Stained glass made on glass

Making real stained glass windows, like those we can see in cathedrals or in the windows of ancient buildings, is a rather painstaking task, and not everyone is ready to turn their home into a studio equipped with everything necessary for this type of activity. Recently, simple-to-use stained-glass windows have been gaining more and more popularity, which copes no worse with the tasks of ordinary stained glass: transforming ordinary glass into a decorative element, a picture that transmits light through itself.

Preparing for work
You need to start your stained glass window starting from an image (or imagination), that is, first of all, we decide on a picture - we find it on the Internet, draw it or copy it from a book. It could even be a photo that you have transformed into an outline image.
Next, we go to an art store to buy stained glass paints. They are water-based and alcohol-based, which determines how the finished product will react to wet cleaning. Also, it is worth mentioning that we need two types of paint: thick contour paint and liquid, transparent to fill and imitate the effect of glass.The outline is standard black, but there are also silver, gold... In this work we will use black. We decide on the colors in advance; for example, I draw them in my picture. You will see the colors I used in the subsequent illustrations on the right.
You may be offered paints in a tube that you simply squeeze out, or in a jar for application with a brush. In my opinion, those in a tube are, for starters, more convenient.
The last thing we need is the actual working surface - glass of a certain shape and size (cut according to the image format). The easiest way to start working is with small and flat glass. Before applying paint, thoroughly wash the surface with soapy water and wipe it dry so that there are no streaks left and the paint adheres better.

Execution of work
1. The selected image should be on opaque paper, and the outline should be clearly visible; you can additionally outline it with a gel pen.




We put glass on top of the picture and secure it or try to monitor it as we work so that it does not move. We transfer the outline of the drawing onto the glass, trying to make lines of uniform thickness. If you make a mistake somewhere, don’t worry, because the paint on the glass can always be wiped off. For this I use a match, a screwdriver or a thin stick, the end of which I wrap in a napkin, and use it to remove bad strokes.



2. When the contour is ready, leave it to dry for 2-4 hours.



3. Now you can fill the space between the contour lines with liquid paint. It is best to start doing this from the top so as not to accidentally catch what you have already drawn. And at this stage it doesn’t matter if the paint gets in the wrong place .Since the outline has already dried, you can safely blot with a napkin those places where the paint did not adhere well or you mixed up the color.



4. A completely filled stained glass window should dry for about another day in a horizontal position. Some people prefer to additionally open the top with varnish. If you also want to do this, be sure to ask the consultant in the store which varnish is suitable for this type of paint.
Well, my “Lighthouse” is ready and is hanging on my wall. Good luck in your creative endeavors!