Looking for a new and unique craft project or to learn a new skill? Why not try glass painting!
This satisfying and creative craft originated hundreds of years ago, but continues to have a contemporary appeal due to the versatility of its form and the potential to paint on pretty much any glass surface available, from panels to wine glasses.
Patricia De Poel Wilberg, the resident expert on glass painting at the Washington Glass School, gave Prima readers this advice: "Painting on glass incorporates a lot of the skills one learned in primary school.
"Always make sure your glass is clean before painting on your glass. Load your brush with paint, making some practice strokes to check your application (not too thick but enough to block out the light) and paint. If you don’t like what you painted you can remove it with a rag or your finger," she adds.
Want to learn more? Read on for everything you need to know about the history of glass painting, what materials you will need and some ideas to get you started.
Why not give a glass painting craft kit a go? The Celestial Painted Glass Mugs kit from Prima is available exclusively at The Works and comes with everything you need to paint two beautiful mugs.
What is glass painting?
Glass painting involves the creation of different designs and patterns on glass. Its exact origin is widely contested, with accounts of glass painting dating back to ancient Roman times and ancient China. Around the ninth century, glass art began to be used in church windows to depict scenes, characters and stories from the Bible to a largely illiterate congregation.
Over time, however, glass art has evolved and expanded to include not just flat panels of glass, but objects, such as vases, homeware, tiles and mirrors. With no requirement to incorporate a religious or spiritual element, contemporary glass painters may seek inspiration from the natural world in creating patterns, characters, living things or abstract shapes. While glass painting can still look beautiful in an overcast room, the introduction of light to glass painting can enhance its beauty tenfold.
What materials do I need for glass painting?
As well as the obvious materials, such as suitable paint, brushes and glass, we’ve also rounded up some other items that will help you in your quest to create beautiful glass art.
And if you’re reluctant to splash out on glass items from the shop, try reusing some of the glass bottles in your home for your next project. It’s cheap and green!
Best glass paints
What are the different methods of glass painting?
- Freehand painting: This involves painting without any special equipment.
- Experimenting with stencils: There are a range of different stencils you can use to transfer pictures, shapes, letters and numbers on to glass. Some have self-adhesive backs to keep them in place, while others require painters tape or spray adhesive to secure them to the glass.
- Using leading tape: Leading tape can prove very effective when creating stained glass to create lead outlines to separate diffferent sections. Leading tape comes on a roll in different widths and can be bended to fit your design.
- Reverse glass painting: This is when paint is applied to the reverse of a piece of glass and turned over for proper viewing.
- Using transfers: There are hundreds of different transfers out there to embellish your glass painting, from animals to calligraphy.
Ideas for glass painting
Glass coasters
We love the colourful work of artist Mary Johannessen who takes inspiration from the folk-art traditions of patchwork quilting and tile mosaics.
By applying a series of lines and dots, you can create a colourful collection of glass coasters that would make a wonderful gift.
Glass baubles
A hand-painted glass bauble is a great way to create a Christmas display you can feel really proud of. We like this monochrome spot glass design from Paige Cavill Design.
While painting on to a spherical surface might seem challenging, applying simple brush strokes – or even using your finger – mean that this design doesn’t need to be perfect to be extremely effective.
Gold, red and green are also great festive colours to incorporate into your design. Add a decorative ribbon and you’ve got yourself a stellar Christmas decoration.
Glass picture
Using a basic sheet of glass (see the glass clip frames from Wilko we found in our round-up above for a cheap option), you can create a whole host of pictures and images for your home.
For a colourful glass painting that’s sure to impress your loved ones, try this rainbow pattern. Using liquid leading or leading tape, you can subdivide your rainbow into different sections and stop colour bleeding.
This is really as simple as marking out however many rays you wish to include in your rainbow – and then applying the paint. Once it’s dry, put it in your window or in front of a light source for the picture to really come to life.
Drinking glasses
Spice up cocktail hour with your own custom-made glasses. It doesn’t matter what kind of drinking receptacle you use for this, but we liked the stemless wine glasses shown here. As far as the painting goes, beginners can simply begin by adding brush strokes in different colours, shapes and sizes to their glasses.
Cotton buds can also be a fantastic tool when it comes to painting glass. Applying paint to the tip of a cotton bud enables you to create almost perfect spots or dots to your glassware. Cheers!
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Gunsamg Set of 120 Watercolour Paints
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