Cutting the highlights
Now let’s march forward into 2020 with the next episode in which you see the huge number of highlights which David cuts, and also glimpse some lovely cross-hatched highlights:
You can download the video here. Please leave questions below. And see you next Friday for episode 5 when, to make the piece look old, David wrecks his painting with a giant stippler.
Thank you, David & Stephen, very interesting to see the transformation with the highlights and looking forward to seeing you age and match it with the original.
I have soo enjoyed these tutorials - thank you so much for making them. I now have to be brave enough to try it! 😐😊
I understand what you say about being brave. Yet I also want to say, "You don't need to be brave". You only need to immerse and loose yourself in the full experience of those first and early steps, taking them completely for what they are, not comparing them with anything else.
Thank you, David and Stephen for this video! Happy New Year and all the best to both of you!
Similar to previous posters: Great video and looking forward to the next installment. Best wishes for 2020!
I am always excited to see an email from you.
Thank you for sharing your talent with us.
Such a pleasure to watch and listen as you create your art. Thanks again for the opportunity.
The Hound is really coming along. Bark Bark!
Happy New Year!
Fantastic video as usual: thank you.
One thing I discovered is that, if I do make a mistake at this stage, I can use my airbrush to feather in some value and start again. (Later I can soften highlights the same way.)
1: when airbrushing, it's important to shake rapidly the glass paint in a small bottle or jar, then quickly load your cup on the airbrush with an eye dropper and get working. This avoids the pigment settling to the bottom and stopping up your smooth flow.
2: also, before you start, shoot test sprays on a piece of glass of course to gauge the value desired.
Try it - you'll love it, but wear a mask!
All the best,
Steve
True artistry!! Thank you!
Thanks for the interesting and really nice video!
Is it possible to repair if you happens to do a obvious mistake with the highlight scratching?
Best regards
Peter
Repair: please see Steve Voita's comment above. I didn't know this before I heard it from him.
Always: as we say in the video, there's no rush, so practise on a test piece first. Then take your time. If you cut a highlight in the wrong place, again - take your time: what makes you the glass painter so absolutely convinced it is something that other people will see? Are you right in this conviction, or are you over-anxious? If the highlight continues to worry you, perhaps you can add some paint to the back of the glass. Or perhaps you can soften the highlight, so it becomes less obvious. Or perhaps you can do something to make it appear purposeful and correct. But always, there's no rush. David's policy is wise: when you realise you have indeed made a bad mistake, take it to heart, then use this mistake in such a way that, next time, you stop and pause before you "run out into the middle of the road".
Thanks! That sounds wise. I will put those smart advices in memory. Best regards!
Really enjoyable & informative videos guys. Thank you very much!!! Beautiful work as always! Wishing you both & your families a very good, healthy & successful 2020. x
Another great video. Thank you both. Knowing where to start the highlights and then when to stop has been a bit of a challenge for me, so the dialogue was really helpful. The option of sometimes having a cup of tea and 'a think' also seems good advice. Looking forward to the next installment. I am jumping the gun, but I assume one key factor in ageing the image is having enough gum Arabic in the paint to prevent too much of it being removed with the stippler. I guess I will find out next Friday!
Yes, plenty of gum - for sure. And you only prove this by (no surprises here): one or more test pieces, and sometimes also (as I know you know from the courses you’ve studied with us) what we call a companion piece (or a test patch: which is what David’s using here) to get you in the mood and give you assurance that all will be well when you do it for real.
Thank you Stephen-yes, really emphasizes why the test pieces are so important and should not be skipped. I really liked the way the hound's fur stood out once David had cut the highlights. It made such a difference to the image. Seems a shame to bash it about, but I understand why that is being done.
A number of years ago I was drawn to the lovely quality of fingernails when making highlights, the give and the slight squeekiness. Of course this is impractical as you need an implement of some sort for practical working..... Then I thought of the jar of porcupine quills that has always sat on my parents shelf (a momento found by them while my father whilst doing VSO, at the side of the road in Eritrea in the early 1970's). They were quite happy for me to use some for my glass painting. They are really Lovely, wonderful mark effect and resistence and the combined benefit that you have a blunt end and a very fine end. Whilst doing a master class with Conservator Jonathan Cooke he was rather taken by the idea and think he uses them now too. There is always a fight between my painting students for the use of them rather than the sharpened paint brushes and sticks.