Reverse painting on glass

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Reverse painting on glass is an art form consisting of applying paint to a piece of glass and then viewing the image by turning the glass over and looking through the glass at the image.

This art form has been around for many years. A number of clock faces were created using this technique in the early to mid 1800s, but it started to become popular again in the late 1990s. The painting can be realistic or painting. Realistic reverse paintings are more challenging to create as one must, for example, in painting a face, to put the pupil of an eye on the glass before the iris, exactly the opposite of normal painting. If this is neglected the artist will not be able to correct the error as he will not get in between the glass and the paint already applied. No such care need be taken with the abstract form, but with this form you do not have a good idea what the piece will look like until you are finished painting it. This process is not like stained or leaded glass work in that it is not intended to hang in a window with light coming through the piece. Hanging on a wall, framed or unframed, with a lot of light directed towards the piece provides best viewing.

This style of painting is found in traditional Romanian icons originating from Transylvania.