I decided to write this blog as I’ve had quite a few enquiries about commissioning window panels and I thought writing about it in more detail would clarify how I create the special, themed panels. I also love to adapt my original designs to fit a space, so this process is how I work on all window panels.
The design process begins with a discussion with the client and we decide which elements they would like to include in a design which is very personal to them. I often ask for lists of things to include and photos of special places, animals or landscapes. This then continues with the visualisation of the ideas in some sketches. I usually produce quite basic design sketches, as I spend many hours on fine detail when painting and etching. We would also look at glass colours, examples of which can be found on my website.
This is the basic design sketch for a Tanglewood Tale window panel commission, which is told within three painted and etched glass panels. They are fitted in an original fanlight above a door. The panels each measure 21cm by 48 cm, so this is quite a large commission, but I’m happy to paint just one panel in detail and add simple decoration on other panels. This client particularly wanted a scene to flow across all three panels.
The panels are Antique Cathedral glass, which is handmade, so each piece of glass is unique. The colours were chosen to represent the different seasons and the glass was painted and then etched in fine detail to create an original Tanglewood Tale for the client. Here they are held up to the light so you can see how it brings the colours to life and highlights the etched detail.
Green Antique Cathedral glass with a tower mill, which is visible from the client’s cottage.
Light amber with details of the trees and ploughed fields.
The vision was to include the local landscape and key landmarks in the panels with some favourite native wildlife. A fox and hare were chosen, and the blackbird is a bird the client feeds daily in the garden. The landmarks are a grade II listed tower mill, and the square tower of the church, glimpsed in the familiar Suffolk landscape which surrounds the client’s cottage. These were based on photographs they sent of the buildings and landscape. Also important to include were rolling, ploughed fields and huddled trees and hedgerows, all part of much loved countryside.
The square church tower, on light blue.
The fox inhabits the green panel, the hare leaps across the light amber panel and the blackbird perches at the front of the blue panel. A landscape of ploughed fields and copses of trees rolls across all three panels. Trees with twisted roots and tangled branches enclose the scene, with stylised ferns and flowers in the foreground.
I am happy to send photographs of the work in progress, to ensure the client is completely happy...although one client didn’t want to see any at all, preferring a complete surprise!
Once the panels are painted they have to cure for a few days.If the panels are to be fitted where there is sometimes a high moisture content in the atmosphere, I would recommend that the panels are framed in wood and then fitted over an original piece of glass or encapsulated into a double glazed unit. I can now offer encapsulation starting from approximately £30 which ensures the piece is completely protected even in high moisture areas such as bathrooms. The panels are perfect for interior settings such as fan lights above doors and windows.
If you think you would like a commission of any size, please contact me, I’m happy to discuss your ideas and will try my best to visualise them. I’m happy to use one of my original designs or adapt the panels shown in the photographs above. Please get in touch using the contact form on my website or via my Etsy shop.
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