Glazing Techniques - Pt. I

Glazing Techniques

Part #1

Note: I am going to show all of these techniques on white cardstock so you get a better idea of what each technique looks like. Keep in mind when painted over various colors the Glaze will change the hues & tones of existing color.

Types of Glaze

There are many glaze mediums on the market in a wide range of prices. It's really up to you on how fancy you want to get. For beginners and experimentation I suggest Folk Art Glazing Medium. It's relatively inexpensive so it won't break the bank getting started.

BUT before you go shopping, you may already have some products which you might not automatically think of when glazing comes to mind (PPA & Diamond Glaze). Be sure to read the labels of products in your existing stash...you might be surprised to see you already have something that works.

I like them all (as you can see).

Acrylic Paints

As far as acrylic paints...I say whatever you have on hand is great. Now painters will disagree with me and tell you that you should use a "transparent" pigment type of acrylic paint but for our use any will do. I've used everything from Folk Art, Ranger, Golden, to fancy metallics from Stewart Gill ~ all with great success.

Mixing Glaze

Mixing glaze is a personal preference as well. Personally I like to work with about a 5-1 ratio 5 parts glaze medium to 1 part acrylic paint. This creates a very lightly pigmented mixture that can be applied in several layers.

Be sure to mix well!

Basic Painted Glaze

The most basic glazing technique is just painting the glaze on with a paint brush. I like to use wider brushes for this...you can cover more ground in less amount of time. You simply paint a layer of glaze over your project and let it dry. I like to speed drying using my heat tool. If additional coats are desired you may add each layer letting the glaze dry completely in between coats.

Below is an example of what glaze will look like starting with one coat of glaze up to 5 layers. Of course you can always add more if desired.

Ragging

Another popular technique for glaze is ragging which is just what it sounds like. You dip a soft cloth into the glaze medium and pounce it on your project.

Notice how there are lighter and darker areas of glaze. Adds a nice layer of faux texture without adding an excessive amount of color.

Reverse Ragging

This technique is where the glaze is painted onto your surface in a thick layer....

then you take a dry soft cloth and pick the paint up off of the surface. Be sure to rotate the rag so you don't deposit what you've already picked up back onto your work.

Notice how this technique adds an over all color coverage but you still get the nice faux texture of ragging.

So there you go ~ a nice start on playing with glaze!

Pretty easy huh?

Look like something you'd like to try?

I'll be sharing more techniques on Thursday so be sure to check back then!