Pablo Picasso
I don't think I'm a awesome painter but then again I don't really want to be awesome at painting. I want to be great at expressing what it is I feel on any material I'm given.
When I started painting on bottled I simply thought "oh this bottle is good i'll paint on this!" It was a big let down. I didn't know so many things came into play when working on glass. The brushes, paint I used, even the bottle itself! Needless to say my first three projects were a disaster... I won't post them... save you from the nightmare.
I had to do some homework for this project and i'm usually free freestyle type of girl but not this time. going online for the scoop on how to paint a bottle was the most annoying process ever, because everyone has their way of doing it. most said you just need an certain type of paint the others were DIY videos of people showing you a step by step method. I myself like the videos...less stress on unlocking what they are talking about.
I watched the videos and followed the steps, some supplies had to be purchased of course and then I was off the my lab to paint lol! let me know what you think.
I also put some steps to follow if you want to give it a try.
Step one:Clean the surface of the wine or martini glass with rubbing alcohol and a paper towel. Remove any oil, dirt, or fingerprints that will mess up your paint work. Let the glass sit to dry for about 7-10 minutes after rubbing.
Step two:Sketch your design first on a piece of paper (not mandatory but recommended). If you draw the pattern on a piece of paper or tissue paper, this will allow you to insert it inside the glass, secure it, and use the pattern to transfer and paint over the design.Tissue paper lets you bend it more (so if you had to do a lot of work on the bottom or top it will let you!)
Step three:Sketch the design onto the glass. Use a fine point sharpie (or marker that will not wipe off) to sketch a design on the glass. If you don't like your sketch, you can use a q-tip or cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover to "erase" the marker or paint.
Step four:Fill in the colors. Start painting the colors in as you'd like them.
Step five:Dry. Allow the glass to dry overnight before proceeding to the next step of heat setting. Stand them upside down on a soft surface such as a folded tea towel to allow them to dry. Try to keep them away from the kitchen or bathrooms, where moisture could affect the drying.
Hints:
- Line a cookie sheet with foil.
- Turn oven to 350ºF/180ºC. There is no preheating required. The idea is to put the glass in a cold oven--this will gradually increase heat as opposed to placing the glassware in a hot oven, which might cause the glassware to break.
- Immediately put the glasses on the lined sheet and place in the oven.
- Set a timer for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat after 20 minutes, leave in for a further 10 minutes, and then remove the glasses after the 30 minutes. Or, do as as instructed by the manufacturer on the label of the paints you've used (this is done to make the item washable)
- Use enamels to paint the glass; other paint will chip off after you wash them. Also use the paintbrushes only for this purpose.
- Make sure your paint is not too old. If your paint is too old it will have little tiny hard paint lumps that will make your glass chunky and bumpy.
- You will probably have to do two or three coats to achieve full coverage so make sure to let it dry thoroughly before applying second and third coats. Paint-pens for glass are sold to make it easy to make wonderful looking glasses with less effort.
Always follow the paint manufacturer's directions when using the paints. Most paint bottles recommend leaving a 3/4 to 1-inch space between the paint and the rim of the glass.
Things you need:
- Wax paper to protect work area
- A wine or martini glass
- Rubbing alcohol
- Paper towels
- Q-tips
- Glass paint
- Glass paint thinner
- Sharpie fine points (your color choice)
- Paintbrushes for glass painting
- Oven
- Cookie sheet covered in foil, or a pan used specifically for this purpose so as not to contaminate food with toxic things or paint
WARNINGS:
- Follow the paint bottle directions. Most paint bottles will instruct the artist to allow a minimum space between the glass rim and the paint surface. This is a safety precaution which MUST be followed.
- Be careful - some glass paints have this warning on the back: "This product contains a chemical known to the state of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm". There are some glass paints that are considered "non-toxic" if this is of concern to you, so look for them instead.
