Having control over a reverse painted glass chandelier in terms of the painting process

Bottom detail of Sunflower Summer, a 24" diameter reverse painted glass chandelier that includes irons, electrical, chain and canopy. Chandeliers can be purchased from the artist, Jenny Floravita

Recently I misunderstood a client question about the painting process of my reverse painted glass chandeliers. It had been a very long day, I had just come from blacksmithing and everything about the smithy is just pain loud even with earplugs and on top of that it was later in the evening and I was very anxious to simply end my day and relax, have dinner.

So I'd like to clarify to you who read this blog what it means to 'have control' of the paint in terms of creating a chandelier that has all of the correct colors, tones, elements, etc...for a custom commission.

First, when I paint freely on original concepts, meaning that I'm not trying to duplicate a chandelier or parts of a chandelier for a commission, I paint with a freedom that allows me to express my artistry through the paint in wonderful ways. I make thousands of split-second decisions about color, hue, brush strokes, shapes, composition, etc...everything that makes this art form so lovely lies in the control that I have over my brush and paint.

And make no mistake, I did say control with a capital "C" as I have been working intensely in this medium for a few years now.

Now when I paint a chandelier with special requests, make no mistake, I have total control with a capital "T" over my brushes, paint colors, hues, etc... The actual painting process for me is slower because I'm working withing constraints and that is partly the definition of a commission. I've painted countless complex commissions this way.

Every chandelier is original in it's own way because they are hand painted by me, a human artist. There is variation in everything but overall, I achieve the intended goals.

Just wanted to clarify this concept of control because I do know that this art form has a lot of mystery that surrounds the actual artistry of my reverse painted glass chandeliers and for good reason! It's not very easy to do and when I say that, I do mean from making the glass bowl to forging the irons and completing the piece as a whole.

Hope this info helps!

See more images of Sunflower Summer on http://www.floravitalights.com or on my Facebook page.

To see more, please visit my websites: www.floravitalights.com
and www.floravita.com