Beautiful! How do you do the areas that have multiple colors? (white/red/orange/yellow)

Amazing! Fantastic work, it's so beautiful!

Thank you! I want it to look like real stained glass (though you can do other effects with this paint). So the areas that are mixed, you just put down dots and streaks and areas, depending on the effect you want, of different colors, then mix them to a greater or lesser extent, as desired.

For the slag glass look (a favorite of mine) used white as the predominant base, then there were dots of vanilla, terra cotta, and amber mixed in. That's the kind of white/caramel glass you see there. I'm thinking I'm going to take that down behind at least part of the center design. I'm just not sure how much yet.

The lime green was mixed with only one other color, a more blue-grey-green. The reds were three colors mixed, except on the unopened buds where I used quite a few colors. The flowers in the above pic aren't dry yet. The dark colors look a lot better with light coming in behind them.

What color should I make the outside band?

How about the swirls on the outer edges I haven't colored in yet?

How about the "crown" above the top flower?

How about the long "fluffy" stalk at the tops of the sides?

Should I throw some purple on there? Or slate blue? Or turquoise blue?

It's stunning! Great work!

Thanks for the progress report-- I was thinking about you and your projects last night.

What an amazing piece of work you have created! You have great talent, not just for the design, but for the way you are using the colors to create a real stained glass look, rather than just slopping them on like a color by number set.

When your neighbors get an eyeful of this once it is up, and find out that you created it, you are going to be commissioned for work, I am confident!

I would think a wonderful turquoise for the crown would be good, which will make the red flower at the top really pop out. Maybe on the side fluffy stalks, you could do a gradual shading from a deep purple up to a turquoise as you work up each section. Then the bottom two three-section plumes on each side could be the shades of the deeper and lighter purple. I would add a bit of the turquoise down in the little fleur de lis shape in the center bottom.

As for the sides, I don't know that you need any advice, but I could see a really deep golden color, which will transition into the window trim and pull your eye into the center of the flowers and the slag glass areas.

Absolutely a breathtaking job!

This is a new medium for me so I didn't offer any suggestions the first time around. But I did have thoughts so here goes..

The crown over the flower reminds me of a sun.. I thought of doing a more solid orange or yellow or if you want to get crazy do sunset pink-purple..

but I also see a purple in the swirls at the bottom.. and in the stalks. Purple will really set off the green and leaves so often go a purple in the shadows. I think it would be a beautiful effect. I'd do a deep dark purple in the swirls and maybe a green and purple in the stalks? Like varigated?

Originally I saw deep purple as the border but I think the same effect is achieved by using purple in the other spaces that softly frame the design. I love Les' suggestion of the deep gold as a border.

I am not feeling the cool blues so much-- turquoise and slate. I don't see them taking on any big role. Maybe the slate in the plumes at the base of the flower.

Again, this is a new medium for me so I'd ask, "What do YOU see when you close your eyes?"

O M Gosh---Jaw-dropping!

It's looking wonderful, just wonderful, Oceanna! I love the mottled effect you've mastered with your colors. Very realistic! As for another color to add, you might consider a black border . . . mottled/swirled and somewhat transparent, I mean. Or perhaps a deep blue. Or, are you planning on adding wood frame to it before you hang it?

What a great job!! I work with stained glass. While GG is a totally different medium, it can have a similar effect. I love how you have blended the colors together. That is real talent. That blending and streaking so much resembles real glass. Outstanding work!! As Les has said, once people see it, you will have commission work.
I also admire your creativity and design. I did not get a creativity gene - I work from patterns and usually go to my glass shop where the shopkeeper helps me (or does) pick out the glass.
Isn't it a real high when you work on something for a long time, then finally finish it? That is one reason I love doing glass. It is filthy, the solder and flux stink, my hands get cut, then I wash and wax the piece and voila!! - beauty! I don't do much because of lack of time, but do enjoy doing what I do. I can tell you do as well!!

I'd like to see the outside edge in a tortoise color which would be made like the butterscotch swirl you have next to the outside, just deepen the butterscotch and blend in a dark and med brown. I'm looking at a real stained glass (old) and that tortoise looks fab! They also used a teeny bit of violet to offset the warm colors, You may want to consider putting that in the space next to the butterscotch swirl or you could use it near the bottom of the piece Whatever you do, it will be gorgeous, of that I'm sure.

Oh my, Oceanna - gorgeous - gorgeous!!

The reds are gorgeous and will be totally gorgeous with your fab red sofa.

I have no advice for any additional colors at all but wanted to compliment your beautiful work.

Smiles:)

Thanks, everyone for your input and your sweet encouragement! I like your ideas for color and I'll play with them and show you the results bit by bit.

Yayagal, can you post a photo or two of that tortoiseshell glass?

No green thumb, you must feel so proud of your SG creations. Yes it's a high when you finish a piece! I can't wait till this gets mounted properly in the window. Unfortunately, I'll need my son's help with that.

Meanwhile, it's snowing outside -- can you believe it? In Seattle in late April? Preposterous. But after being dark and gloomy suddenly the lighting is great. So I propped my GG up behind the couch against the window. Here it is so we can get a preview of how it looks with the light coming through it:

{{!gwi}}

I just sent this pic to my son and he said his office mate wants to commission me to do his two sidelights by his front door. :) I just don't want any more huge jobs I have to get on the floor to do. If I really start getting work in this, I'll want to set up a good work area.

I'll be fussing with this one for some time to come. I think I see some colors I want to cut out, scrape off and replace. That's tedious work but I want this window to come out just right.

I forgot to point out that the protective film is still on the back of the Plexi, so that's why it looks a little dull. I won't take that off till the window is put in place.

Wow. It comes to life with the sun behind it!

You inspire me to try it for the three (nasty &!@#%^) staggered windows on my front door.. but then I look at your pane and think "I could never do that". It's beautiful.

Oceanna, I'm so pleased to hear that others are now requesting your services for the GG! Now the business plan you started is coming true, but it's doing something even more suited to you. How perfect is that?

I love the colors and the design:-) Plus, that golden swirl you made is just so perfect. All of the colors are great. Congrats!

Oceana, I'll post it in the morning when the sun is coming through it!!

Oceanna, please don't fuss with it too much. It does look perfect --- and if you keep fussing with it, you will never finish. That was one of my original problems with the glass. I would work so hard trying to get the absolutely best solder bead. Sometimes the glass would crack, which led to another problem.
Stand back away from it ----- then critique yourself. If you are right on top of it, every little detail slaps you in the face. Look at the big picture (pardon the pun:):)
I love the shading and the streaking.
I am a fanatic perfectionist, currently learning to knit and crochet. The crochet is giving me fits. I am making a sweater for my dear GD. I have torn it apart so many times I can't even count. So now I have decided to press on. I won't leave any obvious mistakes but if a stitch or two are a but tighter than the rest, I am not going to stress as much. I hold it away from me and critique. Besides she will probably puke all over it anyway!! And I sew in a "Grandma loves you" label. She's only 1 so she won't even notice a too-tight stitch!!

Wowza!

Funky ~~ yeah, it really does, doesn't it? I love what the light does for these. You CAN do this. I'll be happy to help you however I can. I think you should start looking for a pattern. Will you do it on Plexi and add it? I'm really liking doing it that way, it's so much easier.

Decorpas ~~ thank you! I believe business opportunities when I see greenbacks hit the table, but much before that they're just nice dreams. I hope something comes of this, but we'll see.

Yaya ~~ I'll watch for your pic tomorrow. It makes such a difference. Windows are hard to photograph in any case. I'd love to see yours anyway.

No Green ~~ I'm the same as you and I hear ya. It's funny because I've been beating myself up throughout this process, and you just made me see how stupid that is. This is only my third one, so I'm still learning a lot. One of the nicest things about handmade crafts is their imperfections, yes? I'm glad you're pressing ahead on that sweater and I'm sure your grandchild will love it forever. Do you have any idea how I figure out what I should charge folks for these windows??

Kitchenkelly ~~ lol! Thanks. I've already changed it quite a bit but can't take another pic till it dries some.

Oh.. I didn't realize that you were looking to start a business. What a great business-- and Seattle is such a great place for it! Do press forward.. and don't undersell yourself!

Yes, if I do my mini door windows, I'll do it on plexiglass. I have yet to come up with a design that will work in my windows.. if I find the right thing, I'll give it a go. The front door is such a big part of my livingroom, so whatever the design, I expect it will be simple (though I keep seeing three scrolling initials in the windows haha).

Oceanna~What an awesome project! I have no ideas what colors go where, but turquoise and gold are two colors that come to mind when I squint at it.

So its snowing there? We had an earthquake here last night. Freaky, right?

I was out front admiring my newly planted Blushing Pink KO, and I noticed it has a little bud on it, can you believe it? I am so excited!!

Hmmm...maybe you could put a little pink bud somewhere..

Oceanna, it's so beautiful.

Thank you so much, everyone, for your wonderful comments and suggestions! Les, I took a bundh of your ideas and played with them. More to come.

- I replaced all the dark green leaf ends with the lighter lime green.
- I took the caramel slag glass down behind the center design (some of that might be too dark and if so I'll have to fix it).
- I colored in the empty curves at the bottom sides. What looks navy blue here isn't; it's a gorgeous purple.
- I colored the corners of the red frame purple.
- I filled in the arch above the top flower.

It sure does look better in person that it does in the pictures. I'll have to get better pics tomorrow of it propped in the window.

Better? Or should something be changed?

{{!gwi}}

Amity ~~ aw shucks, thanks!

Lynn ~~ Thank you. I can't recall ever seeing black stained glass. I'm rocking back and forth on deciding how dark I want to make the edges. I don't know how to put it in the window exactly yet, but have one thought on how. Problem is it's 1.5" shy on each side of fitting in the opening. I don't want to put holes in it to hang it as that will yell "phoney."

Johnatemp ~~ thanks! One advantage of doing it yourself is you get to pick the colors.

Oceana, I took a picture but I have no idea how to upload it here. Can I access Picasa from here?

Oceanna! It's beautiful!
I keep going back and forth from the last pic you posted to the one propped in the window - the colors come alive!
I have no color sense so can't offer any suggestions but do want to say I like the changes you made on the dark green leaf ends with the lighter lime green. A lot of great suggestions given here, can't wait to see what you do next.
Say, don't you have a purple climber of some kind at the bottom of your steps outdoors? Oh, how smart are you to bring purple into your GG! Please post an outdoor pic when everything is blooming!
Good luck on the hanging problem. I guess the chain I've seen stain glass hung with is probably soldered on so there are no holes? Hey!! How about mighty putty! The commercial says it will hold anything!! :D

and you are still making changes!!! LOL -
As far pricing, I do not price as I do not sell anything I make. But, I have a good idea of how it is done. You first have to decide how much your time is worth, then the cost of materials, which includes design and possibly installation.
Most stained glass artists charge a certain amount per square foot, then a certain amount for each piece of glass, plus material, design and installation. For instance, it is much more time consuming to do a 1 square foot piece with 100 pieces than it is with just a few pieces.
From what I have read, one of the biggest problems people have is changes. They decide they want the flowers pink, then they change their minds and want them red. You need to be very upfront about that.
I do not know the costs for gallery glass projects. I know the costs for stained glass materials are skyrocketing. Solder is now about $12.00 a pound.
Installation is another issue. Will you do it? Just give it to someone to do themselves? I realize this isn't glass which has its own issues, but could it still crack, chip, scratch??
You mentioned above that someone wants you to do sidelights. Measure, measure and measure again - and then make a template. Do not assume both are the same.
There are probably forums for people who do gallery glass.
You can also go to www.warner-criv.com which is a website for stained glass. They have a chat board and pricing work has been discussed many times. Anything said by Graham (although he is a grumpy old man sometimes), Dale or Vic take as gospel. Those guys are good.
Best of luck and if there is anything I can help you with, please let me know. This is very exciting for you, and very creative. How fun - and you can make money as well!!

Oceanna,
Beautiful !! Love the additions of the blues. However, what does GG stand for? I have never heard about this before and I think it is truly wonderful looking.
I am in Eugene and it is snowing here as well.

Very beautiful. What did you use for the leading? I have an old window from a farm house that I would love to try the GG on. Also, did you say that this is done on plexi-glass? Have you ever done a GG project and displayed it outside? If you have, does it withstand the elements? Anyway, I've been an admirer of your great artwork.

oceanna, adding my voice to the chorus...

I'd like to see some gold in there somewhere to give the insides of the flowers and the warmth in the mixed "slag" glass something to relate to. Up in the PNW we need all the warmth we can get :) Maybe around the outside?

And you're in Seattle?! I wish I'd known--we were up there last weekend to see the SAM Rome-Louvre exhibit and go to Bedrock Industries. Would have been fun to meet :)

Yaya, on the photo uploading I don't know the thing you mention, but here is a link for you. Thanks for taking the picture and I hope you can upload it.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to insert photos at GW

Mari ~~ thanks! You sure do have a good memory. Yes, it's a purple clemantis. Problem is I did a bunch of purple in the window and it didn't look good. I ended up taking it all back out which is a tedious process. I've replaced it with green, and for the fluffy stalks right now with clear but with texture. I'm not sure if the window will show up from outside except from at night when it's backlit. We'll see. Mighty putty -- lol!! Yes on real SG they solder on the frame and chain. Can't solder with Plexi. I did wonder if there would be a suction cup way to do it, but probably not trustworthy especially in earthquake country.

No Green ~~ Yeah, I'm going to make changes until I'm satisfied. I'll be looking at this every day and it will be a cornerstone of "advertisement" for what I can do.

Thanks for the warning about people changing their minds and the words about pricing. I need to get a lot faster at this. Installation would vary. The previous two windows I did on the glass in situ. This is my first Plexi window. I wanna stay off ladders. The guy with the sidelites said he'd take the glass out and give it to me, according to my son. That's not a done deal; the guy wants to talk with his wife about it. I doubt there are forums. I've looked around online and it seems very few people have done windows with this medium. I haven't found anyone who's done what I've done. Thanks for the url! I'll check that out. Thanks for your kind offer of support too. I'd love to see your work. Have you posted any of it in the Stained Glass and Mosaics board here at GW? If yes, please give me the urls. If no, please do! :)

Acountryfarm ~~ Thanks! GG = Gallery Glass (from Michael's crafts). But I use some Maribu paints too (www.windowbutterflies.com). It's a lot of fun -- you should try it. Today we've had snow, hail, and thunder and lightening. Oh, and some sunshine. Nutty as can be! When is the last time you remember it snowing in Eugene in April?

Melba ~~ Thanks! They make peel and stick leading strips that I use for the long straight lines. They make a black liquid you pipe out of a bottle that I use for the curved lines. This is made for glass; this is the first time I've worked on Plexi. The paint is a kind of rubbery plastic, reminiscent of Elmer's Glue. It doesn't hold up to high heat, so I'm not sure about outside... certainly not in direct hot sun. They say no for car windows so I think you should do your project and hang it inside the house. Can you do that? Or, just latex paint your window if you want to hang it outside, I'd guess. If you look at the decorative painting board here at GW, you'll see some darling painted windows.

Flyleft ~~ You're right we need sunshine... I'm thinking of doing some gold around the outside band. I need to go play with it and see what I can come up with. I'd have loved to have met you -- and would have enjoyed the art exhibit too. Where are you? ...

Oceanna, You are so creative. I am enjoying watching your stained glass masterpiece come to life. I also would like to see a little more gold. It is beautiful.

Oceanna - what a beautiful piece of artwork you have created!! No wonder your son's friend wants one - we all want one! I admire your creativity and hope your business will allow you to display that wonderful talent you have. Awesome!!!