As I start to write this post I’m realizing that my Everyday Creative posts are starting to just be “Adam Painting Letters” posts. But, if I am writing about a creative vent (sometimes closer to an obsession), it might as well be something I am truly passionate about. It just so happens that I have found so much joy in the idea of painting letters, that I do it quite a lot. Which means lots of “Adam Painting Letters” posts!
After I had been practicing my single stroke lettering for a couple of months, I felt as though my skills had gotten to a point where I was happy with them. I wasn’t thinking “I’m perfect! I can stop practicing now!” but the muscles in my hands and arms have sort of figured out how to handle a paint brush. I knew if I was going to keep learning and progressing, then I needed to expand past painting individual letters on paper and move on to slightly more advanced methods. That’s when I remembered I had a few antique windows laying around in our basement.
So, the planning began! It started as a sketch, then that sketch was measured and laid out into a full-size, detailed drawing. Traditionally when painting on a window such as this (for a store front, office door…etc.), the sign would be painted on the backside (inside) of the window, in reverse, to protect the enamel paint from the elements (or a jokester with a razor blade). I wanted to follow these time-honored methods to get better acquainted with the process. So, since I would be painting the entire piece in reverse, on the backside of a clear glass window, I needed to mirror the drawing to use as a template. I then taped that template to the front side of the glass to guide me while painting the sign on the backside of the glass. Confused? I was too! The image above kind of explains how everything came together and does a much better job of visualizing the process.
Above you will see a photo of the finished product. This was actually my first attempt at painting on glass with 1Shot enamel paints, so it was all very new to me. But, at the end of the day, I learned a lot. I think I am more pleased with what I have taken away from this piece and what I have learned about the process than I am with the end product! For me, that’s the most important point, learning the process. Having a cool piece to hang on my living room wall is just a bonus.
