ELI5: What Is Glazing in Painting?

Glazing in painting is the technique of putting a thin, see-through layer of wet paint over an older, dry layer of paint to change its color or make it look glowing.

Think about wearing colored sunglasses on a sunny day. When you look at a yellow car through blue sunglasses, the car looks green. The car did not change color, but the colored glass changes how the light looks to your eyes.

Glazing works the exact same way:

• First, an artist paints something and lets it dry completely, just like building a solid floor.
• Next, they mix a tiny bit of paint with a clear liquid, creating a "see-through" color.
• Finally, they brush that see-through color on top of the dry paint.

• Stained Glass: Glazing is like putting a piece of red stained glass over a picture of a white snowman. The snowman is still there, but now he looks rosy red.
• Cellophane Paper: Imagine wrapping a yellow gift box in clear blue plastic paper. The gift now looks green because you see the blue plastic and yellow box at the same time.
• A Glazed Donut: Just like a sugar glaze lets you see the donut underneath while making it shiny and sweet, paint glaze lets you see the bottom colors while making the whole picture look deep and shiny.