with chain or as a pendant.

Reverse glass painting

In Reverse Glass Painting the artist paint on one side of the glass, while it is viewed from the other side. Basically the non- painted surface will be the side that is displayed.
The technique is a little unusual and tricky initially.


There are two tricks involved


First : We should trace the mirror image of the design if the design is not symmetrical. For eg. The artist signature would be traced as they will be seen in a looking mirror.Because the painting is viewed from the opposite side


Second:In normal glass painting we make the background first and then the finer details. But in case of Reverse glass painting we will make the finer details first and the the background. For eg If we have to make a hand with jewellery. We would paint the jewellery first and then the hand.One has to keep in mind that whatever appears in the foreground is painted first. Another example is normally we will paint the face first and then the features like eyes, nose, eyebrows and lips whereas in Reverse glass painting the features are painted first followed by the face .


Method of Reverse glass painting


Material required

• Glass paints
• out liner
• glass
• Tracing paper

Let’s start


Step1
Choose a design


Step2
Stick the design with tape on the corners and make the outline of the design. Remember the the design should be of mirror image.Now do the outlining .You can use black colour outliner or any colour of your choice. (To make outliners at home check out.
Step3
First put glass paints for shiny items like jewels, decoration etc.Make the finer details first.


Step 4
Later colour the background



Tips and tricks

• Use gold effect for jewellery. But remember that the jewellery would be painted first.
• Wait patiently for the paint to dry .Other wise when you will apply paint over it , it may smudge
• You can use oil paints also if you want make any painting of Traditional figures or God and goddess.
  
  Hope this information has helped you . Do have a look on links to find designs on your right. Do post your comments and ideas on the tag board on the right. If you are interested in other forms of painting then click the link below