Class Notes: Clear as Glass

 We spent several painting sessions in class last month looking at glass; one of my
favorite still life subjects. With these 2 little water glass demos,  I took a minimalist approach, with a focus on the distortion - behind the glass.
This is the route I encourage students to take:  say as little as possible in paint and allow the eye to fill in the blanks. More explanation can be beautiful - or just redundant.  Clarity is key when interpreting clear glass.
"Duh"- you say,
but beginners always try to describe too much "glass"- which, when you think about it - if it is clear, should hardly be seen at all.
I use hard highlights and hard accents (the darkest marks) to communicate the hardness of the glass.

The lower photo is a quick study in colored glass.
So, how do you make glass look clear and still show the color? Think CLARITY.
If the glass is clear/transparent or colored/transparent, you have to be able to see through it.
Well, I got a little carried away with this colored glass - probably a result of too much time, alas.

Class Notes: Painting Glass

The fall color is gone and morning temps hover around 12 degrees. It is time for the painting class to move into the studio and I have had requests for some specific instruction on painting glass and metal.
These 3 little studies focus on clear glass and my approach is very unfussy.
I rely on context to explain the situation so I can get away with saying as little as possible in paint and allow the eye to fill in the blanks.
Clarity is also key when interpreting clear glass. Beginners fall into the trap of trying to describe too much "glass"- which, when you think about it - if it is clear, should hardly be seen at all.
Finally, strong hard highlights and hard accents (the darkest marks) communicate the hardness of the glass.

Class Notes on Painting Glass

We just have 2 more class sessions in our study of glass. This is a pretty terse 16"x12" and I am painting on my favorite ground - a scraped down canvas; the remains of maybe 10 scraped off paintings. It is the only way to give the canvas that wonderful crapped out look; almost a shame to cover it up.
Our little green apple makes an appearance but only as a subordinate; having an item BEHIND the glass object helps show clarity, especially if the background is ambiguous.
Though it has nothing to do with glass, I would note the brushes inside of the mug. It seems obvious that they would have to rest on the rim and as well, go to the bottom; sometimes this is lost on the beginner (or some of us who can't make our brushes straight). Any straight item, be it a brush, pencil, stick, flower stem cannot stand on its own but must rest on the rim and (allowing for a bit of glass distortion) must also follow a straight path all the way to the bottom of the container. So check that angle in the drawing before heading to paint.

Class Notes, Stems in the Glass

This week's take on the 'glass' subject included some flowers and water. Liquid or an object inside the glass gives you new ways to communicate clarity and play up distortions. The water line gives another excuse for a highlight; this might even be too much water line. Note that most of the edges of the vase are indicated by value changes rather than any line or even a highlight.

Class Notes: Clearly Glass

For next few weeks in class we will be taking time to focus on glass. First, clear glass, that being the simplest. I love to paint glass and take a less-is-more approach that allows the eye of the viewer to fill in the blanks. The clear bottle at the top is only visible because of its highlights and that's the key to clear glass - it has to be clear. Shading on the inside, darker or lighter, makes the glass look dirty or even take on the appearance of something that is ceramic. Add a strong highlight and it will look shiney but it won't be clear glass. The painting below deals with colored glass; more about that later.