A Beginner's Guide to Painting on Glass
by Gail Miller
If you are anything like me, you will hate to throw
anything away. Plastic bottles have to be made into
super vases, door stops or musical instruments for the
kids. Those scraps of wrapping paper from last year
just cannot be consigned to the bin, they will always
come in useful for decorating frames, papier mache
jewellery or hand made cards. Although this
eccentricity is frowned upon by spouse, family and
friends alike, in this day and age it is thought
fashionable to transform everyday rubbish into useful
or decorative articles. As a designer, my mind is
always working out ways of turning ordinary household
garbage into utilitarian or elegant pieces. Some of
these ideas have ended up between the pages of
magazines in "How to" articles, many are in my home.
Here I concentrate on painting on "glass" - by this I
mean not only glass as such; but plastic, mirrors and
acetate. You don't only have to paint on glass with
glass paints either! Later I tell you how you can
paint on ordinary household tin cans, making stunning
metallic and jewel like objects.
Glass painting is really, really easy. However when I
first started painting on glass I was really overawed
by what I would need to start this most absorbing
hobby. I was very nervous of going into craft shops
and showing my ignorance. Most of my materials I
bought by mail order until I knew what I was doing.
I now know of course that I shouldn't have been so coy.
You really don't need a lot of materials .... in fact
it is a craft that needs very few compared with other
more complicated crafts.
Added to this is the wonderful effects you can get
without having to be Van Gogh! Glass painting has an
immediacy and naivety to it so it doesnxt matter if
your first attempts don't look like artistic masterpieces.
Painting on glass (and other suitable materials) has
become extremely popular in recent years. Every craft
fair these days has a painted glass stall, and I
remember a few years ago seeing some exquisite perfume
bottles at a craft market painted in the most
sumptuous colours and patterns. I now know of course
that these items are in fact easy to make. Although
the results are extremely beautiful, the technique is
surprisingly easy to do, even for the complete novice.
Basically, what you need are only four major items
to paint on glass:
1: Your base. This can be acetate film, mirror,
plastic boxes and containers, even ordinary glass jars
and bottles which we throw out of our households every
week. In fact throwaways are the best things to start
with because you are not losing anything should you
not be very happy with your first results.
2: Brushes
3: Glass paint. Water or solvent based. Water based
ones are the easiest to work with as you don't need a
medium to mix them with or to clean brushes with.
These paints come in sets or can be purchased
individually. They come in approximately 25 shades
including clear.
4: Relief outliner paint. Cerne relief, which comes
in many colours such as black, copper, gold, old gold,
silver etc., is the better known brand, although
there are other makes.
Outliners come in tubes with a nozzle at the end
through which the paint is squeezed through onto
your chosen surface. I often also use fabric outliner
paint for outlining too. These come in a multitude of
colours, including white and cream; not only the
metallic ones. They also come in glitter and pearl
shades. If you want to do things 'by the book', so
to speak, then use glass paining outliner.
To follow is a very basic instruction for painting on
any glass object. These instructions apply to any type
of work, be it a three dimensional object such as a
bottle, or a flat surface such as a mirror. As you
will see however, there really is nothing to it!
Here are some projects which are very easy to follow to
give you some practice in your new craft.
Basic Glass painting
1; Clean your glass bottle or jar thoroughly. Using
'leading in a tube' (Cerne relief) or fabric relief
paint, draw the outline of your pattern on the surface
of the glass. Leave this outliner to dry completely.
2; When your outliner is dry fill in each section with
the glass paint. You may need to practice on small
pieces first, as glass paint has a unique quality to
it and takes a bit of getting used to. Paint has to be
flooded rather than painted onto the surface of the
glass. Leave to dry thoroughly as it goes tacky as it
dries therefore there is the risk of leaving
fingerprints on the surface of your painted objects.
Painting on glass is one of the easiest and most
delightful ways of transforming items which would
usually be just tossed in the bin, namely, empty jars,
bottles and glass containers. I have literally dozens
of glass items around my house decorated with all
manner of patterns and effects. I also give decorated
coffee or sweet jars as presents. They cost next to
nothing to make, but always elicit the most
enthusiastic response from the receiver.
Some ideas for painting on glass are:
Small jars, painted and given a 'handle' of fuse wire.
Place a night light in to make a gorgeous lantern.
Large coffee jars painted in pairs to make decorated
matching tea and coffee or sugar and flour containers.
French dressing bottles decorated and turned into
olive oil containers.
It is little known, but you can actually paint onto
metallic surfaces such as silver foil or tin cans with
glass paint and relief -
Trendy tin cans
1; After removing the labels from your cans, clean
them with soapy water. If there is any label glue left
on the outside of the tins clean it off with white spirit.
2; To decorate with glass paints, draw a pattern on
the tin with relief outliner and leave to dry. Paint
in the design as you would do on glass.
You can also make some super Christmas decorations
made from ordinary clear or frosted plastic juice or
milk bottles -
1; Wash out the bottles. Cut into different shapes.
Using different colours of relief paint, for example
gold, silver, black or even bright colours, draw
designs onto the plastic. Leave to dry completely.
Paint with glass paint (optional.)
2; Pierce a hole in the top of each decoration and
thread string through. Make a knot for hanging.
You can also make Christmas tree 'lanterns' from
decorated empty aromatherapy oil bottles -
1; Take any labels off the bottles and wash in hot
soapy water, inside and out. Wrap some fuse wire round
the neck of the bottles and make into loops for
hanging. Replace the lids.
2; Using the glass paints, make squiggles, dots or
lines on the surface of the bottles. Alternatively use
a tiny sponge and dab the colours on, merging
together where they meet. Leave to dry.
3; Using PVA glue, stick sequins on the bottles if
desired.
As you will see, this craft is excellent for the less
confident crafter, as the techniques are simplicity
itself. I hope you enjoy making some delightful
objects with the aid of this guide to basic glass
painting.
=======================
Gail Miller is a writer & artist. Her website is Cash For Crafts; http://home.freeuk.net/cashforcrafts
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