The windows project has made unexpected progress partly thanks to a surprising discovery. I have been wondering which medium to use in colouring the developing design. The book I got on stained glass techniques advised the use of pastels, but using these in the initial sketches I found it difficult to keep everything clean, even with liberal applications of fixative. I considered using either watercolour or acrylic, but it struck me that both of these methods have common disadvantages. As water-based media they both require drying time between the painting of adjacent areas of colour. The paper could begin to cockle, even though I am using a relatively heavy watercolour paper. A good deal of time would be taken up with mixing various shades. Then I hit on an idea. For Christmas I was given a set of colours that included a range of coloured pencils. Although I made several experiments with this set, just to see what it was like, I couldn’t really settle to them. On this occasion, however, they have served my purpose exactly. They can be worked over to modify or mix colour, they are relatively quick to apply, and they are absolutely without either mess or distortion to the paper.
As a consequence of this discovery I am making far more rapid progress than I had anticipated. It does look as if I will want to go over the surface a second time in some areas, to obtain the degree of intensity I want. Even so, for this purpose they are well suited. It certainly pays to experiment with new media, although I doubt that I am a long-term convert. Try anything once!