Dragon and Girl: More WIP Photos

So, more progress this weekend on the Dragon and Girl piece. I did another firing of the border pieces, but I finally also was able to do the first matte layer on the dragon's body, head, and wings. I also did the first matte layer on the little girl.

With matte layers, you lay on a thin layer of paint, then smooth it with your badger brush. (I always end up singing "Mushroom, MUSHROOM!" at some point when I'm using the badger brush.)

After that, you use other brushes to take paint away. Glass painting is the opposite of painting on mediums like paper or canvas: instead of laying paint on to make parts darker, you lay paint on in a flat coat and then take it away to add highlights. It takes a bit of getting used to.

Each matte layer of paint you add on the glass builds up and gives the piece depth, shadows, and a more 3-D look. Every new layer that's added has to be fired. So, keep in mind: this is just the first layer.

On with the pictures!

I'm really excited that this part of the piece is finally starting to come on. I just hope I don't screw it up! Pin It Now!

Dragon and Girl progress

I went into the studio on Saturday and the green flash glass on the dragon piece FINALLY finished in the acid. Sometimes you really have to be patient!

This means that the rest of the piece, especially the leafy border, is in a much more forward state than the dragon. Hopefully by next week I'll be able to get a lot more done on the dragon portion of the piece.

Dragon body piece: finally done with the acid etching phase!

With the acid finally finished, I was able to add in the initial line work to the dragon's body. As you can see, I've also been working on the grass and the pathway the little girl is standing on. The leafy border has also gotten a few more matte washes.

The leafy borders are getting a lot more finished.

There's still a huge amount of work to be done, but it's coming along. Just have to keep on keepin' on.

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New Piece: Dragon and Girl

Holy shards, I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted! It sure has been a while. I won't go into all of the excuses I have for not writing (*cough*health issues*cough*) but I've got some photos of the newest piece I'm working on with the mentorship of my amazing stained glass painting teacher, Brian James Waugh.

In this piece I'm working with "flashed" glass, which is a layer of coloured glass fused in a kiln onto a layer of clear glass. The way it works is, you cut vinyl "resist" for the parts where you want the colour to remain (you can also paint bitumen onto those parts, but we've been using vinyl resist). The resist is like a big sticker, which sticks to the glass and prevents the acid from reaching the part you want the colour to remain. The acid etches away the coloured layer wherever there isn't resist, which leaves you with clear glass in the areas where you'll be painting.

This is the drawing, or "cartoon" as they call it, which is in pretty battered shape. I've included it so you can see the idea of the image I'm going for. The border pieces are red flash glass which has been acid etched. I'll post more pix as I progress on the piece.

Another shot of the "cartoon."

The border pieces are red flash glass which has been acid etched. This is from before I did the line painting and firing on the leaves and vines.

The dragon and the girl are on green and blue flash glass, which has been acid etched. You can see in the green part, the acid has not yet taken all of the green flash glass away. Those pieces will go back into the acid.

This is what I did today - I finished the line painting on the leaves and vines and fired it, then did a matte wash on the background.

Another shot of the "cartoon."

Here are all of the leaf border pieces in the kiln. I've now done the line work on the dragon's face and wing, as well as the castle in the distance.

I've now done the line work on the dragon's face and wing, as well as the castle in the distance.

Here are some of the leaf border pieces in the kiln.

Here is the dragon's face in the kiln. The line has a bit of an "echo" where the lines of paint are casting a shadow on the white bottom of the kiln.

So, that's the progress so far! I've actually joined Brian's studio as a member now, which I'm very excited about. It will be good to see what all of the other studio members are doing and be inspired! Pin It Now!