July Musings; a Neuron Window Painting? Why not!
It’s a beautiful morning in July, I have dropped the kiddies off at school and walked into the high street to drink coffee, work on this months blog and enjoy a little bit of quiet before the chaos of the summer hols! Everyone is very much ready for a long break and although I have lots of work to finish for Art:Surrey in October I can’t wait to have my three monkeys home, for life to slow down a bit and to enjoy not having school runs, homework……and all the things to do that comes with school!
Life continues to be a balance and lots of fun, with so much going on behind the scenes. The main focus recently has been painting the window at the Chicken and Frog Bookshop in Brentwood for The Neuron Series. Marielle Bayliss, the author, made contact with Natasha the owner of the bookshop a few months ago and we popped in a date for a workshop and the window painting. I have never done anything like this before and to be honest I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. So, I did what most people do and asked good ol’ Google!
I read blogs and newsletters, watched you tube videos and found the information I needed – phew! Children’s book illustrator and author Ruby Wright, was so helpful in her newsletter ‘Painting Bookshop Windows’. She offered so much advice and there were lots of photos of her beautiful window paintings. I would definitely recommend a read if you are planning on painting any windows whether it’s for fun or not! It’s also worth researching window paintings to get ideas and inspiration and I found illustrator and author Jane Porter’s window designs were so much fun and deliciously colourful! Actually, even if you are not planning a window painting, check them out!
After doing my research, and finding out the size of the windows, my first job was to plan the design and composition in my sketchbook. Once I had a good idea of where I was going with it, I sketched out the templates that I would be taping to the outside of the windows. I used my own bi-folds as I was doing this to get a sense of how the images would work together. Don’t forget, it needs to be in reverse if you are painting on the inside of a window for it to be seen on the outside; this includes any lettering!
Once I was happy with the templates I went over the designs with a thick marker. The next part was to have a go at painting a window and I would really recommend you did this. I used acrylic paint as its relatively cheap, washes off easily and has a good depth of colour when applied to the windows. You can use posca pens but they are super pricey especially when painting a large area!
The neurons and my design generally is flat blocks of colour and it is very difficult to achieve a smooth coverage using a paintbrush, so I played around with applying the paint with sponges. It worked brilliantly! There was a bit of texture, no streaking and once the paint layer was dry it could be layered to create a bolder block of colour if that was wanted. On the flip side it would be very difficulty to add lettering so I cut out templates which I could then stick to the inside window (backwards!), sponge over, remove once dry and paint. Once I had found the direction I wanted to head in I just needed to pack, making sure I had everything I needed, and to get on and do it!
It took me two hours to get to the Chicken and Frog Bookshop so I wanted to make sure I was able to complete the windows in a day; it was my first painting and three big windows so I needed to be ‘on it’! The bookshop itself is a hub of the community; it has such a great book selection with a neurodiversity room and a separate room for classes. Natasha, the owner, is so passionate about the importance of reading and understanding neurodiversity it was inspiring. The Neuron Series fitted in so well there and it was a pinch me moment seeing them all on the shelves.
The day itself was a lot of fun, I worked hard and completed the windows, and felt pretty proud of them. Natasha was super happy which meant so much. I left feeling like I had worked hard and it had thankfully been a success; this was largely down to the planning before hand. So, here are my tips for painting windows:
1) Communication – talk to the person you are painting the windows for; What are they hoping for? How big are the windows? Is there enough space for you to squeeze around and work without needing to be a contortionist?
2) Research – artists are generally happy to share their experiences whether it’s their successes or the things they have learnt through mistakes and trial and error. Read blogs and newsletters, watch you tube videos and find out the techniques that will work for you, your style and the effect that you want to achieve.
3) Plan, Plan, Plan – develop the composition, draw out the templates and play around until you are happy with the composition of your design. I stuck my templates onto my bi-fold doors which were a similar size to the windows so I could see what it would look like as a whole.
4) Practice – you need to play around with the materials you have chosen so you feel confident when you paint on the windows. This way you not only have a little experience painting on glass but also have time to tweak and problem solve. You do not want to be doing this on the day!
5) Pack – Make sure you have everything you need especially if you are having to travel a considerable distance. It is better to leave with extra paint etc, or things you didn’t use than get there and find you forgot something. You do not need this panic.
6) Bring water – depending on the weather, it can get hot behind those windows, so stay hydrated.
7) Take photos – make sure you or the venue takes progress and process photos. Yes these are great for social media to show case and promote what you can do, but its also a great way to remember what you did and look back and review for future window paintings.
8) Finally enjoy!
I hope you enjoyed this months blog and its helped any future window painters. I know I learnt a lot and already have squirrelled away ‘things to improve and try’ next time! If you have any tips, please share!