Painting with Light

The term ‘stained glass’ is often used to describe actual coloured glass as well as the craft of working with it.  For many centuries stained glass was predominantly associated with ecclesiastical art or architectural decoration, and it has only been the last few decades that have brought about a renaissance of this antiquated craft as a unique and expressive form of contemporary art.

Painting on glass is unique in the sense that it is one of the only artistic mediums that requires transmitted light to illuminate and reveal the artwork rather than reflected light.  Painting on glass doesn’t just involve painting a design or artwork onto the glass, it also involves the consideration of controlling and manipulating the transmitted light to create a desired visual effect.  This is often achieved through mutiple layers of paint being built up through seperate firings (approximately 550°C - 650°C), with the respective order of firing determined by the paint being used.  

Typically traditional artwork painted on stained glass is achieved through a combination of line work which is usually the initial painting of outlines or trace lines, followed by additional layers known as matting.  Matting is used to shade the artwork and define texture and create dimensional effects.  The matting component is like reverse painting, for once the matt or thin layer of paint is applied over the glass and allowed to dry. It is then intentionally removed using brushes and other implements to brush, scrape and scratch the dry paint from the glass to create visual effects. 

Here is an example of matting on a light box, whereby the exisiting linework is completely covered in a thin matt of paint which is carefully removed with brushes and scrubs. 

This is the finished matting (before firing) of a corner motif used in a feature panel.  This piece was fired twice. First the line work was fired so that when the second application of paint is applied as a matt, the underlying line work isn't disturbed when brushing highlights into the matt.  

This video footage shows a gothic style motif being stippled into a matt  ©

This footage shows a design being scraped into a matted piece of border glass.  After firing, a subsequent light matt was applied and a highlight created to give the piece depth and dimensionality. 

This is obviously an extremely simplified breakdown of traditional glass painting.  There are entire books dedicated to the subject.  And there are no rules artistically speaking when painting using kiln fired glass paints, but there are technical rules and methodical procedures which need to be followed for the paint to fire correctly and predictably.  There is huge scope for experimentation and creative innovation when is comes to original works, however authentic restoration of traditionally painted stained glass requires the knowledge, skills and sensibilities of the old master painters in order to closely match their existing work.

Types of Paint:

All paints used in stained glass work are vitreous and need to be fired in a kiln, to make them permanent.

There are two basic categories of vitreous paint used in traditional and contemporary stained glass painting. They are glass stainers’ and enamels.

Glass Stainers’ are the more traditional of the two.  Comprising of a limited colour palette of predominately earthy hues, they are used in both line work and matting to effectively control the intensity and behaviour of the transmitted light through the glass.  The versatility of Glass stainers’ is endless, being used to produce the most delicate designs and details right through to the boldest paint work.  They are also used to create dimensional effects through shading and textural effects. 

Glass stainers’ are made of powdered glass and oxides, making them chemical, scratch, fade and weather resistant if fired correctly.  It is the reason why painted work from stained glass windows in churches as old as 900 plus years still survive and haven’t deteriorated. 

The other type of paint used in stained glass are the enamels.  They come in a huge range of colours, and have their uses for adding colour to an artwork.  Enamels have their limitations however, possessing inferior adhesion to the glass surface in comparison to the glass stainers.  And although enamels do broaden the options for artists to add colour to a piece without adding lead lines, enamels will never truly emulate or replace the vibrancy and depth of colour achieved using actual coloured glass.

Silver Stain:

Silver stains is the other traditional method of adding colour to glass.  Used for centuries by stained glass artists, silver stain when fired on glass produces varying shades of yellow to amber hues.  Silver stain is unique to glass stainers’ and enamels due to the fact that it doesn’t merely bond to the surface of the glass, but chemically reacts with the glass during firing.  Silver stain is nitrated silver that has been infused with a ceramic compound which acts as the vehicle for painting.  It was a revolutionary discovery in early glass painting, as not only did it give artists vibrant yellow and shades of orange glass, but it was also used to produce colours whose chemistry had not yet been discovered.  So by silver staining blue glass, you end up with green glass (blue + yellow = green).


This painted example shows line work, matting and silver stain, all fired independantly over three seperate firings to achieve this effect.

This article is merely a brief summary on some aspects to this intriguing and challenging art form and craft.  Painting on luminous glass has a magical appeal to me with it's infinite possibilities for visual exploration and expression that painting in light can bring.  With a thousand years of pioneering and refinement behind us the future of glass painting is bright and beautiful.

David Engelking

References.

Elskus, Albinas – “The Art of Painting on Glass, techniques and designs for stained glass” – Scribners, 1980.