That’s it, thanks!

Stephen Marcus Byrne - glass painter, designer, writer

Thanks for joining

That’s all done now.

Below, you’ll find the video I promised you.

There’ll soon be a quick welcome message in your inbox.

I’ll make sure you also get a PDF with a link to the video and the notes you see below – that way you can always watch it again whenever you want to.

Thanks for joining.

Stephen Byrne

The Tycoon’s Square

This is a short film about the painting techniques we often use with stained-glass restoration – i.e. making as close a copy of an ancient, broken (or missing) piece as we possibly can.

The film is 20-minutes long. No commentary: the point is for you to see what you would see if you were by my light-box in our studio, watching me paint glass. I’d be focussing on my work, not talking. So this is true-to-life.

But I have added a few notes below the film. (I’ve also included them in the PDF you’ll get.)

Here’s the film:

If you want to download the film, go here.

If you want to download the notes, they’re here, and also in the email I will send you.

Preparation : here I take a quick tracing of the broken glass I want to copy. Nothing exact or overly-careful about this: the original doesn’t need it.

Undercoat : 01:00 : the undercoat is the ground on which I paint. It primes the surface of my glass, preparing it so it will receive your tracing lines far better than I were painting on bare glass. (Of course, I sometimes do trace on bare glass. It all depends.) The undercoat also allows me to highlight (step 3) before I fire. You’ll see the glass I use is uneven: it is hand-made, and thicker at one end, and so it rocks a little when I use my blender.

Tracing : 02:00 : this is the longest section of the film. Here, I do my tracing in one go. This is different from other times when, with the design beneath the glass, I copy-trace the main lines, and then I set the design on one side where I can see it, and go over my lines a second time and strengthen them. But here, as I say: just all in one go. I’ve taken special care to make sure you don’t just see me tracing but also see me load my brush and keep my paint in good shape: really important. The result: my paint flows slowly and just where I want it to – I’m in complete control. Also notice how I mostly trace with the tip of my brush.

The Highlights : 10:00 : This is a piece of restoration – I must copy the smashed original. That’s why, to do my highlights, I just use my hands, because it seems to me that’s how the original was done: no highlights with a pointed stick, just with my hands. The technique: I gently rub. Now the paint must have quite a lot of gum Arabic in it (or it would come off too easily), which is another reason why, when I trace, my paint flows beautifully: the gum Arabic actually holds the line together. I love highlighting, when the light suddenly breaks through … Also, because I’m using hand-made glass with texture / bubbles in it, the effect is stunning.

Texture On The Back : 12:40 : So now I clean the back of the glass – I really should have done this before I started – and I lay down a wash of paint (another undercoat) at the same time, and blend it. When the paint is absolutely dry, I load a soft-haired toothbrush with paint, and spray paint on. When the spots are dry, I rub them gently with my finger: this lifts off part of the undercoat, and leaves some of the spots: a delicate effect which helps my glass look older.

First Firing : 14:40 : This is a “paint” firing: about 660 Celsius (1220 Fahrenheit).

Silver Stain : 14:50 : Oil, yes oil, not water. Various oils in fact. Sandalwood Amyris and Lavender – I describe the whole process in a separate e-book and also in our film, The Heraldic Arms of Hampton Hall. Oil is far more economical than water: it dries out really slowly than water, and so you loose less. You can also apply it exactly where you want it: no tidying up or waste or mess. Just you see how much control I have with oil. It’s amazing, truly wonderful. And the colour is gorgeous. (You always have to test it though.)

Second Firing : 20:10 : This is a “stain” firing. The exact schedule depends on many things, but especially on the particular glass you’re using. (That’s why I say you always always have to test it.) The top temperature is normally around 560 Celcius (1040 Fahrenheit). After firing, you clean off the dried residue. And, if your tests were reliable, you now reveal a gorgeous golden piece of painted glass.

Thanks for reading and watching: enjoy the blog and newsletters!

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194 thoughts on “That’s it, thanks!

  1. Greetings from South Africa, I have been doing stained glass for more than 20 years and have only been doing kiln-work for the past 4 years. I have had to teach myself and made a lot of mistakes but I am hooked.

    I can’t wait to start reading your book – thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.

    Looking forward to a lot of painting, fusing and slumping!
    Tessa

    • Hi Tessa,

      Thanks for writing. I’m glad to meet you too! And there are so many useful articles, tips and videos on this site to guide you at your own pace. Keep in touch and ask questions when you have them.

      Best,
      Stephen

  2. I have always wanted to know how this is done and hopefully in the future try it for myself. I can’t wait to read you material. Thank you for sharing this information with us.

    Germaine (New Jersey, US)

    • Hello Germaine,

      Our pleasure – it’s actually very nice to be able to talk about ideas and techniques, rather than just having them going around in one’s head (or studio) the whole time. But little that we do is the only way to do things. So enjoy whatever takes your interest – and develop it in your own way.

      Best,
      Stephen

  3. Hello Stephen,

    Thank you for creating such a wonderful forum for glass lovers to absorb all of your wonderful knowledge and share our aspirations with you.

    I’m stained glass artists, who started glass painting a couple of years ago and have not kept it up since. Thank you for inspiring me to get back on track.

    I can’t wait to receive my first newsletter and start browsing through the information on this site.

    Best regards,

    Yvette

    • Hello Yvette,

      Yes: now and then, just browse the site … see what comes up and takes your interest. The thing is always to build up knowledge and experience over time, testing it and adapting it as you go along. Since you already do stained glass, you’ll soon get ideas about how you want to take things.

      Best,
      Stephen

  4. Hi,

    I bought a book on THE ART OF PAINTING ON GLASS. by Albinas Elskus. This is supposed to be the bible of glass painting, but I found it rather confusing. Perhaps it’s me, but the book didn’t seem to follow a logical course, and left too many questions unanswered.

    Hopefully with the help of your web site all will become clear.

    Regards,
    Andre

    • Hello Andre,

      Thanks for your comment. No one book or film or whatever can solve everything. What we can do is share what we know, and also discuss things with you. And the fact we can discuss things (like we’re doing now) means we can build our own narrative order – whether this will be logical or not, I don’t know. But it will be specific.

      Best,
      Stephen

    • j’ai lu le mail oui le livre c’est une chose mais la peinture sur verre c’est quelque chose grace à stephen j’ai pris bonne note et maintenant çà va mieux quel dommage il est trop loin de nous

    • I’m glad. Just browse and take in the things which interest you, then try them out and make whatever changes you need to make the techniques your own.

      Best,
      Stephen

  5. Hello Stephen,

    I am quite happy to discover your site! I had long and unsuccessfully tried to find information about kiln glass painting. Unfortunately, here in Russia, professionals do not like to share their secrets. (If you have not finished high school of art)   Can not wait for my first letter. Thank you for this opportunity!

    • That’s our pleasure, Anna. And one thing I’ve found is that it’s much harder than I originally thought to explain things clearly. So what sometimes appears like a “reluctance to share” is often a shyness which comes from an inability to teach. Just today I was writing to someone in the USA who is having a few problems when he works with oil. And I realized there were about 10 things I needed to explain in order to solve those problems. This is difficult! – Even for me … Yet I myself can paint with oil very well. So experience has suggested to me that many glass painters are less secretive than I once thought; it’s just that they paint glass beautifully but don’t know how to teach.

      I’m very glad you found us. We’re here to work with you over the months and years ahead.

      Best,
      Stephen

  6. Hi Stephen; I haven’t done any painting yet, but I want you to know that I enjoy your videos and written material very much, they are crystal clear and well communicated. I have confidence I will be able to learn what I need to learn to become a good glass painter, thanks to your generosity and hard work. Your instructions are thorough and you obviously care about passing your knowledge to others. Kathy

    • Hi Kathy – yes, David and I do care about passing on the things we know. But it’s also great to meet people. It’s amazing the things we can do now which, just 10 years ago, would have been unthinkable. Have fun! Best – Stephen

  7. My wife, Sharon has been a stained glass artist for 30 years and paints on glass. She does however use multiple firings in her kiln for her desired effects using layers of glass frit. I find it interesting that you have a method using only one firng, that’s special!
    Regards

  8. I am a commercial artist working now with slumped/kiln formed float glass on a commercial basis using up to a 3.6 X 2.7m kiln to get 3D effects.
    The problem was getting more colour into my murals and artwork.

    I am doing the trial and error method of learning, but this is slow.

    Any help would be appreciated.

    Best,
    Michael

    • Michael,

      We ourselves mainly work with (pre-)coloured glass which we then embellish with lines and shadows with dark paint whose function is to modify or block the transmitted light. So that’s one special area of skill we have which this website shares with you.

      We also know a huge amount about silver stain: this is a way of adding a transparent yellow colour to your glass, so clear glass turns yellow, blue glass turns green, red glass turns orange etc. Once again, this is something you can learn about here.

      Lastly there are enamels. These are transparent or opaque. There are a huge variety of colours. But we don’t use them much because they serve our style.

      All the best,
      Stephen

  9. I congratulate you for your wonderful site. I’m from Brazil, and I apologize beforehand if I’m not clear enough. The Glass Painting Techniques has been a great help since I am new to the art of glass painting despite working with stained glass for over ten years.

    I bought my first kiln and now I’m afraid to do my first firing. I tried to find a guide on this site with schedules in order to do this safely, but I could not find it. I would buy it if it exists. What should I do?

    Thank you. I hope to hear from you soon.

    Celina Camargo

    • Hello Celina,

      I am glad you like the site and find it useful. I am very pleased you want to learn more: that is wonderful – absolutely wonderful. You are exactly the person we want to work with: you already have many skills, and you want to learn more.

      You ask about firing. Every kiln is different. And you must also sometimes adjust the schedule because of the techniques you use. Here are the typical schedules we use in our kilns. If you start with these schedules, and fire some test pieces, then see the results and also keep notes about your results, then you will soon become very skilful and quick in knowing how to use your kiln.

      So here are our typical firing schedules.

      All the best, and keep in touch!
      Stephen

  10. The $10.00 I spent this week on your Part 1 book have save me time and lots of money, the best part regarding mixing of colour into a lump and thinning as needed, in my case for brushing and airbrushing the glass. It works a treat.

    This week I’m colouring a 1200 X 600mm slumped glass water bird window panel and have found the colour is not building up in the textures as it did before.

    Thanks for the tips!
    Michael

    • Hello Michael,

      I am thrilled for you and your work. I am so glad you have found answers to difficulties you had before. Better work, fewer frustrations, a continuing sense of achievement – that’s what it’s all about. Good for you!

      Best,
      Stephen

  11. I have just discovered your site yesterday and I am so glad! Thank you for giving us your knowledge and your enthusiasm.

    I have been learning stained glass for 2 years now. I am just getting to the painting part and here you are, lucky me!

    Thanks for sharing.

    Best,
    Christine

  12. I’m so happy to have found you. I have been doing stained glass for 25 years, more recently started doing restorations.

    I am a newbie at painting on glass and using the kiln.

    In saying this I am a both-feet in personality type, then figure it out as I go along! Not always the wise choice, but I have always been that way, so you have to work with what you were God given.

    Looking soooo forward to your information.

    Willing to put in the hard work!!!

    Cheers from Canada,
    Jody

  13. Hola Stephen,

    Soy nuevo alumno. No hablo ingles y me cuesta mucho la traduccion, sin embargo tengo el entusiasmo para continuar.

    Saludos y hasta la proxima!
    Eliseo

    • In general, you wouldn’t trim a brush for painting. This is because brush-making is a skilled and painstaking job. Therefore, for painting, you’d search around until you found the kind of brush which gave you the results you wanted. (Of course, you could always learn to make your own. But that’s not the question here.)

      But often when a brush has done good service and now got tired and worn, you can commandeer it for other purposes such as highlighting.

      Here it all depends on the shape you want. Myself, I’ve taken a scalpel to old tracing brushes and cut them down extremely short. For scrubs, it is usual to trim them a little, then singe them with flame, then stub them repeatedly until the burnt ends have been removed.

      That’s as specific as it’s possible to be. Anything goes, to get you the results you want.

  14. Hello Stephen, I’m in Fort Collins, Colorado USA. I no absolutely nothing about stained glass construction. I am a visual artist working in oil paint. A studio-mate of mine does stained glass, and we are teaming up to produce stained glass with a wildlife theme (elk, pheasant, etc). My job is to paint the faces, so I’m trying to learn all I can. I’ve ordered your eBook, and plan to use your oil technique as my “bible”. I’ll keep you posted on my progress, and sure I will have questions along the way. Thanks for your wonderful instruction materials!

    • Hi Karen,

      Thanks for your message. I’ve just replied and sent the links. Questions? Yes, of course: work hard (as I know you will), and we’ll be here for you. And that’s great you signed up to get the newsletter, because you’ll also get a whole lot of exclusive useful tips and videos.

      All the best,
      Stephen

  15. Sirs: i would like to know whether you’ve got any tutorial DVDs about how to paint a stained glass face.

    • Right now (April 2013), when you buy our e-book – “Glass Painting Techniques & Secrets from an English Stained Glass Studio” – you’ll also get a link to 90 minutes of online video demonstration where you’ll see one particular method of how to paint a stained glass face.

  16. Hello there!

    Looking forward to learning about this subject and your site is a good place to start.

    Much thanks

    Juliet

  17. Bonjour Stéphane,

    Pouvez vous me dire combien coute le livre en euros sur vos procédés sur la peiture du début à la fin. Je ne parle pas l’anglais donc message en francais merci!

    Alain

    • Bonjour Alain,

      Le livre/téléchargement coute environs €26.50 (TVA @ 19.6% y compris) mais il faut s’en rendre compte qu’il n’y a pas de traduction française. Pour l’instant je vous conseille de bien étudier les articles gratuits que vous trouverez partout sur notre site du web, parce que comme ça vous en saurez les mots qu’ils vous faudront.

      Bien sur je serai très content quand vous achèterez le livre. Mais notre premier but est toujours que vous étendiez vos compétences, et pour cela il faut que l’on se comprenne bien.

      Stephen

  18. Thank you for your continued help through your web site. I may have made a mistake and registered again with the last email. I am sorry: I know that even though you strive to keep up with your clients’ work, you take the time to help other struggling artists in their quest to paint on glass as you masters do.

    I have several of your videos and the downloads you offer. They have been very helpful. I already paint with acrylics and oils on canvases. But when I took on the task of paining on glass, I felt as though I was a surgeon on my first operation – not with a scalpel, mind you, but with a chain-saw …

    I am not proud but the first ever commission that involved painting on glass was a trail by error. This was before I found Williams & Byrne on the web http://www.brooksbevelededges.com close ups on contacts. I have lots of glass I’ve thrown away out of the kiln. When I follow your instructions and get somethig close to your works I will post them!

  19. Thank you for the help with how to clean my badger brush. The last lot of paint I used took a lot of cleaning I think I might have put too much gum Arabic in the mixture.

  20. I have been totally fascinated by stained glass and to find out that you can paint on it just makes me more intrigued.

    Pat at biznartz

  21. Hi Stephen,

    Googling images of glass painting, happily stumbled on your site. Am relatively new to all this but did a stained glass evening class at the Crawford Art College in Cork last year.

    Having spent the Autumn working on a stained glass church panel, I thought I’d try something else in the New Year. And that turned out to be glass painting. My Dad used to do fretwork so I am very drawn to silhouettes, and I passed a very enjoyable few months experimenting with drawing black on glass. As my drawing skills are limited I tend to favour coating the glass and using a toothpick to etch a relief before firing. It was an enjoyable break from the day job.

    I look forward to downloading your e-book and working my way through your site’s resources.

    Best wishes,

    Dan Fitzgibbon
    Cappawhite, Co. Tipperary Ireland

    • Hi Dan,

      We’re here to work with you in the long term, so take things in your own time and adapt ideas and techniques to your own ends: we’ll be here when you have questions.

      Best,
      Stephen

  22. Stephen,

    Eu é que agradeço imensamente pela ajuda e carinho que você tem por todos nós.

    Quando e onde você irá dar o próximo curso?

    Abraços com carinho,
    Celina Camargo

  23. Where do you suggest is the best and lowest priced places to purchase glass pieces of all sizes for making my paintings?

  24. Stephen,

    If you don’t mind me asking, if this is free, what do you get out of this? I am 60 years old and am very interested in learning a very old and exciting craft. My father learned to paint before he died with kidney failure and it is something I have always wanted, but never had time, to learn. Would you recommend the book STAINED GLASS PAINTING: BASIC TECHNIQUES OF THE CRAFT by Anita Isenberg, Richard Millard? I have done very little painting on glass so, I am very green when it comes to paints, brushes, and materials needed. I would like to get to the point where I can paint on glass and construct a window for my church. This is my ultimate goal. Please, help me reach it.

    David

    • David,

      We get various things. Sometimes people ask good questions, which improves our own work. Sometimes people buy our e-book or online films, which finances this website. Sometimes people travel to us to study (this year we’ve had visitors from Australia, Germany, Poland and Canada; next week someone is coming from South Africa). Sometimes we make good friends, whose victories and tragedies affect us deeply. Sometimes people ‘stay with’ the site and emails for many years: their patience, honesty, hard work, stubbornness and single-minded determination to give this ancient craft its due usually get them their due reward, and that is also ours.

      You ask me if I recommend a particular book. Really I say: read everything, test everything, spare no expense, waste no time but also don’t cut down on time when time is needed.

      As for helping you: you will do it yourself. You’re like a traveller: if you get lost, I can sometimes indicate the right direction. But you will do all the walking. It’s your energy. Your ambition. Your dissatisfaction with mediocrity. Your refusal to deceive others and also your refusal to seduce yourself with easy victories.

      Stephen

  25. Stephen, So I have been successful at signing up for your newsletter, thanks to you. Next question: will I get a password so that I can watch the lion videos? I checked the emails I have received so far, and I don’t see that password…

  26. What a wonderful site! I am currently doing stained glass restoration work and wish to branch out into glass painting.

    I am completely enthralled with all you’ve written. Your work is gorgeous. Thank you for posting so much useful information. I look forward to several more hours of perusing your site.

    Best regards,
    Deborah

  27. I am very excited to read your book. I have been fusing glass for about a year now, and I am in the process of building a lightbox. I cannot wait to try your techniques. I live in a small town of 2 thousand people and one signal light, and I crave information on painting glass. I know I will have lots of fun. There is so much to learn. I did stained glass about 25 years ago but nothing in the last 15 years and I cannot believe where the glass industry has gone to. I have been to the glass and bead expo in Las Vegas the last two years and I cannot believe how talented and creative people are! There is so much growth I need to do. Thanks. Again. Martha K.

    • Hey Martha! I’m so glad you’re working with us here. As you’ll see, we regularly send new tips and techniques. And, when you’ve questions, just send me a message. Have fun and enjoy the journey. Best – Stephen

  28. I so look foward to becoming apart of your community and getting to the next level in painting.

    I was born in Ireland so maybe we might be able to come out in a year or so. How much does it cost for a few days of class per person? My wife would be with me.

    Thank you for your talents and blessings.
    Roger Hogan

  29. Hello Stephen,
    Just to say thank you for your wonderful website with its generous content and your stunning creativity and skills just shining out.
    Its inspirational.
    Best wishes
    David

  30. Thank you for creating such a wonderful forum. Thank you that you want to share your knowledge. I have a glass door. I wanted to do them myself in stained glass. I do not want to paint furnace stained glass. I tried oil paints – they came out awful, so I scraped it all off. I bought dry pigments, but I do not know how they are blended to get the effect like yours. Thanks.

  31. Thanks for the inspiration! I just watched your clip about painting with oil and wondered if this technique works for vertical easel painting or does the oil run off?

    • It works! But the glass painter must be gentle: applying oil (or glycol) weakens the potency of the gum Arabic in the unfired water-based glass paint underneath. Also of course (which lies behind your question) the glass painter should not generally apply so much oil (or glycol) that there is this risk of running. (The water-based undercoat should absorb it the oil-based matt.)

      So it’s a bit tricky working from an easel at this point. But we’ve certainly done it: Part 2 of our guide (Glass Painting Techniques & Secrets from an English Stained Glass Studio) comes with a set of videos about the painting of a face. And, towards the end, all the pieces (not just the face) are assembled on an easel, and the last adjustments made.

      Normally, though, we wouldn’t do this. Maybe this will surprise you. In which case, I’m glad, because then the information is more likely to be useful! Normally, we might have things on an easel for the various stages of water-based glass painting. Then very often we’d take things off the easel, and adjust them individually on the light-box. And as soon as we’ve finished each piece, in the kiln it goes. So no collective assessment at that point. That’s just the practical reality of how we mostly work with oil / glycol.

      This is rather a lot of detail for a page where we say “Hi!” to people who’ve just signed up. But you asked a good and detailed question. So naturally I will reply in kind.

  32. I don’t have a website, currently, but you can see my work on my Facebook page. I started the Architectural Glass Artisans and conceived the company in 2010 with my best friend, an interior designer. I am a fine artist and have been a glass artist for 20 years. We’ve been weathering a rather nasty financial storm here in the states for several years and I was a single mother when I started the A.G.A. In my professional and personal opinion, the English are THE opinion leaders when it comes to Architectural Glass of the leaded and stained glass varieties. Early in my professional glass career, I had the privilege of visiting the stained glass museum at Ely Cathedral. I also have family spread around England and absolutely delight in your uses and preservation of architectural glass. I recently partnered with a company who’d basically lost much of its residential custom glass artisans (all but one, actually) and I’m about to embark on being a pioneer in their company. I intend to restore many of their resources, including a resource for painting and firing glass, personally. I’m also working on a project (long term goal) with the purpose of preserving many of the industrial arts that are suffering in this digital age and passing them on to the next generation. I intend using my children as guinea pigs, so we’re likely to become your biggest fans in the deep south! Thank you for sharing what you do!

    Amanda Skinner

  33. I have been doing art glass for the past 32 years now. I have been glass painting ( staining) for 11 years.
    I have primarily been restoring religious art glass for the last decade. (Catholic).
    This month has been my first try at silver staining and holy cow! Mixing with water just didn’t work at all, so I researched your site and got your instructions. Mixing with lavender oil was the best! All I use is Reusche products. The question I have is, can I use walnut oil to make lump stain? Sandalwood is not available here in full strength. All that’s available is in 14% mixed with other petroleum distillates.

  34. I’ve been working with a variety of glass for 25 years. Did some painting earlier– looking forward to studying the material & expanding the horizons. Diana

  35. Greetings from Belgium Poperinge Flanders Fields ,sorry I’ve never learn Englisch its just tv
    englisch,my question is for the silver Stain.Is it painting on the front of on the back of the glass?Thanks you for sharing this wonderfull world of glasspainting
    Best regards
    Bertin

    • Hello and greetings! Silver stain – usually, the back of the glass. The reason? Silver stain reacts only with bare glass, and usually there is paint on the front of the glass, so the front is not bare, so the silver stain will not work.