The project started with two sketches - a chicken and an alligator

Step 1: Transfer of Sketches

Step 2 was to transfer these sketches onto large butcher paper the same size as the glass panels.

Step 2: Transfer Onto Glass

Step three is to trace the line drawings onto the glass from the butcher paper underneath. This takes about three layers. I used paint pen markers, but paint with a sign brush can also work. You want multiple layers so the lines are opaque.

Step 3: Add Color

The style of painting on glass or plexi is referred to as 'reverse painting' because the application of paint layers is in opposite order. The top layers go on first (the lines) and the color backwards from there. Color is also applied in multiple layers so it is totally opaque.

Step 4: Final Product

When the glass is flipped, the final image is flipped and the top glass provides a clean surface. In the future I would probably use plexi instead of glass because I think the paint would bond better to the plexi. It's also a little lighter and more durable.

An artist who has mastered this type of painting is Jim Nutt in his early work and his wife Gladys Nilson - both Chicago artists out of the Hairy Who movement.