There are many reasons you must always consider if your glass might benefit from an undercoat. Do you remember what these reasons are? And will it surprise you when I tell you how the undercoat also helps your viewers’ eyes. Therefore, unless you are painting only for yourself – which might sound luxurious, but actually a demanding client can improve your work no end – this is something you definitely must know.
The Undercoat – It’s Absolutely Fundamental
Most of the time it’s madness to trace or shade on bare glass.
Most of the time you’re far better off first laying down (what we call) an undercoat, blending it smooth, letting it dry. Then using this as the surface on which you trace and shade.
The undercoat gives you grip. It also gives your tracing lines more body. There are many other advantages too.
Read on …
Right! In his last post, Stephen challenged you to do it with one hand tied behind your back.
Undercoating, I mean.
And several people wrote how maybe they were heavy-handed, because no matter how they tried, their glass always spun away across the light-box.
So I reckon the best thing now is to show you what we mean.
Sounds good to you?
Great! So you know what to do now, don’t you – read on!
Here’s an important tip for when you paint an undercoat or “wash” or “matt” (or however you call it) …
It’s all about the undercoat and blending
We get to hear a lot of questions about how to shade and matt stained glass. Please keep them coming. Anyway, here’s one from our regular postbag …
