"In For The Catch"

[ct4mom]

Nancy, If you go to From start to finish and I believe the first page go to fused Koi Pond 12x18 (my copy and paste isnt working for some reason) he did show the steps in the fusing and painting of that piece.

[Kev]

I'm not sure I would be qualified to do that justice. Maybe Rebecca might do better job of it, since she had had the opportunity to actually take classes and her work is stunning.

[nansea121]

I'm not sure I would be qualified to do that justice. Maybe Rebecca might do better job of it, since she had had the opportunity to actually take classes and her work is stunning.

You do a fine job! I'm interested in the steps you take to get to the final look. Maybe sort of like how I did the plaids, weaves, drops, the dome lamp and my still beginning stages of drapes? It would make for a good interaction with others who already know or still learning how to glass paint.

I'm really getting into learning how to fuse, and the feedback from the tuts I've done so far have been very helpful and benificial to me and hopfully for others. I could have posted a picture of the finished product instead. I think it's neat to show the journey of how a process is achieved. I love tutorials:)


Just my  

[Kev]

I'm not that experienced in the painting process yet, and am still learning as I go along. To a seasoned painter, my painting would be considered "Crude". Might I suggest you get Peter McGrain's DVDs. They are very easy to follow and he does a great job explaining the process. They were the inspiration for me to get started in it.

[nansea121]

Thanks for the suggestion Kev. I admire your work and in the back of my mind I always ask...how did he do that?  Like how you make a matt, scratch in the details and with what tool is used to do that, what does the gum arabic do.

[Kev]

First you take the stainer paint, and put a dollop of the power on a piece of glass used to mix the paint on. Using a pallet knife you break up any little chinks in the paint. Then you sprinkle a very small amount of gum arabic over the power and then dry mix it together until the gum is mixed. The gum is used to stiffen the paint and make it stick to the glass. The more gum used, the harder the paint will be to remove off the glass once applied.

Next you add water (or vinegar) to the powdered paint with an eye dropper, till you get the paint mixed to the consistency  of india ink. With a matting brush, you pick up the paint and apply a thin even coat across the glass you intend to paint. Once the paint I applied and still wet, you take a bushy brush called a Badger brush, and with very light strokes you sweep across the painted glass in alternate and diagonal strokes to blend it all together  and get rid of any brush strokes so you end up with an even matt of paint. Once the paint is dried (can use a hair dryer to speed up the process), then you start to remove the paint leaving the areas you intend to be the darkest (successive matts will continue to darken this matt down even further), so you take off the paint where the highlights and lighter areas will be using various types of brushes and sticks. These areas that the paint was taken off of, will have yet another matt applied over it and the highlights and midtone areas will be further defined. The painting is continued in this process till you are down to working just the brightest areas of the piece. Each time a matt is applied, it is fired to about 1200 degrees before another is applied. It can take several matts to complete the look you wish to achieve. Detailed lining can be applied as a last detail, or can be applied first to outline the areas to be painted. Stainers come in many shades and colors, so you can use multiple colors and densities of matts to get the look you want. In the piece I am doing now, I have initially used "Dark Brown", and "Bistre Brown" was used for the second matt.

Kev

[nansea121]

Wowwww! Thank you!! That was good! Now you're wetting my interest:) ...hehe

[nansea121]

...welting my interest? Lol, anyway, that helped me to see the process better.

[Scooch]

This is looking awesome.  The whole painting thing is something that I have no desire to do.  Not because I don't want to, but because my lack of artistic talent makes painting something that would just frustrate the hell out of me.  I have enough frustration in life without willingly adding more.  I can't wait to see the finished piece.

One question.  In the picture of the piece just out of the kiln, the right edge did not seem straight.  Is this just because of the angle the pic was taken at or is it out of line?  If it is out of line, do you just trim it up for subsequent firings?

[Kev]

Thanks Scooch!

It's the angle of the pic. It is a little uneven on the top because of the frit, but it will be placed in a wooden frame when completed.

[PiscesGlass]

This is definitely going to be amazing Kev!  I can see the depth and detail that you are going to achieve with the paint!  Excellent!

Thanks for the tutorial information, that makes it much easier for me to understand the process.  I will go check for Peter McGrains dvd's..as I'd love to learn how to do this, you've whetted my interest as well! 

Can't wait to see how this develops as you go forward with the painting.  Looking VERY good!

De

[Scooch]

Take many, many pics when you are done.  From every possible angle.  There is to much to see in one pic.

[nansea121]

I agree:) ...with some 'splanations:) You're good at explaining the process Kev:)

[Kev]

Here is the process :

Pics 1-4:

1 - Dry powered stainer paint is placed on pallet and cut (like coke with a razor blade - just saw it on TV..really, no first hand experience...LOL)...to break up any lumps.

2 -  Paint is dotted with powered gum arabic  which acts to stiffen the paint and allows it to  stick to the glass better in order to be dry brushed later.

3 - Water is introduced to the mixture  with an eye dropper a little bit at a time until you get the consistency of india ink.

4 - Paint is mixed to the right consistency and ready for use.

[Kev]

Pics 4-7:

4 (again...oops) - Matting brush used to apply the paint to the glass.

5 - Matt applied.

6 -Badger brush used to blend the paint to remove all the brush strokes. Light strokes used in opposite and diagonal directions till brush marks are      gone. If you keep brushing when the paint is drying out, you will leave more lines in it, so you have to know when to stop.

7 - Matt blended.

[Kev]

Pic 8-11

8 - Matt dried and ready for brush working detail by removing paint. A hair dryer can be used to speed up the drying process, though it normally dries pretty quick on it's own. It must be completely dried before you start removing the paint.

9 - Panel sitting on easel constructed with an old picture frame with the glass in it and propped up with a chain. This is used like a light box, except it gives a natural light to it.

10 - Some of the tools used to remove the paint, brushes, stipplers,  pointed sticks etc...

11 - Paint removed in the areas desired to bring back the highlighted areas.

[Kev]

Pics 12-13

12 - End result of working the paint before firing it in the kiln. The paint can be fired between 1150 - 1400 degrees.

13 - A side view of the easel set up. It's a temporary set up till I can actually build a portable one...but it works well.

And there you have it...THE PROCESS.

Kev

[Malinda]

Here is the process :

Pics 1-4:

1 - Dry powered stainer paint is placed on pallet and cut (like coke with a razor blade - just saw it on TV..really, no first hand experience...LOL)...to break up any lumps.

In my class with Paul we ground it by pressing it with a pallet knife like you're smearing it into the glass pallet, then scoop and smear and scoop and smear..... same concept, different technique. I would think what I learned gets it finer than chopping coke (lol, though I have no experience in that either).  Oh and also how we did step 3 and 4...the way I described.

[Kev]

I do that as well Mal..the smearing technique...lol. Some use a mortor to grind the powder.

[Malinda]

lol...really, that seems a bit excessive to me, a mortor... but ok....