Before Painting Glass

Washing windows is just part of the job and one of the features of your excellent service!

Become an expert in no time with these helpful window washing tips. It's a great business sense to leave sparkling, clear glass behind before and after you have decorated!

Window Washing ~ Lessons From A Transparent Technician

Transparent Technician: 
the person who cleans glass window panes using a squeegee. Operates at ground level or hangs off of high rise buildings using a mobile scaffold and safety lines. (Window Washer)


Before you apply any paint or sketch to your window panes you have to make sure the surface is clean so the paint will stick. Grease, dirt, and  debris will cause issues with peeling and cracking paint. It may not happen right away, but it will in a few days. Do the job right the first time!

This is easier to see than explain. The methods for cleaning a window quickly is an art in itself.
Done incorrectly you can make a bigger mess than the one you had when you started. The fanning action of the squeegee is what you need to learn. This is a quick lesson in cleaning the paint off. You will need to know this if you decide you are a window painter! Watch the clean up carefully!

Excerpt From The Essential Window Painting Guide 

The Secret Formula to Clean Windows? 

Make sure your panes are clean before you start.
The secret to really good, clean windows is Dawn Soap! Use 2-3 drops in the water bucket. Practice with a squeegee and you can whip through the window cleaning quickly.
Make a good impression on the business you are decorating and clean the frames while you are at it. This helps when you dribble a little paint while you work. The surface is already clean and probably a little damp so spills are easy to remove.

Clean Window Kit Tools and Supplies

Having the right supplies ready for clean-up before and after is a great time saver. Plus!! Business owners LOVE it when you leave art and not a mess!

Here is a handy list of window washing tools and supplies:

1. 3 gallon Plastic Bucket with a handle
2. Squeegee - You can use a professional one like the one in the video. I prefer the automotive style squeegee. With a sponge on them, it makes soaping the window easier. There's need to carry more equipment than you have to.
3. A small bottle of Dawn Liquid
4. Paper Towels - LOTS OF THEM! Bring at least 3 rolls with you. Get the quality ones. You don't want paper shreds all over the place.
5. Razor scrapers and replacement blades. Choose the flat edged ones. Purchase a few of them. It's handy to switch them out in the clean-off process instead of having to stop and clean only one of them. These are great for cleaning up the painting, too. Need a sharp, flat edge? Just scrape off the paint around what you want to trim.
6. Scrub Brush - Use this to clean up the window frames after you have painted. Scrub spots as soon as they occur to make clean-up easier.
7. Plastic Bristle Broom and dustpan. Sweep the area under the windows BEFORE you start cleaning. When you are finished, dunk the broom into your soapy water and scrub down the sidewalk where you might have paint dribbles.

When I'm Cleaning Windows

By George Formby

Cute Song and some of the lyrics ARE truly some of the unexpected things that you will see when you are working with your holiday windows.

When I'm Cleaning Windows - George Formby

This song title could just as easily be changed to "When I'm PAINTING windows".

Have we got these tips down ? Ok, you might be ready to start painting!

 But...

Yes, you guessed it. There is more...

See the article:

So, You Want To Paint Holiday Windows?

Image credit: Morguefile.com Page URL: http://mrg.bz/bl43mQ

Painting Tools - Sketch Book

Having an assorted set of sketches is vital to creating your designs and organize your portfolio.

Setting your images on paper gives your window clients and yourself an idea of what you have to offer them in design choices. By having a complete set of images set on paper you also have a way to demonstrate your talent. Pre-draw images to use in the holiday theme you are working with. Compile a sketchbook for each of the major holidays.

Sketchbooks

Sketchbook entry - Candle and
Poinsettia Theme - Image M Burgess

Detail the sketch for an idea of what the complete image will be when finished so you also have an idea of how you want the image to appear when you paint it.

Create single sketch images out of elements you will use for the complete design. I started off my sketchbook with personal favorites. The candle and poinsettia theme is dear to me and a fun, but tedious scene to capture in window paint. I sketched it out so I may see where I need to place the flowers properly and achieve a sense of balance with the structure of the image.  

The candy cane is another of my favorites. I love the broad, red stripes and the overall appeal of these sweet candies. (I'm a mint fanatic, by the way!) The colors may vary, but the structure is similar whether you are doing a full cane or a starlight mint. The basic shadowing is similar in either creation. I love adding a bow for color contrast. It seals the deal for me. This is a more cartoony version of what I do now. Once a sketchbook is started, the progress and the quality will improve. 

Sketchbook entry - Candy Cane Theme - Image M Burgess

For Winter Themes
Sketch These 
Individual Images


Holly Leaves and Berries
Candy Canes
Poinsettia Flowers (My Favorites!)
Candles
Snowmen
Santa (Of Course!)
Reindeer
Stockings                                                                           
Snowflakes
Presents or Gift Boxes
Christmas Trees
Ornaments
Bows
Bells
Teddy Bears
Dolls

With these single images, you can create a host of designs.

Create the sketches first, then add photos of your finished designs to create your portfolio!

For additional information see: So, You want to paint Holiday Windows?

A Christmas Wreath incorporates several holly leaves and a bow for a colorful decoration on a door top. Holly leaves can trim and decorate difficult window areas and accent your greeting scene. Learn this and more in The Essential Window Painting Guide at www.holidaywindowpaint.com. The PDF download is available for $9.99.

Painting tips 101 ~ Tempera

For Holiday Art I recommend Tempera Paint

Happy Holiday theme with Poinsettias, Holly,
and Candles - Image M Burgess

I am always asked what medium I use for painting. I live in Las Vegas, so the drier temperatures allow me to use Tempera paints. Tempera is non-toxic and as far as I believe it is biodegradable. Having a *Green* substance to work with is important in this day and age.  

Though there are other mediums to work with such as acrylic and enamel, I have found the Tempera to be the easiest for me to adapt my art from. It is great for glass paintings because it sticks well and it is quite durable. I use the student Tempera from Dick Blick Art Stores and have been happy with the results for years. 

Tempera (not to be confused with Japanese Food TEMPURA)

The range of colors is wonderful and there are sets of primary colors available for just starting out. Yellow, Red, Blue, White, and Black are a good foundation. For ease of not having to mix tints and colors go ahead and get Green, Brown, and a few smaller bottles of whichever color strikes you for details and highlights.

Buy large bottles of the White, Red, and Green because those are the ones you use the most.

Tempera, also known as egg tempera, is a permanent fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigment mixed with a water-soluble binder medium (usually a glutinous material such as egg yolk or some other size). Tempera also refers to the paintings done in this medium. Tempera paintings are very long lasting, and examples from the 1st centuries AD still exist. Egg tempera was a primary method of painting until after 1500 when it was superseded by the invention of oil painting. A paint which is commonly called tempera (although it is not) consisting of pigment and glue size is commonly used and referred to by some manufacturers in America as poster paint. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempera_paint

Paintings I have done ages ago on private home window glass are still bright. The few colors with dark pigments do tend to fade if exposed to sunlight as most paints will disintegrate. 

Applying Tempera is simple and the clean up is quick. It doesn't have any harmful or vaporous chemicals in it and it can be removed with water and rags or in a razor scrape method where you strip out sections of the paint and wipe the scraps onto paper towels. This has been the easiest way to get the windows back after the holiday is over. 

When I paint using  Tempera Paint  I can get either a cartoon fill effect or I can layer colors and achieve realistic style images. It depends on how I apply it and the brush I happen to use. You can use it thin or thick. I prefer it to have a consistency of gravy for the Holiday windows. Any thicker would have it cracking and chipping off. Thinly diluted Tempera can be used as a stain over other colors to mimic shadows or light effects as needed. Sprinkle in a little Holiday Magic and you have a very interesting piece of temporary art!

Cleaning up after doing holiday art is EXTREMELY important if you want to keep a client. I have lost accounts because I trusted a window cleaner to take care of that for me and they left a nasty mess behind. Paint splattered on windows, ledges, and sidewalks do not make a good impression. Use a drop cloth if you are just starting out...

This video demonstrates my specific cleaning technique:

When you go back next season you would rather have them remember you for your artwork.

Check out the, "So, You want to paint Holiday Windows" Hub on Hubpages for more information and fun images! Visit the site: www.holidaywindowpaint.com to purchase The Essential Window Painting Guide in PDF or see Amazon for print and Kindle versions. 

Welcome to My Christmas Paintbrush ~ Blog

Welcome to My Christmas Paintbrush

Holly painted on window glass - Image M Burgess

This begins a blog dedicated to Holiday Window Painting - and the tips and tricks I learned in over 30 years of decorating window panes for the holidays.

My art gets me call backs for decorating  window glass with paint year after year. I enjoy this hobby very much and hope to help you enough so that you can too! With the season comes a ton of images you can paint. As your skills grow,  you can create unique designs for temporary seasonal displays. In time if you have the necessary talent and some drawing skills, painting on window glass will become not only a great way to share your artistic side it can become a great part-time business.

Be creative and learn how to adapt any design into a special request by your clients. You should be ready and willing to draw and paint anything into a window design because you WILL get some unusual requests. I have drawn pets, Santa in all kinds of interesting scenes, and some odd business related designs over the  years. 

Santa Silhouette in Christmas Wreath - Image M Burgess

I personally cannot do faces very well. When it comes to a Santa I prefer to do something like the wreath above, "Santa's Silhouette". It gives you the feeling you would imagine for Santa's Ride Christmas Eve on his gift-giving mission! This scene is one of my favorite designs because I can combine realistic touches with my cartoony images and set an original painting on the business that hires me. This was on the bottom of a doorway back in 2007. I am glad I started adding a date to my work. It helps track not only the design's date but my progress. I can go back and study this and improve on it or swipe certain features to use in another painting. Every one of the artworks I leave behind is an original and different from the last one.

Get creative. The more you can come up with the more business you will have. Be careful, though, once you get started you are going to be a very popular item of interest at Christmas time! I show up to decorate one business in an office complex and people always ask me to do the next door windows, too. I spend a lot of time trying to concentrate on finishing the job so I can move to the next one. It gets a little complicated so start with your home windows for practice.

You will be able to design your own projects by using some of the hints and tricks I am going to share with you here. Eventually, you will have created your own portfolio with designs you will use year after year. My signature images are kept in photographs and memory at this time. I will be sharing how I have cataloged and recreated some of them. It is a shame that they get washed away with the old year in the beginning of January. I used to almost cry when I had to clean them off the windows! I just look at it as part of the job now.

To get started you will need some paint and a few brushes. But what are the right materials for window painting?

For additional information and inspirational images see:

 So, You Want to Paint Holiday Windows?

www.holidaywindowpaint.com