Above is my first layer of paint applied to the bowl. I’ve just indicated the basic shapes and colors with no real detail.
Above, I’ve filled in some details, painting the blue design on the right side, some highlights on the top rim, and some bright green at the top and in the reflection in the base.
Above, I glazed a dark green over most of the bowl because everything seen through the glass is modified by its green color. I added some highlights. You can also see that I softened the edges of the light spots on the back wall. I did this by scumbling some light paint over the edges.
I noticed that the top rim of the box seen through the bowl was placed too high. I lowered it. I corrected some shapes and colors near the rim. I did some work on the box top showing some green reflection cast onto it by the bowl.
The question that I am most often asked by people is how I paint glass. I know that it must seem confusing, but it’s just like painting anything else. I’m just painting the shapes that I see through the glass as well as the outline of the glass object itself. The shapes seen through the glass are modified by the shape of the glass object, so that they seem to curve around, following its shape. I suppose the trick is to look at the facts- the visual data- that you are seeing, not to think about the object as transparent. I use my eyes and not my brain, if you will. So, I would say to myself ‘there is a round shape there that is pale green, that touches a dark vertical piece,’ instead of wondering what every little shape actually is. It can be confusing at first to see all of the shapes, because things seem distorted when they are seen through glass, and there can be many reflections. The trick is to just put down what you can understand, and gradually, at each session, you’ll be able to see more.
Linda Mann Artist 