Comments on: Painting on Glass Vs. Painting on Paper

By: Stephen Byrne

Stephen Byrne — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:11:15 +0000

Hello John,

That’s wonderful your stained glass portraits turned out so well. And the connection you make with charcoal drawing is exact: charcoal drawing is so much closer to stained glass painting than is water-colour painting, for example.

All the best,
Stephen

By: John

John — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:28:37 +0000

This describes exactly what has been churning around my head as I paint. I have recently completed a large window with two portraits in it. I painted the entire window with what I consider ‘limited’ eyesight. My artwork tends to, now, take on a more impressionistic feel. I am literally painting what I see and I find that it resembles my charcoal work from years past. It’s as if my distorted vision allows my to see how light will envelope the window and space prior to installation. I am happy to say that those portraits turned out nicely and the congregation fell in love with the window right away. Thanks for all your support and advice along the way!

John ~ Old Sun Stained Glass Studio

By: Michael Watts

Michael Watts — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 23:49:00 +0000

What a great perspective twist. As a lover of all things dark, I can pull up to this much more readily than the idea of painting with light. I will ponder this during my next painted commission.

Thanks, guys!

By: Stephen Byrne

Stephen Byrne — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:50:44 +0000

Glass painters as aspiring worthy shapers of the formless is a wonderful notion: thanks for your comment, Terry.

All the best,
Stephen

By: Terry

Terry — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 03:57:35 +0000

Gentlemen!

As always, your tongue-in-cheek banter is a delight and source of mirth in what is an often solitary pursuit.

Your apt description has me envisioning us all as unseen beings, dutifully shaping a formless darkness about the brazenly uninhibited light, quietly leading it to its best presentation – guiding it to subtlety or boldness, whichever is its intended task.

Peter Gibson (of York Minister fame) once told me that glass painters are “geniuses”. I am still a bit uncomfortable with the weighty connotations of that title, but at times we do seem graced with results that certainly verge on it.

Let us all aspire to be worthy shapers of the formless!

All the best,
Terry

By: David Williams

David Williams — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 23:29:24 +0000

Douglas,
The thing we find is that we’re meeting the right people – the people like you who reflect on things.

It’s so interesting to us that we meet such reflective people who are engaged in this light-transmitting craft.

All the best,
David

By: Painting with Light? – No, Painting with Darkness!

Painting with Light? – No, Painting with Darkness! — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 22:27:13 +0000

[...] on from David’s provocative tip about painting with darkness, I’m going to make my own contribution with some clips I filmed while he was painting St. [...]

By: Douglas Cartwright

Douglas Cartwright — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 11:23:57 +0000

How did you guys manage to appear in my world just at the right time? I mean, I presume Williams & Byrne had been putting things on the web prior to my becoming aware of their existence, but it continues to stun me the way that the world places just the right ideas in my head at just the time that I need to be thinking about them. Thank you, David and Stephen – “painting with darkness” is a beautiful way of imagining it. They say that Rembrandt did everything that could be done with darkness. But I think there’s a few things yet to discover.

By: Stephen Byrne

Stephen Byrne — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 09:24:42 +0000

Hello Cyrus and Jaishree,

Yes, indeed! And I’ve just added a new video right here which shows exactly what you say! I just want you to know that we are here to work with all the comments and ideas that you and others kindly make.

All the best,
Stephen

By: Cyrus and Jaishree

Cyrus and Jaishree — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 06:17:06 +0000

Yes, you do paint with darkness but then you break through that darkness and see light.

Jaishree