GLASS PAINTING

This blog is a bit long, as it contains clear instructions on how to do glass painting. I had bought 2 transparent glass plates from IKEA, Avenues Mall, to do glass painting on them.  I took out my brushes, spread a sheet of newspaper on the table, so as not to spread paint on the table. I made a design with the Glass outliner, that comes in a tube with a very fine nozzle and a tiny hole to enable smooth outlining of the design you want. The design is done on the REVERSE side of the plate (reverse meaning underneath of the plate). The design (outline) dries fast in say 10 minutes.  

My outliners  are black, gold, silver and white. 

I chose a black glass outliner to do the design

The design is done on the reverse side of the plate

I took some plain acrylic paints on a palette so I could dip the sponge in it and fill the colours on to the plate

It's easy, you just have to use your imagination, or pick up a nice design from the internet, or look around you for ideas, when you visit any Home Center, IKEA or Alghanim (Avenues Mall), True Value or A-Z, there are lot of glass painted plates there. Take a picture of one of those designs you like so it’s easier to refer, when you want to paint the same design or something similar. Time taken to do glass painting will depend on how complicated or simple your design is. If you make a mistake while doing your design (with the outliner) or filling in the colours, take a piece of tissue, fold it, moisten the pointed edge with water, and carefully erase/wipe the mistake and re-do. 

A small piece of dish washing sponge to fill in the colours

The filling of colours is also done on the reverse side of the plate (underneath)

Once the glass plate is painted, keep it for drying for 24 to 48 hours 

Once dried, turn the plate the right way

 

 

I used a small piece of dish washing sponge to fill in the acrylic paints to get a slightly porous look, which dried in about 20 minutes. Once the entire painting was over, I just let it completely dry for 48 hours, just in case there is any wet paint. You can fill your paint with a brush once you have outlined your design or use a small piece of sponge to fill the paint as I did. Transparent glass plate from IKEA cost 500 fils. If you like art, glass painting on a plate, is something you could try. Do you know it can make a nice gift as well.  Acrylic paints are different from glass paints. Glass paints are bit thinner (more liquidy) with a gum base to facilitate drying and transparent. Ofcourse, you get translucent variety as well. Acrylic paints are thicker. Both glass paints and acrylic are used to get beautiful effects. In acrylic, you can also get metallic, pearl, shimmering and plain colours. Oh, they all have gorgeous effects. They are available in Barakat, Salmiah, AG Mart, Salmiah and Dasman Complex near Sharq area. 

Glass paints and acrylic paints can be a bit expensive, so try not to buy big size tubes and bottles. Choose your design first, then decide upon the paints, so you just buy a few paints at a time and you can gradually buy more paints. if you enjoy the art. Oh getting the glass outliner is a must! (Gold, black and silver).