Window at the Dakota (monotype) by Mary Gow
This is a monotype I made using the photograph that appeared on yesterday’s post. I made this one by painting directly on a thin sheet of plexiglass, which was then put on a printing press. Paper is placed on top of the plate and the press is rolled over it.
Frank Howell explained monotypes very well:
Monotypes, described simply, are printed paintings or drawings. These unique works of art, executed in ink or oil paint, prior to transferring to paper via a printing press, record clearly the artist’s painterly and adventurous manipulations of pigment on a surface of metal or Plexiglas while creating an image.
In terms of technique, the monotype is the simplest form of printmaking, requiring only pigments, a surface on which to apply them, paper and some form of press. Traditional forms of printmaking like woodcut, etching, engraving or lithography involve much more complex processes of physically or chemically cutting or fixing an image in wood, metal or stone so that it may be inked and printed repeatedly.