Painting Glass...(wine glasses, carafes, Etc.

Several weeks ago, I photographed some of my hand-painted glassware, but the light was "dead", and they didn't translate well. This is an example of the importance of light in photography...in fact, the word "photography" in Greek, is "light writing"......

Alright class, let's compare the photo of the glasses below...it does show off the green of the dragonflies, but there is very little "life" to them..... In the photo below these are the same glasses, photographed with better, natural light...Overcast days are great for shooting people, flowers, nature...as the glare doesn't create deep shadows, giving your kids an eerily, "demonic" undereye shadow look, that can be quite frightening. That said, when shooting something with a reflective surface, you want that "ping" (for lack of a better term)....

Okay, off the photography lesson, and on to hand-painting glass. I have spoken about it before, but this is some new work, so I thought I'd put it up here....There are so many things that you can do with Pebeo paints, but sadly, their tutorials and images I find to be too "oatsy groatsy" and "cute"...okay, cute is fine in some instances....but, you can do some very fun and also artistic things with it....Another great thing about painting glass is if you are not a great artist, you can take an image (as in the dragonfly) off the computer or wherever (I drew this pattern), cut around it, leaving the outline, tape it on the inside of the glass or plate or whatever, and use it as a pattern...viola'.

The paints also come in squeeze tubes..mostly silver, black, vermeer, and I think there's a yummy green and raspberry....You can do dots, lines, whatever your heart desires. Make a mistake, wash it off, and start over.

You need to wash the glass, rinse it well, then, wipe it with a cotten ball or paper towel soaked in rubbing alcohol..removes all traces of grease, so the paints will adhere. I use a paper towel between the glass and the hand I am holding the piece to protect it...Or, I grasp it by the handle or stem.

Let the paint dry for 24 hours, then bake in an oven at 325 (or is it three fifty - read the label please) for the time it says on the label. Remove gently and let cool...You can put the glass in the dishwasher, but I don't recommend it...common sense prevails.

I used by wonderful, red, bookboxes..see previous post - as risers...I love the light refractions, especially on the two carafes below.

I did the carafes free-hand...I noticed that the grape carafe could use some rinsing inside..when it clouds up like that, use a denture cleanser effervescent tablet or two in warm water...also, it is a good way to clean vases that have clouded up.

It's a good idea to wait until the adjacent application has dried, as in this piece above, or they run together...it doesn't have to dry completely, just give it a few minutes to set up. then paint next to it, or over it. If you click on this image, you will see each of the little "berries" have several steps to them.

The grapes are just many little dots. I used a squeeze tube of purple, and one of vermeer...The grape leaves were painted on....

There are "golden" grapes, as well. One thing..if you get them too close together, they "merge" when baking...not necessarily a bad thing...just be aware.

I get the glass where everywhere: these came from good old TJ Maxx..also, you can haunt Tuesday Morning, Marshalls, or other outlet stores..just make sure it is glass that can fit in your oven...I have a hurricane lantern that won't fit in mine..I am going to have to borrow a friends oven...

Enjoy!