GLASS Project

The aim of this project is to study the properties of glass by firstly taking a traditional still-life set-up using glass objects and to draw and paint the glass which we did in class and can repeat at home between lessons. 


Secondly, we research and find a subject that contains one of the main properties of glass - REFLECTION. The aim is to look at reflections in large windows on buildings and examine the transformational qualities of glass, how it changes the colours, shapes, and lines of the reflected image into another worldly quality that is also very painterly and can be quite abstract. 


For your main painting subject go for a walk at different times of the day and take photos on your digital camera or phone camera as a first step. Then when you have your subject for the main painting try to understand it by: 


(1) drawing it using line (make a few thumbnails sketches - it will make a big difference to how you see it) and then 
(2) by painting it in colour pastels. 


TIPS:
Still-life: Don't look at the object for what it is e.g. a wine glass or a bottle, look at it as a collection of shapes and colours. To see it this way it helps to "ignore" the edge of the objects. Try to look through them to get the shapes and colours and distortions within the objects. This often means you are capturing what is behind the glass object as much as the object itself. This way when you have drawn all these shapes, the object itself appears as a consequence. This is especially true of clear glass. Coloured glass is more a mixture of shapes and clues on the surface and what you can see (and draw) through the glass. 
Reflections in windows: look at its surface, think of it as a flat image made up of shapes and colours only. If the window is made up of smaller windows look at each window separately as if you are looking at a giant jigsaw piece by piece. Try painting it in this way, piece by piece for a different approach.  


We will review our explorations together when we next meet in class which is THURSDAY 17 MAY (there is no class on 10 May).


Any questions send me an email to: bernardqu@hotmail.co.uk You can attach a photo of your painting at whatever stage it has reached when you hit a snag, if you wish. Look at the images below to see what attracts you about the way glass behaves in the light. To see examples of reflections on large windows on buildings simply do a Google search e.g. "sunset reflected in large windows" and when you get your results click the "images" tab (in the black bar just above your results lists) to get a large selection of photos.