How to Make Monotype or Monoprint Art on Glass

A monoprint (or monotype) by the author

Making a monotype or monoprint on glass is a fun and artistic form of print-making. Monoprint and monotype both mean that each print is unique. That's because once you compose your artwork on the piece of glass, you will only be able to pull a single print. You can also use other flat, smooth surfaces other than glass or plexiglass, but the latter two give a nice effect to the finished art work.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• printmaking inks
• a thick piece of unscratched glass or a piece of plexiglass
• soft printing paper
• (optionally a printing press)

1. There is something about printmaking that speaks to the child in every artist. Maybe it's the mud pie quality of playing with inks. Or maybe it's the joy of spreading around colors. Or perhaps it's just the fun of getting dirty. (It really is hard to do printmaking neatly!) This is a really fun way of doing fine art printmaking. Making monoprints (or monotypes) additionally gives you a chance to do printmaking without a lot of expense. It also offers a way to create a unique piece of fine art using the printing medium for the medium's sake.

2. Author's 'bird' monotype

   You can use a thick piece of glass or a piece of plexiglass. If you are going to run your print through a hand press, you will want to use minimum pressure and, of course, a piece of glass thick enough that will not break easily.

3. Another glass monoprint or monotype

   Printing inks for wood prints, etching, and lithography will all work well. Paint your image on the smooth surface. Use different ways to apply the ink to create textures and lines. Try brushes, fingers, feathers, chips of cardboard, textured fabrics or whatever tickles your fancy. You can scratch into the ink surface, too. Remember that your image will print in reverse should you decide to use lettering or anything that will be impacted by the mirror image.

4. When you have your glass surface painted, lay a clean, damp piece of printing paper carefully over the inked surface. Try to leave even margins of white paper on the top, bottom and sides.

5. Monoprint done on glass

   You can press your image by hand or run it through a manual press. If you use your hands, you might want to cover your paper with a piece of stiff board to even out the pressure as you press. You can also influence how the ink adheres to the paper by varying the pressure in different areas, pressing directly on the paper with your hands.

6. There are many ways to make monotypes and monoprints (the names are usually used interchangeably). For more information on how to make this unique kind of art print on glass, please check out the Additional Resources listed below.

Resources

• Monoprint classes in California
• All about monoprints and monotypes
• prints, monotypes and paintings by Jane Schwartz Gates