My 5-Step Glazing Process: The Turning Point in Every Painting

Glazing is the turning point in my painting process where everything shifts. After building up thick layers of paint, texture, and experimentation, I use a 5-step glazing technique to bring it all together. I seal the panel with gloss medium, apply a thin neutral glaze (burnt sienna or red oxide with black), keep it mostly water, let it drip, then remove about 80% with paper towels. This harmonizes colors, reduces value contrast, and gives me fresh eyes to see what I’ve actually created. It’s not a prescribed method, just what works for me.

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The Moment Everything Changes

This week I’m working on a commission, and I’m at a critical point.

I’ve put down a lot of thick paint. Paper, textures, all kinds of experimentation. I’ve got a nice body going. I’ve worked a lot on this.

But now it’s time to glaze. And glazing is where the journey of a painting really shifts for me. It’s the turning point.

Before I glaze, I’m not even really thinking about trying to make things good. I’m just playing, experimenting, getting a nice foundation going.

But once I glaze, everything changes.

 

 

Why Glazing Matters

Here’s what glazing does for me.

It brings the painting together. It reduces the value contrast. It makes the colors relate more to each other.

And all of a sudden, the painting looks so different. That gives me objectivity. I can see it with a new light.

Generally when I glaze, I do like parts of it more. Something starts happening. And that’s when my choices and decisions become slightly more picky, with a little bit more discernment.

But not too much. I’m still playing and having fun with this thing.

 

Step 1: Seal Your Painting

The first thing I do is seal my whole painting with gloss medium.

I’ve put a lot of paint down. A lot of thick paint. There’s paper on here, all kinds of things. So before I glaze, I use gloss medium and seal the whole thing.

This allows me to control the glaze when I put it on.

Step 2: Choose a Neutral Glaze Color

I like to use a neutral glaze. Not something really saturated.

I’ll take burnt sienna and add a little black to it. Or red oxide with a little black.

Generally, I like to use darker earth tones. They’re not very saturated because I’ve got a lot of saturated colors on the painting already. I want to kind of reduce that and harmonize with something that’s just sort of easy on the eyes.

Step 3: Mix It Really Thin

This is important. I mix it up really thin.

It’s mostly water. Really thin.

Step 4: Apply It Generously

I apply it really thin, but I cover the whole surface.

It drips all over the floor. I just walk down the whole wall applying this on. You can see it starts to drip, and I’ll just take it and spread this out.

That’s the coating I’m using. Just really thin.

Step 5: Remove Most of It

But then I’m gonna take most of it off.

I like to use paper towels for this. I can just roll it off.

I want about 20% of the glaze on the panel. I’m not looking to heavily glaze it at this point.

This is a fast way with paper towels. It’s a bit wasteful, but I can reuse these once they dry. I just take off however much I need.

I like this instead of wiping because it leaves little tiny dots. The cavities fill up and it kind of creates depth.

 

What Happens After the First Glaze

Once this thing dries, I think of it as an underlayer.

I’m just starting here. I haven’t even really started working yet.

This brings it together. It reduces the value contrast. It makes the colors relate more.

And now I’m going to be thinking about my choices and decisions a little differently. Slightly more picky, a little bit more discernment. But not too much.

I will glaze several times when I’m working. Sometimes just parts. I make a lot of this glaze mixture and just keep using it at each stage. It gets more refined and more refined.

 

The Gift of Fresh Eyes

This is kind of a turning point, this glazing.

It changes your work. All of a sudden it looks so different, and that gives you objectivity. You can kind of see it with new light.

That’s what I love about this technique. It’s not just about making the painting better technically. It’s about being able to see what you’ve made with fresh eyes.

 

Your Turn

Everyone does this differently.

I’d be curious to know how you do this. When do you use glazing? What works for you? Let’s crowdsource this thing.

Leave a comment below and share your glazing process.

I hope you get out and make some art today.

Nicholas