Gilroy Stained Glass Ltd
201 - 8696 Barnard St V6P 5G5 Vancouver, BC, Canada

We are pleased to have installed our 19th window at St Mary’s Kerrisdale this week! This latest one depicts St Mary Magdalene and turned out to be one of our favourites. It seemed appropriate that we were able to get the window in during the run up to Easter, in that Mary Magdalene was one of the first to witness the empty tomb and the first to witness Jesus’ Resurrection. Mary Magdalene also gave us the story of the first Easter egg! According to tradition, she went to Empe...ror Tiberius Caesar in Rome to proclaim the Resurrection with an egg to make her point. The Emperor mocked her saying that Jesus had no more risen than the egg in her hand was red. Immediately the egg turned red, and I like to think that she would have given the Emperor such a look for doubting her. #gilroystainedglass #masterglasspainters #stainedglass #stainedglassart #fineart #authenticstainedglass #stainedglassartist #glasspainting

It’s really great to be getting toward the end of this project. That sounds as though we found it really tedious! Quite the opposite in fact; Our Lady of the Valley has been a delight to work on. But now that John has finished leading all the sections and has completed cementing them (the term for the messy process of waterproofing and strengthening the window), we can start looking forward to seeing it all come together insitu. The frame is currently being adjusted, but once that is done we will be off to the Okanagan Valley. #stainedglass #stainedglassartist #ourladyofthevalley

I finished these water colour designs last year, not long after we were into the first wave of Covid. Now, the church is ready to start this 154 square foot project. I’ve spent days assessing what glass and etching and painting techniques we want to go with. I’ve started setting out the initial drawings for the full size cartoons of the 12 Apostles. We’re going for a slightly medieval feel, with vibrant, jewel colours and strong line - should be fun to paint. #stainedglass #stainedglassartist #authenticstainedglass

I’ve been very busy with the full size drawings (cartoons) for the next three windows in our sequence of Old Testament windows for St. Joseph’s in Langley. They are Moses and the Exodus, Abraham and the Sacrifice of Issac, and Elijah taken up in a Chariot of Fire. I must admit to enjoying drawing the horses best; I try not to play favourites but sometimes I just can’t help it! #stainedglass #stainedglassartist #authenticstainedglass

Thought for the day: Bee well, bee happy! (detail; acid etching and glass painting, Our Lady of the Valley, currently being leaded.) #stainedglass... #stainedglassartists #authenticstainedglass See more

Shown here are the three sections of Our Lady of the Valley window laid out on the light table and benches, prior to the final kiln firing stage for silver stain to turn some of the details amber and gold, such as the roses, butterfly and bee. Then it’s fabrication time! #stainedglass #stainedglassartist

Wishing you all a very happy and safe Christmas and New Year.

We’ve been painting different sections for Our Lady of the Valley, Okanagan window, and been thinking of how to mesh a stylized versus a more natural look into a bit of a hybrid that gives us an opportunity to try messing around with paint binders and John’s Mum’s old magic brushes, and see what results we get. #authenticstainedglass #masterlasspainter #stainedglass

Really pleased to have installed the next two windows in our sequence of Old Testament windows for St. Joseph’s, Langley. Our mentor used to say that he enjoyed creating really stern looking Old Testament figures with their craggier appearances, John prefers the terms slightly grumpy, or windswept and interesting. Here we have Moses and the Ten Commandments, and also King David bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. ... #authenticstainedglass #masterlasspainter #gilroystainedglass

The tale of Saint Hildegard and the family of squirrels. Once upon a time (or last week, if you prefer) there was a sure-footed artist named John who was called upon to install our latest window at St Mary’s Church, Kerrisdale. This window depicted an awesome woman of the 12th century named Saint Hildegard. Now, upon this day it seemed that everyone wanted to watch the installation (live streamed by the church and attended by the benefactors), including a family of squirrels... who darted into the church. It was quite entertaining for all who were viewing from the balcony to watch the attempted ushering out of the squirrel family from the church (no squirrels were harmed during the ushering process). The squirrel family decided it would be much more entertaining for them to see from outside, so they settled themselves upon the grass to get a good view. After a short time, it seemed that it was decided that John’s agility was not in the same league as the squirrel family and thus, as there was no leaping from branch to branch, they left without a fare-thee-well. #GilroyStainedGlass #AuthenticStainedGlass #SaintHildegard

I enjoyed creating the full size drawing, or cartoon as it’s known, for Our Lady of the Valley, Coldstream, BC. I’m really happy with the flow of this window and we’re looking forward to the next stage of creating the structural drawing, known as the cutline, and selecting all the beautiful colour we’ll be using from our range of hand made, mouth-blown glass. #lovemyjob #gilroystainedglass #authenticstainedglass

At last we have got around to photographing Spirit! Took us long enough. We started it as an in-progress piece for an exhibition a couple of years ago, and only found the time to finish and frame it (in a beautiful oak) at the beginning of this year. it is now displayed in our studio reminding us of all the things we love most about British Columbia. #gilroystainedglass #masterglasspainters #stainedglass #authenticstainedglass #stainedglassartist #glasspainting

We’re looking forward to starting the first painting stage of our 18th window for St. Mary’s, Kerrisdale. This one depicts Saint Hildegard of Bingen who was a 12th century Benedictine Abbess. I enjoyed researching her life; her accomplishments were pretty much unprecedented for a woman of that time. She is probably best known for her musical compositions which are still popular today, and was also a highly prolific writer on very diverse subjects such as poetry, politics, the natural world, botany, medical science as well as theology. The benefactors of this window chose St. Hildegard due to the family’s connection to various choirs and musical studies, as well as a love of all things botanical. #gilroystainedglass #masterglasspainters #stainedglass #authenticstainedglass #glasspainting

Really pleased to have received the go-ahead for one of our next commissions (pictured is my hand painted scaled water-colour design). I’ll soon be starting to draft the full size cartoon for this 7ft diameter window for Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church in the beautiful Okanagan. #gilroystainedglass #masterglasspainters #stainedglass #authenticstainedglass #stainedglassartist #glasspainting

We have just completed our Moses window, which we won’t get to install for a little while yet. Here is a photo of the top section depicting Mount Sinai; John is particularly pleased with his art deco inspired clouds.

Back to some painted restoration and identifying the paint binders and techniques of the original artist to recreate a badly damaged inscription. it was gum arabic and then oil, by the way. #csiStainedGlass

In the first part of my musing about inspiration, I wrote about my mentors; artists who directly inspired me. This time I’m thinking about an artist who I could never have met, but whose work has inspired and encouraged me. When I was in my mid teens, and I knew that I wanted a career that would allow me to express myself artistically (it was a nebulous concept at that time!), I would look for inspiration everywhere, all the time. I would create scrapbooks filled with any kin...Continue reading

I haven’t posted anything for a while, I think like most people I’m just trying to get my head around what is happening and I don’t think there is going to be business as usual for quite some time. Clearly there is a lot of anxiety in the news and our social media feeds, and I guess to balance that I have found myself thinking a lot about artists who have inspired and influenced me. So I thought I would create a little series about inspiration; where we find it and what it me...ans to us. To me inspiration is like combined hope and excitement, and people who are able to generate that feeling in others are truly to be celebrated. They may be people who we know personally or they may be people whose work or actions we admire and to which we are drawn. I’m going to start with our mentors; Roy Coomber (Fellow of the British Society of Master Glass Painters and Professional Member of the Stained Glass Associate of America) and James (Jim) Crombie (Graduate of the Royal Academy of Art and Associate of the British Society of Master Glass Painters). As apprentices Roy taught us technique and, arguably just as importantly, the ability to self assess. His favourite question was Are you happy in your work? which was intended to either push us to do better or make us defend our choices and decide for ourselves that we had achieved our goal. Of course, if he didn’t like it we still had to do it again! His work was bold and rich with detail; his artistry and his work ethic inspire me to this day. Jim Crombie was an extraordinary artist who designed and created many glorious stained glass windows, and also such beautiful water colour landscapes. He was the kind of artist who could turn his hand to many different media, and even twice designed the winning entry to create a garden at the Chelsea Garden Show. He had a tendency to neither praise nor criticize, rather when asked for advice with a design he would work the process through my view point and then open my eyes to design possibilities I hadn’t even considered. We have some of his designs and watercolours displayed in our home; they never fail to lift my spirits. Here’s to all those special people, in all walks of life, who make a difference. #gilroystainedglass #masterglasspainters #stainedglass #authenticstainedglass #stainedglassartist #glasspainting

Hey all you cigar aficionados. Our client says that if you don’t have one of these in your Cigar Lounge, it’s just a room that your significant other lets you smoke in :) A big thank you to T.C. for being such a great client, you’re a gentleman. #gilroystainedglass... #awesomecigarlounge #cubaninspired #authenticstainedglass See more

Sunny Sunday afternoons, when the colour casting through your stained glass makes an awesome lamp shade. #gilroystainedglass #lovecolour

We’ve just completed the painting stage of our Cuban inspired Cigar Lounge window. This project has been a lot of fun at each stage - our most heated debate was over who got to paint which section! I let John tackle the tricky tonal work on the ’59 Oldsmobile, while I painted the tricky elusive cigar smoke. Currently, we’re getting all the pieces through the kiln and then it will be on to leading. #gilroystainedglass #masterglasspainters #stainedglass #authenticstainedglass #stainedglassartist #glasspainting

Warmest wishes for a very happy Christmas and New Year. ~ Laura and John *Our Nativity window, All Saints, Farmborough, UK, 2000

First painting stage - ’59 Oldsmobile. After completing the etching of a beautiful piece of French Ruby Flash on Clear. #cigarlounge #authenticstainedglass

One of my favourite things about my job is the variety of design briefs we get. Our current project is for a cigar lounge and depicts Cuba from the growing and drying of tobacco through to the unique mix of architecture and cultural influences. We will be doing a lot of acid etching to achieve the white on red detail of the classic ’59 Oldsmobile, and to create the ephemeral quality of drifting smoke.can’t wait to get started! www.gilroystainedglass.com #gilroystainedglass #masterglasspainters #stainedglass #authenticstainedglass #stainedglassartist #glasspainting

Installation day at St. Joseph’s, Langley. The first two Creation windows are in and the remaining ten in the sequence are being commissioned as benefactors come forward. We had some great light in the morning, beautifully casting the colours over the wall, but by the time we were finished in the afternoon it was a bit more overcast. I always find that photographing stained glass insitu is tricky - how to get that blast of colour, with great detail while minimizing all the background noise that the camera seems to pick up. Mostly I tend to revisit the window when I can at different times of the day or year. Any suggestions from our photographer friends out there? #gilroystainedglass #masterglasspainters #stainedglass #authenticstainedglass #stainedglassartist #glasspainting

Inspired by a friend’s visit to Guinness in Dublin - welcome to our Wonderful World of Gilroy here in sunny Vancouver. Unfortunately, the famous John Gilroy doesn’t work here, however mine is a legend in his own lunchtime. http://www.gilroystainedglass.com... #gilroystainedglass #masterglasspainters #stainedglass #authenticstainedglass #stainedglassartist #glasspainting

This is the part of stained glass that most people are more familiar with; John is fabricating all the painted and kiln fired pieces together to make the window. #gilroystainedglass #masterglasspainters #stainedglass #stainedglassart #fineart #authenticstainedglass #stainedglassartist #glasspainting

Painting Adam and Eve's disembodied legs. Just another day at the office. Traditional Quality in a Contemporary Light http://www.gilroystainedglass.com... #gilroystainedglass #masterglasspainters #stainedglass #stainedglassart #fineart #authenticstainedglass #stainedglassartist #glasspainting

After a relaxing Thanksgiving we’re back hard at work in the studio. The project is underway for my sequence of 12 water colour designs for a church in Langley, BC. It’s so rewarding seeing John at the easel bringing my concept to life! Also pictured is the fully painted, stained and kiln fired piece ready for the next stage of fabrication. Traditional Quality in a Contemporary Light http://www.gilroystainedglass.com... #gilroystainedglass #masterglasspainters #stainedglass #stainedglassart #fineart #authenticstainedglass #stainedglassartist #glasspainting