Window Painting

We were in the car at the gas station, waiting for my son to pump the gas and his wife in the attached Tim Horton's getting coffee. We could see the windows had been painted with bright holiday designs.

"How do they do that?" my grandson asked.

I told him it was painted on, but as we looked at the designs I thought I could see a faint clear edge around the design and wondered if it was actually a vinyl stick on.

Yesterday I was in a different Tim Horton's (yes, we drink a lot of tea and coffee) and I saw a woman on a ladder, outside, painting the festive holiday designs. I was wrong, it was painted after all. I watched and was amazed by how sure her stroke was, and was envious of her skill.

I paint, paintings, not windows, and I have never had that sure and easy of a stroke. For one, I need my hand supported and have never learned to do what some artists do and rest my hand on a bat sort of thing, when working on a easel or vertical surface.

I went outside to speak to her, and relate our conversation from earlier in the week about how these windows were done.

She was glad to talk about her work. Apparently she went to school to learn the lettering for sign painting, and for painting large scale murals, like what you see on the side of buildings. She said she used a non reflective paint, so the design was not lost in the refection of the sky that was obvious in the glass.

She also told me that when Tim Horton's redesigned their old coffee shops, they went with the double paned windows with special glass which distorts the designs if painted on the interior of the window. So all the designs are painted on the outside.

We had an interesting conversation, and I think she was pleased to talk about her work, and to know it was appreciated.

Funny, I was in a store after that and saw a man painting his holiday cheer, on the inside of the store window. It was an older building, and obviously did not have the more efficient double pained windows.

The things you learn when you ask questions and have a friendly chat.