Features of painting on glass with acrylic paints

Glass painting has been known as an art form since the Renaissance: artists used paints with the addition of metal derivatives. Since the end of the 19th century, a mass hobby began in America - “handmade” works were created, including painted paintings on glass and interior items.

After a long period of standard production, our time is once again marked by a craving for original things. Whether it’s a simple glass or a huge panel, the execution technique is quite democratic; anyone can, if they wish, get creative and decorate their home.

The article is primarily aimed at beginners who want to learn about glass painting.

Cicero argued that “a house without glass is poor.” Very different glass always successfully complements and enlivens any interior. Glass painting is placed on furniture elements and decorative items (vases, candlesticks, lamp shades).

Ornaments are also created on dishes: glasses, glasses, plates. Glass women's jewelry, which is often made with one's own hand, is colored with bright colors. And large forms of glass painting - stained glass - will add magic and luxury to any home.

Selection of acrylic paints

Acrylic paint consists of a natural or synthetic pigment, water and a binder (solvent, resins). Drawing on glass is possible with both acrylic and special stained glass paints.

Paints for painting on glass (covering):

• They fit well and are light-resistant.
• Opaque.
• The colors are rich, bright, often with the addition of glitter, and are easy to mix.
• Professional paints have no odor, are quite thick in consistency - they do not “slide” off vertical surfaces when working.
• The composition uses a special solvent for glass.
• Abrasion resistant.
• Packaging: jars, tubes, spray cans

Which acrylic paints to choose? The Decola brand has proven itself very well. A simple set of 6 basic colors (in 10 ml jars) will cost you about 150 rubles (excluding delivery).

• Transparent
• Ordinary stained glass paints: dry in about a day.
• Baked: to fix them, they must be heated to a certain temperature.
• Paints - pastes: are applied using a stencil onto the film, after drying they are separated from it and transferred to the surface of the object.

Stained glass paints for glass are more expensive than acrylic paints; for example, one 60 ml jar costs 200-250 rubles.

Choosing a varnish for fixing

Preference is given to acrylic varnish; depending on the surface of the painting, they choose between matte and glossy options. The varnish is used for decoupage on glass or for fixing acrylic paint.

Advantages of acrylic varnish:

• Almost odorless (can be used indoors)
• Incombustible
• Durable and elastic, easy to apply
• Dries quickly
• Can be diluted with water
• Does not change paint color
• Dries quickly
• Low price, large jar - enough for a long time.

To add texture to glass you can also use:

• Craquelure varnish - it is used to create “cracks”
• Structural pastes - imitate the surface of leather and stone
• Marking paints - you get beautiful stains, like on marble.

The cost of acrylic varnish in online stores is about 150 rubles per 50 ml.

Selecting brushes and other auxiliary tools

Glass is painted with painting brushes (small objects); construction brushes can be used for large surfaces.

Shape: Round (conical end) brushes - for painting inside contours, or thin - for applying small strokes. The varnish that fixes the design is applied using flat brushes.

Material: Brushes can be with synthetic or natural hairs (kolinsky, squirrel). Synthetics are resistant to solvents; brushes made from natural materials are recommended for use only with water-based paints.

Sizes: thin and round brushes No. 2 or No. 1 for small shapes, round brushes up to No. 18 for large areas. Flat No. 12-18 for applying varnish. The number indicates the width of the brush in millimeters.

Auxiliary tool: palette knife - a special metal spatula. Needed for mixing paints and applying them in an even layer. It is also useful for cleaning the palette.

On average, the price of a brush ranges from 15 to 30 rubles.

Technology of painting on glass with acrylic paints on large surfaces with your own hands: windows, stained glass windows, doors

For home craftsmen, making stained glass with your own hands will not be a particular problem.

What you will need for this:

• sheet of glass of the required size
• paper - graph paper
• pencil, thin felt-tip pen, eraser
• brushes of different sizes, palette knife
• stained glass paints
• acetone or alcohol
• acrylic varnish - gel
• paper napkins
• sketches for painting on glass (you can draw it or get a ready-made one on the Internet)

What do we have to do:

1. draw a sketch on graph paper with a pencil, then trace it with a felt-tip pen
2. thoroughly degrease the glass surface with acetone or alcohol
3. place the glass on the sketch, outline the image, carefully squeezing the volumetric outline out of the tube
4. dry the workpiece for 30 minutes
5. apply with a brush inside the contours of the paint, mixing them on the palette if necessary
6. let the stained glass window dry, varnish it, and install it in its intended place.

Technique for painting glass with acrylic paints on interior items with your own hands: vases, lamps, tabletops, glasses

Using acrylic paints, you can decorate your interior and breathe new life into completely ordinary things. Vases, bottles, glasses, lampshades and glass dishes will become real works of art - and no one will doubt the authorship.

1. Dot painting: this technique has been known for a long time - for example, remember the faces of the Australian aborigines, clothes from India, frescoes of ancient Persia. Today, dots collected into patterns (point-to-point) are again at the height of popularity.
2. Double stroke technique (onestroke): a dark color is applied to one edge of the brush, and a light color to the other. The brushstroke is made by pressing and turning the brush to obtain a two-color image, the drawing is completed with dot painting. It turns out very similar to the famous “Zhostovo” painting.
3. Blurs and stains: paints of different colors are used, but always of the same brand. Colorless paint is added, creating a “marble” pattern, drips and stains.

What you need to prepare for work:

• Detergent + surface degreasing liquid (acetone or alcohol)
• Cotton pads, paper napkins, cotton swabs, toothpicks - for correcting the design
• Sketch of the drawing
• Scissors, palette for mixing paints, varnish brush
• Colored acrylic contours on glass, with or without glitter, in tubes
• Fine felt-tip pen
• Matte or shiny acrylic varnish

What to do - step by step:

• Remove all stickers and labels from the surface of the item.
• Degrease - first wash with hot water and regular dish soap, then dry with a paper towel. Wipe with acetone or alcohol using a cotton pad.
• We cut the prepared sketch into stencils - along the contours of the lines.
• We apply parts of the drawing using stencils using a thin felt-tip pen.
• By squeezing out the outline from the tubes - carefully, using lines and dots - we form a pattern.
• Finally, using a wide brush, cover the design in 2-3 layers with matte acrylic varnish. Before applying the next layer of varnish, be sure to dry the previous one.
• Nuances: the dots will turn out better if you hold the tube at a right angle. The lines are at an angle from 30 to 45 degrees.

• Wrong choice of colors. for stained glass they are more liquid and transparent; for painting small forms they use thicker and opaque ones.
• Wrong brush material: natural hairs can fall off under the influence of aggressive glass solvent, which is part of some acrylic paints. Read the labels carefully!
• Pressing too hard on the contour tube: too much paint, uneven lines.
• The spout of the tube with a contour for painting on glass is not cleaned in a timely manner with a napkin: there are uneven smeared dots.
• Wrong direction of painting: all small objects are painted from bottom to top; stained glass windows - from top to bottom and only in a horizontal position.
• Failed color mixing: first test the resulting shades on a “draft” version or a sheet of paper.
• Often beginners miss the technique of how to paint on glass. Applying paint to glass too slowly: the paint may dry out around the edges, resulting in unsightly stains.
• Brushes that have not been washed with running water (immediately after use): you can safely throw them away, they are damaged and cannot be restored.

Creating your own masterpiece of glass painting, as it turns out, is not very difficult. It is important to think over the work plan, choose a design and paints, then it’s a matter of technique. And the glass, which has received a piece of your soul, will come to life and sparkle with new colors. Good luck in your creativity!

To decorate the most ordinary objects, for example, vases, dishes or simple bottles, you can make drawings on glass. Every person can do this, since even an absolute inability to draw will not prevent the creation of small masterpieces.

How to draw on glass - preparing the surface

First you need to prepare the surface on which the drawing will be applied. If this is a bottle, then you need to carefully remove all labels from it. Then the item to be prepared must be washed in warm water and soapy water and dried thoroughly.

If you have the ability to draw, of course, you can apply a drawing on glass yourself. Or you can resort to a trick: for this you will need a suitable drawing, copy paper (preferably lilac, black, as a rule, does not print well) and a pencil or toothpicks. The carbon copy is applied to the surface and secured with tape for convenience. A drawing is placed on top and pressed with a pencil (toothpick) throughout the office. After this, everything unnecessary is removed and a printed design remains on the glass.

To prevent the colors from bleeding later, the resulting lines are outlined with contour paint, not forgetting to close the lines tightly. It can be anything - black, golden, or the same color as the future design. When applying the contour, the tube should not come into contact with the glass, but should be held at a slight angle. If the strip of contour paint lies slightly unevenly, it can be easily corrected with a cotton swab.

If the design is made on a transparent glass or vase, you need to place a white paper napkin inside - this will simplify the application of the design.

If you plan to paint on a flat glass, then in this case the situation is even simpler. The paper with the prepared design is placed on the table, and glass is placed on top. After this, you can trace the outline with a glass pencil or, if you have some skills, immediately do it with an outline. After the contour paint has dried, you need to remove traces of carbon paper from the glass - do this with regular alcohol. They also need to wipe the entire surface of the glass to degrease and prepare it for applying paint.

How to draw on glass

Most often used to create drawings stained glass paints. They differ from ordinary ones in that after drying they do not become completely opaque, while maintaining their color. To apply paint you will need several brushes of different sizes with natural bristles. The smaller the fragment being painted, the thinner the brush should be.

A few drops of paint are applied to the center of the desired fragment using a brush (if the element is small, only one drop is needed) and distributed towards the outline. The layer should be uniform and thick enough. Unevenness should be immediately eliminated using a cotton swab, and air bubbles should be pierced with a toothpick. All fragments of the same color are painted at one time, after which the brushes are washed and dried. Then you can move on to the next shade of paint. After painting, the glass should be left until completely dry - that is, for about a day. The resulting stained glass window can be secured with a special varnish. If you don’t have such a varnish, you can use the one that is used for styling your hair.

You can also paint on glass with acrylic paints - in this case the drawing will turn out opaque and matte. In this case, it is not necessary to make an outline, since this paint is thicker, but you need to draw each subsequent fragment only after the previous one has dried. You can lighten the shade slightly by adding a little special solvent to the paint tube. The acrylic-based composition is not washed off with water, so there is no need to fix it with anything.

In addition, a matte pattern can also be applied to the glass - this is done with a colored or colorless composition for. You need to work with this composition carefully, as it is very caustic.

How else can you make drawings on glass?

You can also make a drawing on glass using the technique decoupage. To do this, special decoupage glue is applied to the glass, on which a top layer of paper napkin with a pattern is placed. Then the napkin is smoothed with a soft brush and after the glue dries, the pattern transferred from it remains on the glass. You can fix it with varnish.

Another way to paint glass is marbling. To do this, take special multi-colored paints, which are poured in a thin stream into the center of a container with warm water. Multi-colored circles are formed on the water surface, which are given a pattern using toothpicks. Then the desired object is lowered into the container for a few seconds. After being removed from the water, a multi-colored pattern remains on it, somewhat reminiscent of marble. The product can be varnished after the paint has dried.

Knowing these simple methods of decorating simple glass, you can make an excellent gift for anyone. In addition, this is a great opportunity to spend time with children, because the process of turning an unremarkable object into an unusual one will certainly fascinate them.

Stained glass windows still capture the imagination of our contemporaries, along with fireplaces and rocking chairs. For us, all these are signs of romance, prosperity, comfort and beauty. But if earlier there were stained glass churches and houses of the nobility, now almost anyone can order them. Moreover, patterns on glass now decorate not only window openings. They are used to decorate interior doors and glass doors on cabinets, vases, glasses and lampshades, decorate them in the form of paintings, apply them to car windows - and you never know what other use an inventive person can find for this decoration in the pursuit of beauty.

Patterns on glass become even more attractive because, using modern materials and technologies, a person can decorate their beloved home with them on their own. Even if he has little drawing ability, desire, perseverance and accuracy are enough.

How can you draw on glass? The simplest "paint"

When choosing materials, you first need to consider what and where you are going to paint. If you just need a decorative inscription with some small design on the front door, and there is also a possibility that it will have to be changed over time, then you can draw on the glass with stationery glue and ink. One tenth of silicate is added. Inscriptions are marked on the glass and they are filled with the resulting composition. However, you won’t get a colorful picture - the mascara does not have an abundance of shades. But it holds tightly, is not washed off with water, and if you need to remove it, it can be easily removed with a solvent and a utility knife (or better yet, with a razor blade).

New Year's window decorations

They are more short-lived on glass - but they are only needed until Christmas. There are several ways to apply them: toothpaste dissolved in water and sprayed onto the glass from a spray bottle; beer with magnesia in the ratio of half a glass per 50 g; fixer for photographs... However, there are such patterns on glass, created with your own hands, only to the nearest one, and if you drew a picture for a long time to admire, you will have to additionally fix it. When “long-term” frosty stained glass windows are required, craftsmen advise using To make such paintings look even more authentic, the surface of the glass must be made matte - with sand, beer or matting paint.

Full painting

Previously, ordinary oil paints were used to paint on glass. The result was not inspiring: it turned out rough, with drips and uneven shades. Naturally, due to the unsuitable surface, the painting could be smeared at any time and would require a varnish coating.

If you are interested in what colors are used to paint full-fledged pictures on glass today, turn your attention to stained glass. They do not spread over the surface, and after drying they do not require fixation with additional reagents. There are two types of such paints: those that require firing, and those that do not. The latter, naturally, require less labor and are more saturated in brightness. True, they take a long time to dry - up to three weeks - but folk cunning people have figured out how to shorten this period. In principle, the idea was obvious: just use a regular hairdryer, and the drying time is reduced to a day.

Rules for success

Before you start drawing on glass, you must degrease it. This is not difficult to achieve simply with soap and water or your usual windshield cleaner. Then the glass must be dried. If you wipe it, the process will go faster and there will be no traces of drops left, but the fabric must be chosen so that it does not leave lint on the surface.

At the preparatory stage, the contours of the design you like are applied to the glass. Ideally, this should be done with a pencil, but it can be replaced with a thin marker. And if the drawing is applied to a flat surface, carbon paper will do.

The template is placed under the bottom of the base, and the patterns are outlined with the selected tool. It is clear that if carbon paper is used, then the sheet with the drawing is placed on top in a mirror image. Traditionally, thin paper is used for templates, but from their own experience, those who have already done painting have become convinced that the transparent film from a document file is much more convenient.

A very important moment

You can’t immediately paint patterns on glass, focusing on the contours - after all, we’re not working with paper. First, the outlines are outlined with a special contour paste. Most often it is taken in black, silver or golden color. The choice depends on both personal preference and the style of the chosen pattern. In addition to giving the drawing greater clarity, such contours will prevent the colors from spreading and mixing with each other in the future.

If the hand trembles somewhere, the mistake is corrected with a stick and cotton wool; As long as the paste is not dry, it can be easily washed off.

After finishing the tracing, the workpiece is left for some time so that the contour paste dries and does not smear later. Complete drying is not required: after a day the glass will be ready for further manipulation.

Main job

If you don't really trust your artistic abilities, it is advisable to have a color picture to refer to when coloring. For each approach, you need to paint on the glass with only one color: that is, first all the details are drawn, say, red, then the brush is washed and a different color is taken. This way, much less paint is wasted - and they are not cheap.

If your patterns on glass are applied in a thinner layer somewhere, you will have to wait until the applied paint dries before saturating the desired fragment with color. Otherwise, greater brightness cannot be achieved with this material.

Subtleties and secrets

In order not to be disappointed in your first experience, it would be a good idea to listen to the advice of more experienced colleagues. So, everyone unanimously argues that at first it is better to limit yourself to a small size and a flat surface - curves will not be available to you for some time.

Before drawing on glass, you need to take care of a rest for your working hand, and it is better to practice on paper so as not to spoil the paint and glass. Otherwise, your hand will quickly get tired and begin to tremble.

You need to choose brushes for work that are as thin as possible - they will allow you to paint even very small details. And don’t forget to wash your tools after each use: the paint dries tightly, and in the morning you can only throw away the brushes; it will be impossible to wash them.

In no case should unsuccessful strokes and strokes be painted over - nothing will work, the glass has too smooth a surface. Such places are carefully cleaned with a cotton swab and painted again.

The paint will inevitably form small bubbles. To prevent this from affecting the final result, they must be carefully pierced with a pin or toothpick.

Mandatory verification

Before sending your patterns on glass to dry, look at them against the light of a window or lamp to see the imperfections of what you have drawn. Moreover, this must be done during the work process in order to notice and eliminate defects in time.

It is necessary to shine through with extreme caution. If the paint spreads, the number of imperfections will increase sharply, and it is not a fact that you will be able to correct all of them.

It is quite possible that if you get carried away you will discover some additional tricks. But what you know now is quite enough to create your own masterpiece. And even if it’s just a glass door in your cupboard - you definitely won’t find such an exclusive anywhere else.

Glass painting allows you to transform faceless glass into an elegant work of art. To achieve this result, you need to know the technology of this type of creativity, as well as its features. Painting any object can be done using various materials: for example, paints can be stained glass or acrylic. Each material requires compliance with special instructions.

Glass painting allows you to transform faceless glass into an elegant work of art

In order for the finished work to be expressive, it is necessary to follow some general recommendations when performing it:

• In order for the product to have a finished look, it is necessary to apply several layers of paint;
• Before applying a new coat of paint, you must make sure that the previous one is completely dry;
• To prevent streaks from appearing on the painted surface, strokes must be laid smoothly and quickly;
• the pattern can be laid textured: for this you need to use a piece of foam rubber or a bristle brush;
• To obtain interesting shades of paint of the same type, you can mix each other;
• You can make the painting brighter and more saturated by covering the product with a thin layer of varnish.

During work, you must follow safety rules. There should be no open flame near paints. When using odorous materials, it is necessary to use masks to protect the body and respiratory tract from their toxic effects.

Gallery: glass painting (25 photos)

Vase: glass painting (video)

How to draw a contour on glass with your own hands?

Glass painting involves the use of special contours.

They should be used according to a certain technology:

1. A small hole is made in the neck of the tube, and then a small amount of paint is squeezed through it. This must be done in order to remove air from the tube.
2. After a space has formed in the tube, it is necessary to twist its tip so that pressure appears inside it again.
3. Then the entire edge of the hand and forearm is placed on some fixed support. This trick will prevent trembling in your hand.
4. The spout is placed in a position slightly raised above the glass, and the body is slightly pressed with your fingers.
5. The paint is laid along the drawn line to its end. The drawing of one line cannot be interrupted.
6. To finish the process of drawing the outline, you just need to stop pressing on the tube.
7. After the outline has been completely applied, the work should be left for 5-6 hours for the paint to dry completely.

Glass painting involves the use of special contours

If a build-up forms, it should be removed immediately with a toothpick. To do this, the influx must be distributed on different sides of the line. Using a toothpick, you can move the contour that is not along the line, but this must be done immediately after application.

Glass painting with stained glass paints: secrets of craftsmanship

Stained glass paints are most often used for glass painting. This is due to the fact that products painted with such material acquire an interesting, finished and expressive look.

However, this material requires special conditions of use:

• large spaces should be filled with a pipette - this creates a smooth surface that looks like colored glass;
• small areas of the picture must be painted with a brush;
• the use of stained glass paints requires a contour on the product;
• each element must be filled with paint from the middle, gradually distributing the liquid to the very outline;
• You should not apply paint to the outline itself, such flaws give the work a sloppy appearance;
• the background should be drawn last, this will preserve the texture of the fill and avoid the appearance of various defects;
• when bubbles form, they must be removed with a needle or simply distilled to the circuit;
• the dirty circuit should be cleaned with a stick dipped in water or solvent.

Stained glass paints are most often used for glass painting.

Some craftswomen complain that stained glass paints begin to thicken after several uses. To fix this, they should be diluted with a special thinner produced by the same company as the paints used.

We paint the jar with our own hands: step-by-step instructions

The use of stained glass paints when painting jars is complicated by the rounded surface of the base. If paint is applied incorrectly, smudges and unevenness may appear. To avoid this, you must follow the instructions below.

First of all, you need to prepare the materials:

• stained glass paints;
• contour on glass or ceramics;
• acrylic lacquer;
• cone brushes;
• palette;
• sketch;
• marker;
• jar;
• alcohol or acetone;
• toothpicks;
• solvent.

Master Class:

1. First of all, the surface of the jar should be degreased. For this, alcohol or acetone is used.
2. A stencil is cut out from the sketch, then it is applied to the surface and transferred using a marker.
3. A contour is drawn along the drawn lines. Drawing should be done in a circle of cans: from top to bottom.
4. After the contour base has completely dried, you can paint its fragments.
5. To do this, the can is placed on its edge and fixed. Objects should be filled in small areas so that the paint does not flow down the sides. A cone brush is used for filling. Before turning the can over to the other side, the paint should be thoroughly dried. If bubbles appear, they should be pierced with a toothpick.
6. A drawing made with stained glass paints must be covered with a layer of acrylic varnish.

It will be more convenient to varnish the jar using a spray varnish.

How to paint on glass with acrylic paints?

Painting on glass with acrylic paints differs from stained glass. It is worth considering that there are several ways to paint glass objects with this material. Which ones? Firstly, traditional painting involves the use of a brush and acrylic paints:

• painting is done using brush strokes;
• the image may have a texture - when using brushes of different hardness;
• By applying different colors of paint next to each other, you can achieve a mixture of shades or the formation of a clear contrasting line;
• during work, the outline can be used as a decorative element in the final stages of work.

Painting on glass with acrylic paints differs from stained glass

You can also use acrylic paints to paint glass using the dot painting technique. In this case, acrylic contours are used, and drawing is done using the image of lines consisting of dots of different diameters.

Bottle painting: master class for beginners

Painted bottles can be used for different purposes. An empty container can be used as a flower vase, and a sealed container can be used as a gift or holiday table decoration. To paint a glass bottle with acrylic paints you need:

• bottle;
• acrylic paints;
• brushes;
• alcohol;
• cotton pads;
• scotch;
• acrylic lacquer.

Contours can be used as an additional element.

We draw patterns with acrylic step by step:

1. The surface of glass bottles is degreased using a cotton pad soaked in alcohol.
2. The design is transferred to the surface of the bottle. Many craftswomen draw patterns on bottles “by eye”.
3. First of all, the background is drawn. If it has a large area, paint it over with a foam sponge.
4. Then large details of the pattern are drawn with a brush.
5. After all the large parts have dried, you can paint the small nuances.
6. The finished drawing is dried.
7. If desired, you can decorate the drawings using contours. In this case, acrylic should be applied only in certain places, for example, in the core of a flower, leaf veins, highlights in the eyes.
8. After the drawing has dried, the surface of the bottle is covered with 2-3 layers of acrylic varnish. Each layer is laid only after the previous one has dried.

Bottles painted in this way can fit into almost any interior. This is due to the fact that the variability of the depicted patterns can be limitless and is selected exclusively by the craftswoman herself.

Painting on glass with acrylic (video)

Glass painting is a technique that can be mastered even by beginning artists. This is due to the fact that to create a masterpiece with your own hands you do not need to have certain artistic abilities, but rather use a ready-made template and know the features of applying a particular paint to a glass surface.

Other types of painting and drawing

Lena

There was a period in my life that I became fascinated with this type of painting. I painted with stained glass paints and contours. A very exciting activity. It is necessary to ensure that the paints and contours are not expired.

How to choose paints for painting on glass

When visiting exhibitions, museums or other events where masters show the results of their creativity - drawing on glass - you admire non-standard images. Looking at the amazing glass paintings, patterns and miniatures, many ask questions:

• What paints can you paint on glass?
• How to learn to create something like this with your own hands?
• Where to begin?

Any business begins with the acquisition of tools and materials for independent work. You need to prepare pieces of glass or ceramics on which the first images will appear.

Concept of paint for painting on glass

A dye intended for application to glass must meet several requirements:

• form strong adhesive bonds, adhere tightly enough to an ideally smooth surface, after hardening, the adhesion strength should increase and not decrease;
• the film of the applied paint should not fade under the influence of sunlight; the choice of coloring pigments is made specifically, taking into account their behavior under UV rays;
• absence of harmful emissions: no one will be pleased to do work while smelling an unpleasant odor (a gas mask does not contribute to obtaining a high-quality drawing);
• You need paint that is easy to pick up and transfer from the palette to the work surface.

It remains to figure out what materials are suitable for such work.

Glass paints

Acrylic paints for applying images to glass create an opaque thin layer on the surface. The peculiarity of these dyes is that they have a high degree of adhesion to a smooth surface; during the polymerization process, the adhesion strength to glass only increases. It is almost extremely difficult to wash off dried paint; you have to scrape it off.

Looking at the multicolor drawing (Fig. 1), you can see how the artist skillfully mixed paints while working on it. He sought to obtain the shade that arose in him during the drawing process.

Rice. 1 “Firebird” on wine glasses

Several different techniques are used here, which are used by artists in factories that produce glass products. Present:

• dot pattern, its characteristic feature is the application of small dots, which create a certain vision of the image;
• artistic drawing, which is characterized by brush strokes. When a brush is prepared for a multicolor stroke, several colors are present on it at once. When you move the brush, each color leaves its own color. They sometimes smoothly transform into one another, but contrasting interactions are also possible;
• multi-layer application of paint, indicating the high professionalism of the artist. In fact, drawing professionals do not start working with light colors, they create a bottom layer of dark shades, and then the rest of the picture is obtained by highlighting bright fragments against the main background, which attract the attention of others.

Acrylic paints in the hands of an experienced artist on a glass surface make it possible to form complex patterns that not everyone can repeat (Fig. 2). It is difficult to talk about craftsmanship here - this is a magnificent creative process. Only at first glance do all the products seem the same, but if you look closely at them you can always see the differences. Each master, using acrylic paints, leaves his own individuality on the painted objects.

Rice. 2 Painting on glass with acrylic paints

Looking at the process, many have a desire to join such creativity. It fascinates, gives birth to its own pictures, which you just want to leave on a transparent basis.

At one time, Italian masters found their own way to leave their mark on art. They used gelatin-based paints. Today, it is rare to use the technologies of medieval glass artists. Their paints allowed only a thin transparent film with shades of the desired color to be left.

Modern masters, using drawing techniques from the Middle Ages, use paints based on organic solvents. Their varnish base makes it possible to obtain shine immediately after application. As it hardens, the shade only increases its saturation, becoming somewhat darker. Stained glass painting surprises with its airiness (Fig. 3).

Rice. 3 Drawing on glass made with paints based on nitro varnish

The pigments that give the clear varnish color shades do not in any way reduce the transparency of the product. The feeling of light airiness remains when looking at the high-quality work of a modern master.

To give the product a look similar to antique stained glass, you need to give each color a special frame. This is achieved using contour stained glass paints. They do not produce a thin film, but rather form small ridges on the surface. Closed spaces are formed into which paint is poured (Fig. 4).

Rice. 4 Contour paint that imitates copper wire on glass allows you to get a “magic” design.

Previously, copper or silver wire was glued to glass in various ways, and they tried to bring it as close as possible to the surface in order to prevent the flow of different colors from one limited space to another. I also had to wash the fragments, so the drawing process lasted quite a long time. We waited for one color to dry before working on another.

Industrial methods of painting on glass

Using a contour drawing allows you to work with several colors at the same time. The contour in some factories is applied in the form of templates (Fig. 5). Modern technologies make the work of a draftsman as easy as possible. He rather acts as a contour drawing colorist.

Rice. 5 Contour transferred to glass

1. A suitable image is selected that is desired to be obtained on the glass surface.
2. The selected image is photographed. It is saved digitally on a computer.
3. Using Photoshop, the necessary processing is performed to remove the unnecessary, as well as highlight the main thing.
4. Printing is done on a transparent base, for example, polypropylene film.
5. Thermally, the design is transferred to glass. All that remains is the outline where the filling should be done.
6. The artist manually fills the provided spaces according to paint numbers.

The result is a pattern that is repeated many times. This is exactly how glass balls for the New Year tree are painted with different “magic” designs (Fig. 6).

Rice. 6 New Year decorations for the Christmas tree, painted glass balls

How to make your own paint

Anyone can get involved in the art of glass painting. Only a beginning artist can check whether he should engage in such an exciting activity. You can try your hand without purchasing expensive paints by making them yourself.

The main thing when working is to choose the desired carrier for the dye.

Anyone can learn to paint with PVA-based adhesive paints. The technology is simple.

1. Pour a little PVA glue into a 1…3 ml container.
2. Add a few drops of color. By adding color, you can control the color saturation.
3. By mixing different colors, you achieve the desired shade.

Finished paint samples should be stored in tightly sealed bottles. Some people prepare new supplies before each drawing.

Using clear nail polish you can also create clear paints for glass. The process is similar to that outlined above. The only difference is in the carrier base for the paints.

By using white acrylic facade paint, you can also get acrylic stained glass paints. The technology is no different from that described above. Only use acrylic media.

Glass painting is an interesting activity that can become a creative profession.

Video: Glass painting