Reverse Glass Painting

Glass painting can be quite fun, yet needs patience. Once you get the basic techniques right, there is no end to the improvisation you can do to get fabulous pictures !!

Materials you will need:

* Thin glass sheets of any dimension you wish (Tip: it will be a good idea to start with an A4 sort of size, as a bigger canvas will allow you to paint with more freedom)
* Paints (There is quite a wide choice here depending on the type of design, one can use fabric colours, water-based glass colours, liners, glitter 3D outliners and so on)
* Design printed out on paper, the same dimension as you wish to paint on the glass sheet. It is recommended to leave at least a 1mm allowance on all sides as this area will be taken up while framing the painting. If you are good at free-hand drawing, then simply go ahead and paint directly on the glass (Note: It can always be wiped/washed off if it goes wrong :) )
* Carbon paper for transferring the design on to the glass
* Clean lint-free cloth
* Brushes of desired sizes
* Palette for colour mixing
* Old newspapers for a mess-free work area

1. Clean the glass sheet of any smudges, finger prints using oil-free soap and water, or simply wipe using a lint-free wet cotton cloth

2. Since this is a reverse painting technique, we need a reverse copy of the design to be placed under the glass while painting or transferring the design. Now if we have printers at home, then this is easily done with the help of the cloning or mirror tool in any photo suite software and then printing it out. However, for those without this facility, or if you got the design from a journal, or if it is a religious motif that ideally should not be printed in reverse, then the following technique will help. Place a carbon paper face-up, i.e, the inked side stuck to the paper, under the design sheet and trace out the design. Once done, remove the carbon and turn the design sheet over, you will see the motif on the backside, but in reverse. Now you can use this side to place under the glass sheet.

3. Use transparent tape to firmly stick the design to the bottom of the glass. Now we are ready to begin.

4. Using the glass outliners or other paints and a thin brush, commence drawing out the outlines so you have the basic picture. Start filling in the colours according to your imagination. If you wish you can alter the dimension of the design such that you also have allowance for a nice decorative border apart from the 1mm gap on the 4 sides.

5. If working with religious designs, such as Tanjore paintings, etc, it is ideal to fill in the ornamental parts of the picture first. As there is more scope for colours to run over or smudge on glass, make sure to let it dry a little in between colouring adjacent areas. Once dry you can also turn over the glass sheet to check for any vacant spots. You will also get an idea how the finishing actually appears on the other side.

6. Once your work is done, let dry completely. You can frame this with or without a background. If there is a brightly coloured wall, you can simply provide a frame for the 4 sides leaving the back uncovered, so it uses the wall colour as its background. If not, it is also a good idea to use crushed aluminium foil or any other paper of your choice which best complements your masterpiece.

Voila!! Not too bad now, was it. But remember, practice makes one perfect. So keep at it till you improve. Happy Painting :)