The Beauty Of Reverse Painting On Glass

If you were to take a step back in time to another era in the art world you would find that reverse painting on glass played an important role in the culture of art. It’s easy to quickly see the beauty of reverse painting on glass and why it was so popular!

Reverse painting on glass allowed individuals to express themselves with original works of art on glass that depicted how they lived, what their culture was, and how they perceived the world they lived in. It has been a practiced art form for many centuries.

In the last decade reverse painting on glass has actually made a comeback and images are often inspired by our hi tech modern world. Quite the contrast from works of earlier times. Perhaps 100 years from now we’ll see the modern works as an important part of art history just as we now view the previous eras as such.

Reverse painting is quite a unique style of art. The painting is actually painted on the back side of a piece of glass and when viewed from the front it is facing the correct way. This means that the artist must actually have the visual ability to paint back to front.

Modern reverse painting is done on Plexiglas using the exact same techniques that are used for painting on glass. Plexiglas is often used because it is more durable and can be used in a variety of situations where glass would not be appropriate.

When an artists creates a canvas painting they begin with the outline and build upon that outline towards a finished painting. Reverse painting is exactly the opposite. The fine detail is completed first and the background colors are added last which is why it has earned the name reverse painting.

When glass is used the effect can be varied a great deal just by the thickness of the glass. The thicker the glass the more depth the painting will have. Artists thus use a variety of glass thicknesses to achieve the effect they are looking for.

If you’ve never viewed reverse paintings on glass before it may take you a minute to realize that the painting is actually on glass. Good works are so in depth that it can be very difficult to tell that the work is on glass, especially for the inexperienced eye.

Reverse painting is noted for its decorative qualities. This type of painting lends itself to artistic expression nicely and artists are quick to take advantage of the opportunity. Complimentary colors are often used combined with saturated colors to produce a deep vivid piece.

The works from our ancestors often depicted scenes of nature and rural life. Antique pieces are often done using basic color and lacking depth and volume. Colors were often dependant on the paints that were available. Over time this form of art evolved into a three dimension painting with the same qualities as canvas paintings. It became a complex form of art expression.

Reverse painting requires a lot more patience than other forms of painting. It also requires a lot of technical skills not necessarily needed by a traditional artist. The ability for the artist to express their personal tastes and expressions is limitless and the audience expects this type of expression from reverse painting.

If you are looking for a unique and interesting art piece that will add character to a room and draw conversation you should certainly consider a reverse painting on glass. Modern or antique is up to you. Both are beautiful!

Deon Melchior is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit ArticleClick.com. Article Click is a free content article directory. This means that as a publisher you may reprint the articles that are included in our site, as long as the article is unedited and the author box is included with it's live hyperlinks.