Glass painting for beginners

Painting on glass seems difficult to many, but it is much easier to master than to draw with a brush or pencil. In this interesting technique, exclusive home decorations are created. With your own hands, you can draw various pictures, paint nondescript vases, make an original glass object that will surely fit into any interior. Work with stained paints is a creative, amazing process that can give a room a unique character.

Story

The first painted glass elements appeared hundreds of years ago. Throughout the time, they either lost their popularity, or regained it. According to the written sources it was at the beginning of the twelfth century. Created drawings on such glasses with a special paint of copper and iron.

Stained glass painting in the Middle Ages could be seen only in temples. A kind of play of light immersed the parishioners in the mysterious atmosphere of awe. The Renaissance can be considered the peak of the popularity of stained glass art. Many wealthy citizens began to prefer such window decoration.

In the 16th century, because of the religious wars, painting on glass as art extinguished. The decrease in demand in the Enlightenment was influenced by the desire for transparency, the massive destruction of painted products. Only in the XIX century there was a revival of stained glass painting in Russia, thanks to the order given by Nicholas I about the construction of a glass factory. This type of decor remains popular to this day.

Where and how glass painting is applied

With the help of drawing on glass, you can create amazing stylish pictures with your own hands, using all the advantages of the material. Stained glass painting decorate windows, mirrors, various partitions and other interior elements. It is also used to decorate furniture - cabinet doors, kitchen fronts. Even large objects will look easy and elegant, if applied to them intricate patterns.

Decorate glass pieces of furniture in commercial office premises. It can be racks, doors, windows. In an apartment or house, this type of decoration is more often used in the bedroom, hallway, living room. You can make a beautiful screen in the style of Hanami, draw flowering sakura. Such an element of zoning will fill the room with the spirit of the captivating east. It is possible to work with stained glass paints in the following techniques:

• Mosaic stained glass window. Characteristic geometric, floral ornament, carpet patterns;
• Painted. Absolutely all parts of the glass are decorated. Paints are liquid, spread and mix, creating stains, new shades;
• Contour filler. At first the contour is put, the sketch is created. Then the space is filled with paints;
• Multilayer. Paints are applied in layers of varying degrees of moisture. This way they create the most realistic images;
• Dot painting. Contours are used to form the image. Saturation points change color, density of paint.

Required materials and tools

Stained glass painting is an imitation of an ordinary stained glass window using stencils and other artist tools. A large selection of them allows you to engage in this kind of art both for professionals and beginners. To work in any technique of painting on glass, you will need special paints, brushes and some auxiliary materials (napkins, alcohol, palette, varnish for coating, etc.).

Color selection

Material for drawing is presented in a huge range. When choosing paints should take into account their properties, resistance to abrasion, purpose. Paints on glass can be used for decoration, professional painting of dimensional objects, entertainment with children, teaching master classes. The expected effect is important - transparency, matte, glossy finish. The choice of paint is influenced by the subject of the painting itself (windows, pottery, bottles, vases).

Some types of paint can not be used for painting objects in contact with food because of their toxicity. There are materials that can not withstand contact with water and detergents.

Acrylic paints

The composition includes natural, synthetic pigments, water, binding components. Acrylic paints are available in a wide range of colors. They can be transparent, cover, create the effect of stained glass. The material varies in composition and method of solidification. For homework, it is better to choose a water base that dries quickly at room temperature. The main advantages include the following facts:

• Light resistance, smooth coating of glass;
• Wide palette of shades, bright colors;
• The ability to dilute the sparkles;
• Abrasion resistance;
• Do not spread when applying acrylic on glass;
• Do not have a pungent odor;
• Convenient packaging (cans, cans, tubes).

Stained paints

Diverse in composition, texture, consistency. They are divided into three main groups: organic solvents, water based acrylic blends. In addition to the usual paints for beginners, there are blends with different effects, decorative inserts. Popular decor is created using these materials:

• Sticky Form a thin film after drying. It can be removed from a convenient base and transferred to any surface;
• Luster paints. They have a metallic glow;
• Voluminous. When firing the mixture partially peels off, creating a corrugated pattern;
• Granular Special granules are glued with glue, during heat treatment of the product they spread. It turns out a pimply picture;
• Transparent pearlescent. Apply over the primary color, give extra shine;
• Structural. Available in jars in the form of pasta. After drying, create an imitation of natural surfaces (stone, wood, leather);
• Paints with additives. Add a variety of glitter, fluorescent pigment.

Gel paints

Differ thick consistency. The gel does not spread, does not slip down the vertical surface. The main area of ​​application is the painting of mirrors, windows, doors, partitions. It is convenient to work with the mixture in stencil technology. Can be used to decorate glass plates, mugs.

You can work with a transparent, opaque, translucent gel. Any shade from the palette can be combined, add glitter, create relief using a palette knife. The stunning effect of the frosty pattern is obtained when using a translucent satin gel. Water-based mixtures do not require fixing, firmly stick to the surface. If necessary, they can be easily removed by attaching a wet rag to them for several hours.

Ceramic (fired)

Used to decorate dishes, bottles, vases and other decorative elements of various shapes. In order to fix a special paint well, the objects are painted after firing. After which they can be washed with water, without fear that the picture will peel.

Ceramic paints are made by mixing clay, colorless glaze, fluxes, artificial, natural pigments. According to the method of application, the material can be underglaze, overglaze. For good adhesion to the paint add sugar, glycerin. The calcined mixture is applied to the product and subjected to heat treatment.

Film paints

Such mixtures are more often used for decoration of mirrors, windows, shop windows for any holiday. Their feature is the ability to delete at any time. Suitable for frequent change of design, when in the thematic painting is no longer needed.

Applying film paints, drawing will need to first be applied to the acetate film. After drying, the paintings easily peel off and transfer to any place. If the pattern is small, its pattern can be put into a plastic file and trace around the contour with paints, then lean against the desired element. Such paints are not fixed on the surface. Before cleaning, washing windows with a film pattern, the application should be removed. After the procedure, you can return back.

Markers

Ceramic glassware painted with a marker for painting on glass looks very original. You can work with materials of various classes and sizes. The thickness of the rod and the smoothness of the line will depend on such indicators.

The drawing can be immediately applied with a marker or pre-made with a simple pencil. After firing, the graphite will disappear, leaving only the colorful pattern. Beginners should choose monochrome dishes with a smooth surface. In order to properly provide for the proportions, you should make a sketch in the full size of the object.

Paints requiring preparation

The art of painting on glass is constantly being improved. From once a rare hobby turns into a widespread hobby. It is possible to create an original drawing on a mirror, a door, a vase with special paints, which are no longer a deficit. Everyone can try themselves in any of the techniques. In order not to spend money on large batches of material, paints can be made by hand using the following recipes:

1. Gelatin-aniline mixture. Prepared immediately before work. This paint can not be stored, so you should knead the solution only once. To prepare, you will need to pour 10 g of gelatin with three tablespoons of hot water, prepare powdered aniline dyes, mix everything together. The fluidity of the mixture depends on its temperature;
2. Nitro-oil composition. The creation of their colors allows the artist to fully control their quality. You can make from any vegetable oil, it is better to take flaxseed, and pigment. The dye should be placed on a grinding plate, add oil and slowly mix using a muller;
3. Soviet recipes. In the 80s-90s, paints from various improvised means were used for glass painting. For the base of the mixtures, PVA glue was chosen. It was mixed with food dyes, gouache, stick cores, acetone, and various solvents.

Selection of brushes

You can paint on glass with any brushes for painting. They are very easy to display complex outlines of drawings. If the area is impressive, it is better to use large building brushes with a rounded end. For applying a fixative, clear lacquer using a wide model of brushes.

Items for painting with both natural and synthetic nap are suitable for glass painting. Natural bristles are best used for water based, oil based paints. After seeing several workshops, quickly learn how to properly hold a brush when working in various techniques.

Auxiliary tools and materials

The main working materials for painting on glass are brushes and paints. For each technique choose special coloring mixtures and auxiliary materials. Often use the following ways to simplify painting:

• Lead tape. Adhesive strips allow you to create a stained glass effect;
• Outliner. Colored paste in a tube falls on a thin pattern on any surface. After curing it forms a relief contour that prevents the spreading of paint;
• Masking tape. Protects transparent areas from accidental staining;
• Palette knife. A metal spatula is used in decorating large objects;
• Error correction tools. Until the paint is dry, you can wipe it with a cotton swab dipped in water or solvent. Still uncured edges of the contour are smoothed with a toothpick;
• Materials for templates. Most often used paper, film stencils. For products of complex shape, you can use a simple pencil, a vanishing contour.

Do-it-yourself glass painting

To engage in this type of artistic creativity under the power of an ordinary person, who did not even study the basics of decorative and applied art. It was possible to carry out painting on glass at home thanks to the simplification of technology, a large selection of materials for work, their low cost, the ability to use stencils.

Independently draw on the glass surface at any age, even together with all family members. With each new crafts will be gained experience. In the future, the obtained skills will allow creating on the surface a magnificent, original drawing, turning a nondescript glass vessel or object into a masterpiece. The main thing in this business - patience and accuracy.

How to prepare glass for painting

Having firmly decided to bring the idea to life, to do painting on glass, you first need to choose an object that will be the basis for the work, be it a window, glass, bottle, plate, mirror or other objects. For beginners, it is better to use a base with a smooth, smooth surface, since it is difficult to work with bends, convex places, the paint spreads on them, a complex pattern can look bad, and not correspond to the plan put forward to it.

Having defined the element, it is necessary to prepare its surface. If the master arranges the color of the product as the main background, it is enough just to wash it with soapy water, then rinse with clean water. In the presence of labels, the glass object should be dipped for a quarter of an hour in hot water, after removing the residual glue. In order for the villi from the towel to remain on the glass, it is better to let it dry on its own. When the object is completely dry, it must be degreased, it can be done with an alcohol-containing liquid.

If you wish, you can change the background color after all preparatory operations to cover the surface with a special layer of soil (primer), wait until it dries. Next, apply two layers of acrylic paint of a suitable color. Do not apply the next layer until the first one is completely dry. At the final stage the glass element is varnished.

How to transfer the picture to glass

Having defined the image, the next step is to display the picture on the glass. There are several ways. The fastest is to immediately draw a picture on a glass surface. However, this can only be done by a specialist who is confident in his abilities. Novice master better use the following simple techniques:

1. Put a sketch under the glass. Positioning the image under the glass surface, with the help of the outline on the glass to redraw it from above. The method is perfect for flat, smooth transparent objects. If the element has a rounded, complex shape, where it is impossible to attach the paper, even using adhesive tape, it needs to be slightly wetted in water, after which it becomes pliable, takes almost any shape, will hold well on the glass without additional clamps.
2. Copy paper. For opaque objects, bottles with a narrow neck, mirrors paper drawing is unacceptable. In this case, it is better to use a carbon copy. The main thing in this method - well attach the sketch and carbon paper to the surface of the object. If the image is accidentally moved, then the work will have to perform again.
3. Food film. A piece of food film is placed on top of the prepared drawing, while for reliable fixing it must be larger in size than the sketch. Using a marker on the glass we trace the contours on the surface of the packaging material. Further, the film with the transferred image is fixed on its face on a glass object so that there are no voids or folds between them. Using a bamboo stick and a helium pen, carefully trace the outlines. As a result, the marker will transfer to the glass.

Stencil technology

Stencils allow anyone to paint on the glass surface, even if he draws very poorly. In this case, finished products can be bought in specialized retail outlets, but many craftsmen prefer to make them themselves, which allows them to choose any image they like. To do this, simply lay a sheet of loose paper on top of the picture, cut out the outlines, cut out the blank on them. Consider step-by-step instructions on how to work with templates:

1. Prepare the surface of the selected object, degrease it.
2. Smooth lay the stencil on the plane. With the help of adhesive tape fix it on the corners and along the perimeter. You can also use a temporary spray-glue, this allows you to avoid accidental shifts of the template, which can reduce all the work done to no.
3. Now we start painting (for this method, you can use stained glass and acrylic paints). Apply the colorant to the surface.
4. It is better to paint from the borders to the center, it is necessary to draw in a little paint, apply a thin layer, removing the smudges and excess with a napkin.

Point technology

This method is also called point-to-point. To draw an image in an unconventional drawing technique, you will need to purchase outline paint. Starting familiarity with this species is better on simple, unnecessary items. Consider a simple master class on applying a bitmap in the form of a flower on the surface of a glass:

1. We take the finished sketch of the desired size. It can be printed on a printer, cut from a magazine or a book.
2. Using a temporary spray glue or soaking the paper in water, fix the image on the inside of the glass.
3. Наружную поверхность емкости обезжириваем.
4. По контуру рисунка наносим точки, желательно одного размера, при этом они должны быть равномерно удалены друг от друга. Для работы можно использовать любые понравившиеся цвета.
5. Having marked the contour, we proceed to filling the picture. Points are also drawn here. To do this, you can use a different color or shade of the main one.
6. After complete drying of the paint layer, it is desirable to apply a colorless varnish on the picture.

Contour technology

For work use planimetric paints. Initially, the outline is surrounded by a drawing, and after it is dried, internal voids are painted over. This method allows you to divide the process into several stages, to make a detailed drawing of the picture. For clarity, we analyze the master class of drawing contours on the surface of the plate:

• Prepare the surface of kitchen utensils.
• We apply the prepared stencil, with the help of a marker we transfer the outlines of the image to the plane of the object.
• Removing the template, proceed to applying the contour paints on the resulting line. It is better to use a thick composition, with it you can create the most even lines.
• In order to avoid joints of lines when working, semicircular and curved borders should be drawn in one motion. Straight lines are the most difficult, require a certain skill.
• In the body of the image itself, you can additionally draw different patterns, curlicues.
• After complete drying of the contour, you can start coloring.

Stained glass painting

There are several techniques for imitation of stained glass art: photo printing, film stained glass, aspic, art painting. The first ways we will study a little later. Let us dwell in more detail on the last version. Consider how to paint the window using stained paint:

1. Prepare the base, degrease it.
2. We apply the prepared template to the glass surface, fix it, outline the contours with a pneumatic marker.
3. Using black acrylic paint, we direct the marked lines.
4. After complete drying, paint over the empty cavities of the picture with a brush.
5. Stained paints are distinguished by the fact that they spread out strongly, so it is not recommended to apply another color until the previous one is completely dry, in order to avoid the possibility of mixing colors. Also for work it is better to use lacquer substances based on organic resins.
6. After completing the pattern, it must be completely dried in a natural way. If you use a hairdryer to dry, the paint may later crack or darken.
7. At the final stage, when the surface is completely dry, it is necessary to cover it with a colorless varnish.

When changing colors, you must carefully wash out the brush, wipe with a cloth.

Jellied stained glass window

The best way to imitate this stained glass. For work, it is desirable to use the contour and stained glass paints from the same manufacturer. On large planes, you can use stained lead tape, which also does not allow coloring substances to mix, spread over the surface. Let us analyze step by step instructions for making a water-glass stained glass window on an interior door:

1. Independently create a sketch. In the absence of skills download ready-made projects on the network.
2. Under the bottom of the prepared base we fasten the selected pattern, fix it with scotch tape.
3. On the surface of the glass contour we transfer all the lines. The height of the contour mixture depends on the planned thickness of the paint layer, which affects its transparency.
4. After drying the workpiece, proceed to pouring the cells obtained. This can be done with a brush, or more quickly using a syringe. It is necessary to fill in from the edge of the line to the center. The drips are carefully removed.
5. Cells need to be filled alternately. Upon completion of painting the structure is dried, after which it can be installed in the doorway.

Marmor

Fashionable decoration of glass items. Both flat glasses, and volume candlesticks, various small glasses will approach. With this simple technology, you can create unique things. This workshop will tell you how to decorate a set of glasses:

1. Fill a deep container with water, drip into the center a few drops of paint for marmorirovaniya;
2. When the dye is blurred over the entire surface, we drop another color, then several more different ones and dilute it;
3. Stir with a long wooden stick, forming a beautiful pattern;
4. When the pattern is ready, gently draws a wand so that the paint does not reach for it;
5. We degrease glasses with rags and alcohol, glue the upper edge with construction tape and immerse the objects alternately in water;
6. Glasses should be moved in the water, as if winding pattern.

Painting with film paints

You will need film paints of the required colors, an acetate film or a regular file if the template is small. Place the drawing under the transparent film and draw around its contour with the help of a special modeling contour. Any irregularities can be fixed with a simple toothpick or a match. Now the picture should be left for 12 hours to dry.

We paint the picture with film paints, stretching them with a brush, toothpick, so that they touch the outline. After complete drying, up to 24 hours, the picture can be removed and transferred to any glass interior item. Street windows are better not to decorate in this way, since their surface may collect condensate.

How to fix the picture on the stack

After the end of work on applying paint on glass, the picture must be fixed. For this you can use different varnishes and a special spray. Stained mixtures on water or solvent are coated with clear varnish. If there is no such material on hand, you can use hairspray that is transparent to the nails.

For film paints there is no fixer, but such an application is simply removed and transferred to any other place while wet cleaning takes place. Paints for firing can be fixed in a conventional oven.

Conclusion

You can paint a variety of glass objects in any technique. The main and auxiliary material is chosen depending on personal preferences, skill level, availability of necessary patterns and features of the decor. Even the simplest accessory can be turned into a real masterpiece and a source of pride, which will be placed in a frame, handed down from generation to generation.