Leonardo Learning: Etched Glass Saint project

In order to make my etched glass windows, I make a lot of studies, a lot of drawings to work out the problems. In the early stages I focus on the feel and the energy of the piece and I worry later about details. Here is my desk laid out with some of the work/ studies.

I even bought a costume, a biblical robe and had a friend pose for me..he has a beard from his time in afgan. so he was a good model. He told not to print his face and I promised not to--he owns guns. When I do my drawings for glass, they are stylized lines by this I mean they arent realistic, they are more design based and line based than reality based. Glass etching only works in a line based, stylized form. 

What I have done here is I have drawn the window to scale and started to piece my drawing into the window to make sure everything fits into place and matches up correctly. Notice the robe is alive and flowing, not static. I have included the naked window to show where the glass is going to be installed.


Today I will start blowing up the drawings to full scale.


On a 10 scale this project is a 9 on difficulty. Luckily, I have many years experience in this art form. I am self-taught and I learned all my experience by mistakes and errors and 4 AM trials. You can do anything you want in art if you are willing to walk the path and pay your dues and put your neck on the line.