Glass Paintings - Rich Indian Art Tradition

By Murtaza Habib

Do you know that India has been one of the top countries that has wide varieties of artistic forms? What if you knew that India has its artistic foundation built in before 2000 years?
India has its artistic tradition hidden in various cultures, traditions, regions, religions of ancient times even times before brushes and papers were produced.

That's right, in olden days India practiced art on palm leaves where various textures and illustrations were created.

In this article you will learn more about glass paintings, one of the unique Indian artistic forms.

Do you know when glass painting evolved in India? It was between 18th and 19th century.

At that time Europe had achieved mastery in glass paintings during the middle ages.

A Chinese artist learned the skill of glass painting from Europe that helped them out to provide quality paintings that were then exported to Europe.

In the mean while there were strong trade relations between India and China which eventually got this unique form of art to India.

Glass painting was mostly used by local artists who painted popular epics and stories on the glasses. The most commonly form of painting was that of Lord Ganesha.

The special type of glass on which painting was performed was imported from countries like Belgium and Britain.

In fact, India was one of the best quality glass producers during 16th century, but it was of no use because this form of art lost its interest eventually as time passed by.

Various ancient traditional themes along with European themes were used in this unique form of glass painting.

European works and portraits along with Indian epics like Ramayan and pictures of God and Goddesses were created on glasses which were in high demand.

If you observe carefully there are some parts of North and South India where glass paintings are still widely popular where they specialize in producing various popular and folk art traditions.

Are you able to bring your creativity on to your canvas? Will you take action step by step, if I help you to learn drawings and paintings until you succeed? Grab 6 lessons on Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Fabric Painting, Pencil Drawing, Color Theory.

==> Grab my free ebook on Drawing and Painting
'Murtaza Habib' has helped hundreds of newbies to start their painting courses, now you can do it too... Keep visiting Paint on my canvas for unique articles on drawing and painting.
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Glass Paintings - Rich Indian Art Tradition

By Murtaza Habib

Do you know that India has been one of the top countries that has wide varieties of artistic forms? What if you knew that India has its artistic foundation built in before 2000 years?
India has its artistic tradition hidden in various cultures, traditions, regions, religions of ancient times even times before brushes and papers were produced.

That's right, in olden days India practiced art on palm leaves where various textures and illustrations were created.

In this article you will learn more about glass paintings, one of the unique Indian artistic forms.
Do you know when glass painting evolved in India? It was between 18th and 19th century.
At that time Europe had achieved mastery in glass paintings during the middle ages.

A Chinese artist learned the skill of glass painting from Europe that helped them out to provide quality paintings that were then exported to Europe.

In the mean while there were strong trade relations between India and China which eventually got this unique form of art to India.

Glass painting was mostly used by local artists who painted popular epics and stories on the glasses. The most commonly form of painting was that of Lord Ganesha.

The special type of glass on which painting was performed was imported from countries like Belgium and Britain.

In fact, India was one of the best quality glass producers during 16th century, but it was of no use because this form of art lost its interest eventually as time passed by.

Various ancient traditional themes along with European themes were used in this unique form of glass painting.

European works and portraits along with Indian epics like Ramayan and pictures of God and Goddesses were created on glasses which were in high demand.

If you observe carefully there are some parts of North and South India where glass paintings are still widely popular where they specialize in producing various popular and folk art traditions.

you able to bring your creativity on to your canvas? Will you take action step by step, if I help you to learn drawings and paintings until you succeed? Grab 6 lessons on Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Fabric Painting, Pencil Drawing, Color Theory.

==> Grab my free ebook on Drawing and Painting
'Murtaza Habib' has helped hundreds of newbies to start their painting courses, now you can do it too... Keep visiting Paint on my canvas for unique articles on drawing and painting.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Murtaza_Habib

How to Paint Grass and Fields

By Julie Shoemaker

Chance are that a good majority of your paintings will contain some grass. Grass can be a little challenging if you don't follow a few guidelines.

First of all, use a variety of values for the grasses. For example, look at fields and notice how they are not all the same colors. This may be to different things growing, but it is also due to shadows and where the sunlight is hitting.

A good and effective way to start is to lay in a distant field just under your horizon. I would make it sloped a little and don't make it too wide (because it is in the distance and perspective wise, it might be barely visible. Use a dark green. Next, add some yellow or white to brighten the green up and lay in the next layer. This layer will appear to be catching the sun light. Finally as you work your way forward use a medium shade green and come all the way forward. Let the slopes show and let any color variation show.

In the preceding example, you created very simple indications of grass lawns or fields. It's pretty simple to indicate individual blades of grass as well. Clumps of grass are painted by simple using a color that will show up (darker against a light background and vise versa.) Use quick strokes pull the paint upwards with a light touch. Your brush should comes off the surface of the canvas giving a fine point to the tip of the grass stalk.

You would only need to add a few stalks here and there to indicate that the entire fields has blades of grass. Grass in the foreground should stand out to be effective. Use a little yellow to really highlight and make them stand out. Like usual though don't over do it.

With a little practice, you'll be painting very effective grass and fields in no time.
Julie Shoemaker is an avid painter and hobbyist who regularly gives paintings as gifts to family and friends. To read more articles like the one here, and to see more free art tips, tricks and techniques and free step by step lessons please visit http://www.IamPainting.org
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Glass Paintings - Paintings on Glass

By Rajneesh Dubey

Glass paintings turn plain sheets of glasses into marvelous pieces of art. Glass paintings are rare finesses and cherished legacies of the remarkable artworks of the past. Also coined as glass engravings, the paintings on glass overwhelmed with their refined beauty, mystical luminosity, enrichment of colors and meticulousness. Possibly an outcome of the Renaissance Movement in Italy, glass paintings became popular all over the world. They were transported to India at the turn of the eighteenth century. The Indian painters imbibed this new form of painting from the Chinese immigrants who settled in coastal India during this time. The sophisticated glass paintings adored the interiors of the elites and royal families. India-crafts.com one of the most well known portals for arts and crafts in India has treasured this traditional form of art in the most impressive way. Learn about glass paintings and get amazed visualizing the collection of these paintings. Just spare a minute to click on the site and see how the magic unveils.

The state of Gujarat is said to be the precursor of glass painting in India. Later on the art flourished in the regions of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Rajasthan, Mysore, Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai, Hyderabad, West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The themes had regional diversifications. They were imbibed from the folklore, religious books and from the great Indian epics -The Ramayana and The Mahabharata. European themes can be viewed in some works. Pictures of Hindu gods and goddesses, their romantic pursuits, images from the mythological stories, natural sceneries, animal images and portraits of the kings and royal ladies were also used as the theme for the paintings.

The glass paintings were laid down on Belgium glasses imported from Belgium and England. The technique of painting was unique. Beautiful images were outlined on the opposite side of a glass. Bright colors were applied to paint the images. The colors were made to dry and permanently fix to the glass by the aid of proper heating techniques. Finally the paintings were embellished with semi-precious stones; gold and silver powders and glitters to create a luminous effect. The paintings dazzled in proper effect of lighting. A glorious painting of the bygone era, glass painting has retained its place in the modern households as exotic showpieces and wall decorations.

For detailed information on Arts and Crafts, please visit India Crafts
Rajneesh Dubey is Content Coordinator for http://www.india-crafts.com This is a website covering all kinds of art and craft forms of India. Here, you will come to know about jewelry, dresses, sculptures, religions, paintings and various other topics on India. You can see here the lists of the manufacturers, exporters and suppliers of an array of handicrafts too.
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Reverse Glass Painting, The Affordable Way To Do Reverse Glass Painting

By Sally Willson

My name is Sally, and I'm here to let you know that after 8 years of pursuing my passion, (while working a full time job) it's so much easier than I would have expected to stain glass windows.
The materials that I use to paint with are bought entirely at local art supply stores. The windows that I paint in can either be purchased used from construction companies, and I've never paid more than $5 for a window sash in the rough, or picked up from the side of the road where remodeling is being done, my personal form of recycling when the opportunity arises.

The work put into partially refinishing, refinishing completely, or painting can be tiresome, but isn't it worth doing? The stained window, or reverse glass painting that you will end up with will be so worth having!

When you see something that really strikes You as being beautiful or meaningful, you already have your starting point. What was it? Cala lilies, a light house, a grove of birch trees? Maybe a bunch of grapes? All of or any of these would be an excellent starting point. Keep in mind that this is going to be the main subject of the reverse glass painting, and if it's going to be a stained window, it doesn't need ANY background, just the beautiful part. That's what you want, right?
The next thing you'll need is nothing more than a basic sketch of your subject that is at least somewhat close to being the same size of the window sash, or pane of glass that you want to work on. Maybe you had something pretty on a calender, or in one of your own photos? Have a post sized enlargement made at the local office supply store if you don't want to draw the sketch yourself. If you take this route, though, you will need to put mental blinders on to the small details and background.

Tape your sketch to the back side, or the viewing side of the glass.

Now, as I said earlier, the paint you will need for your project is readily available at most art supply stores. One of these paints is called liquid lead (there is no lead in the paint, it's the texture that gives it the name.) It comes in a one or two ounce bottle with a tapered tip dispenser, that when the bottle is held upside down at an angle, and squeezed, will allow a thin strip of the paint directly on to the glass for you to form only the outline of the main subject of. As an example, if you are doing the bunch of grapes,outline only the leaves, most, but not all of them, and the grapes. Again, most of the individual grapes, but not all of them. If you outline the complete circle shape of every grape, it's going to look like a bunch of purple or green balls run amok. With a few arcs, or partial circles added in, it will look a lot more like grapes. The one ounce bottles of colors were probably right beside the liquid lead in the art supply store, so lets choose two shades of green, two shades of purple, a bottle of some kind of white, and blue will make a good background color.

After the liquid lead has dried, you can carefully drop some of the dark purple into the grape bunch area at he bottom of each of the grapes. Have a small round paint brush ready, and repeat the process, with the lighter purple at the top of each grape. Carefully the light purple into the dark with the brush. Rinse out the brush every couple of grapes, so that you don't end up with just one purple.

When the grapes are finished, go to the leaves. a drop of the darker green at the bottom of the leaf, and a drop of light green toward the top of the leaf. Same process Push the darker green toward the lighter green, rinsing the brush every two or three leaves When the leaves are done, you can complete the painting by filling in the background with mostly blue and a few drops of white sprinkled here and there. Be sure to let the white mix with the blue, so that you create lighter spots, and not white dots. That would be distracting.

The final step is to turn it around, remove the pattern you had taped on the glass, and admire your work. Congrats!

Copyright 2007 - Sally Willson
Most of my website is devoted to my work in reverse glass painting, how ever for a few more ideas, or a look at my how to section, please take a few minutes to visit.
Happy painting! http://reversepaintinglady.com
email me at sallywillson@yahoo.com
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DIY - Stained Glass

By Keith Londrie

Stained glass is fabulous, that is a fact. It can add a lot of luxury and charm to your home. Learning how to make it is not that difficult and you will see how in the following lines.
How to do it yourself.As you have read stain glass production is a hard thing and you cannot do it at home. However there is an alternative that will allow you to make wonderful stained glass pieces.

The first thing you will need is the pattern. There are many patterns available in the internet so just spend some time and find the one you like the most.

Once you have your pattern number it and cut it apart. As you ca see stained glass is made of various small colored glass pieces so the pattern should correspond to this idea.

The cut and numbered pattern is than traced onto the glass. Use glass of different colors for ach part of the pattern. Break the pattern into pieces and foil them together. When all pieces have been foiled, place them into the assembly jig.

The next step is to solder the pieces together. It is important that you solder all foiled joints to create the metal web that holds the glass pieces. Use solder and soldering iron and fill carefully all joints.

In fact your stained glass project is finished. All you need to do is to clean it using water and a soft cloth. You can also add an ancient look by applying some patina solution after the cleaning.
Fake stained glass.

If the above sounds too complicated or you do not have the time and the tools to achieve it, try some fake stained glass projects. You can get some glass and pint it with glass paints to achieve the look of original stained glass.

You can buy glass paints from every craft shop. Usually they come along several stained glass patterns. If you do not like the patterns provided search for new ones in the internet.
Working with glass paints is not that difficult. All paint glass sets come along a transparent foil that you can place over the pattern and trace it. After the paints are completely dry you should peel of the pattern and stick it to the glass.

Another option is to cut the pattern and trace it on the glass. Than you can pain straight over the glass.

Keith Londrie II is the Webmaster of http://www.stained-glass-info.info/ A website that specializes in providing information stained Glass that you can research on the internet. Visit http://www.stained-glass-info.info/ now!
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Finding the Perfect Subject for Your Reverse Painting on Glass

By Sally Willson

Finding the perfect subject for your reverse painting on glass is not really as difficult as I was afraid it might be when I started painting glass 8 years ago. I really toiled when I tried to think about it. That is why it was toil. I thought too much! Therein lies the trick. Do not think! Just look around you, and really open your eyes!

I decided a few years ago, that when I took pictures with my camera, very few of them came out very well. I was lucky at the time to get a half dozen good pictures from a roll of 36. Bummer. The bigger decision was to improve the odds. So I read just a little, and focused more on really looking at what was in the view finder. It's a small adjustment. For those of us who do not have a zoom lens built into their eyes, we only need mental blinders to block out some or all of the background. One of the real beauties of a reverse glass painting is that you can completely block out the background if you want to! An example of this would be in a 15 year old painting of your parents, dancing at a wedding reception. Your parents may have looked wonderful! But what about all of those other people who confused the background? Just ignore them when you do the painting.

The best painting you will ever do is the painting of someone or something that you really love! If you really love horses, or old barns, that is where your best work will shine through! If you really loved it, and worked to many times in the same subject matter, it will get old, and you may wear it out. Best to leave it alone for a while, and return to it at a later date. There are so many beautiful things in this world, I am sure that you can find something else to work on for a while.

I need a picture to work from, whether it be a photograph, or something I cut from a magazine. It's a basic for painting, just as a map is for driving. So if you want to get started, and do not yet have a picture in mind, you will need to find one, or go out with the camera first. What better time of the year, than in autumn to take a good photo anyway? I got some beauties when I went out in a canoe last summer! And then another time just taking a walk through the woods! Many photographs of children playing would make lovely reverse glass paintings! Just really look around, and see if you can spot one!

After you have the picture or photograph, it will need to be enlarged to the size you would like your painting to be. If you happen to have an all in one center with your computer, this can be done by going to the multiple page poster option. otherwise, you can use one of the mail order photo shops for enlarging. It's really a must for a beginner, though, even if only to see one way that it can be done.

The enlargement will need to be taped to the back side of the glass, so that it can be viewed through the side of the glass that you are going to paint on. Begin the painting by painting in the last thing that came into the picture, first. You will need to use very small brushes to begin with. As your painting progresses, so will the size of your brush. That part will be much easier to understand after you have done a painting! Your painting will be done in several steps so that the paint has time to dry. Any type of paint will work on a very clean surface. The clean surface may be the most important thing I can tell you! Even a thumb print can make a mess, so keep a soft cotton rag handy while working. You can use it to wipe off mistakes that might be made, too, if they are still wet when you see them.

In any event, get your photograph, and be ready to begin a very fulfilling art form! Happy painting!

copyright 2007 Sally Willson

I have been painting reverse paintings on glass for about 9 years now. Some of them have sold, and more have not. Some have been done for clients who wanted to personalize paintings. They brought me their own photos to work from. Only part of my painting is doe in the above read manner. Some of my work is done straight from the imagination. I also paint in water colors on rice paper, and do oils on canvass.

To see these types of my work, go to http://www.reversepaintinglady.com/
Look for the other types of work by same artist. There are also other types of work that 'anyone' could do with instructions. I would love to see you visit, and once again, happy painting!
sallywillson@yahoo.com
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Silhouette Art - Reverse Glass Painting - With Realism But Add A Touch Of Mystery

By Sally Willson

Silhouette art is what i would call a few of the reverse paintings on glass among the work I have done in the last few years, that seem to stand out among the others. The reason being that they are a little on the intense side, while at the same time, the background seems to melt away. Most, but not all of them, were done intentionally in this manner.

As an example for instruction, let us use the wolf on the skyline. There is not enough room in one article to explain the whole process, so I must assume you already know where to begin painting on glass. If not, please feel free to reference my previous articles with instructions. To begin the painting, you are going to put the last thing that stepped into the picture first.

Remember that the finished work is on the reverse side of the glass, so that will be the first thing to draw attention to the eye. What this means is that you will paint in the wolf first. Do not forget that he is howling. This means, (not really, but in the line in which you must be thinking) that he will have drawn a deep breath of air into his lungs, and straightened his spine to the extreme. There is very little light coming from the sunset, so the colors you will use in the wolf will be very dark, and not articulate. In order to get these colors, you can use a very small amount of black, but use more of the deeper colors, such as the darker reds, greens and blues, mixed together. Draw in the wolf, with your paint brush. Make him close enough to the front (bottom) of the painting, to be the center of attraction.

This is not to say, though, that he wants to be in the center of the painting. Now, to get those stray hairs around the throat and shoulders of the wolf, leave just the very smallest amount of paint on the brush. You may even need to wipe some of it off the brush with a rag. You will almost lay your brush vertically on the glass, with the bristled end, pointing outward from the wolf. Most of the brush will lay inside the wolf's body, with only the tip ends of the bristles extending over the edge of the wolf. I usually hold my breath while doing this, sometimes for much too long! While rolling the brush along the edge of the wolf, remember to make the bristles of the brush point in the same direction as the wolf's hair would. There will also be some vagrant hairs around the tail and feet. Wolves need a lot of padding on the feet, so they are hairy. Proceed in the same manner. Now, extremely important, you will need to let this dry before the next step.

Now that the wolf is dry, it is time to paint the next thing that went into the painting. That would be the earth. The ground he is standing on. Your wolf being sky-lined, the ground will only come up to his feet, or only slightly beyond. Remember this is at sunset, so there is not much light. Use the same colors you had for the wolf with dark brown or burnt umber this time. You may want more green in there, too. Just the facts of the landscape here. Keep in mind that the wolf is the subject. Paint in all of the foreground. Let it dry. The let it dry process can take form a few hours to weeks, depending on what types of paint you are using.

Now the time has come for you to finish the painting! This is an exiting part of it! I understand that the angels get to paint the sunsets, so it will not hurt to get some practice! A sunset should have the warm colors of the day in it, so use some bright red, and yellow, and white. Put them in first, in large patches down near the horizon. They are going to dilute as you paint in the night sky, so do not worry if there seems to be too much color. Paint around the reds and yellows with deep grey and a little blue. Now, paint right over the colors too, with the grey and blue mixed together in the brush. It is important to do the sky in one step, so that it all blends, and there are not any sharp edges left. The sky is soft. Think about that. Then, let it dry.

Now, turn the pane of glass over, set it on a counter top. Step back and view the masterpiece! I like it!

To see the 'Wolf at Sunset', and others of my silhouette paintings, please visit my website page http://www.reversepaintinglady.com/
There are also some more complete directions about reverse painting on glass, and other art forms to explore. As an alternative, you might just go to the galleries to explore some of the other reverse paintings on glass that I have done! Please, feel free. Of course there is no obligation. Continue creating!
http://reversepaintinglady.com/
sallywillson@yahoo.com
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