Wet Cyanotype Maple Leaf Botanical Blue
by Jane Linders
Title
Wet Cyanotype Maple Leaf Botanical Blue
Artist
Jane Linders
Medium
Photograph - Cyanotype
Description
cyanotypes, also called sun prints, are one of the oldest photographic printing processes dating back to 1842. Sir John Herschel developed this first silver less photographic process using only 2 chemicals and the sun as a light source. These sun prints are decidedly low tech as the final image of a cyanotype appears only with the aid of sunlight as a light source and water for a developer. This inexpensive, simple and permanent process was used for the blue print process for copying architectural plans, hence the name
“Blue print.” The very first book of printed text and photographs by Anna Atkin used the Cyanotype process.
This process involves two stock solutions that are mixed together and coated on watercolor paper. After the paper dries, a large negative is placed over the paper and placed in the sun or a UV light source, anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the day, time of year, cloud cover and density of the negative. The cyanotype print is washed in plain tap water and dried in the air. Unlike traditional prints, the texture of the watercolor paper adds interesting tonal qualities and creative dimensions to the printing process. Many 19th century processes, like Cyanotypes are making a comeback with the fine art photographers. You can see modern versions of this antique process in many art exhibits and museums around the country. This current revival of alternative processes is more than a trend. I think the attraction for these old processes is the physical involvement during the printing processes, allowing photographers to use our hands, eyes and intuition when printing. This hands on technique is much more satisfying than simply pressing a print key on a computer.
Uploaded
July 31st, 2020
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Comments (19)
Alex Lapidus
Congratulations, your image has been featured in the Experimental Photography group -- thanks for sharing it with us! Please feel free to add it to the 2022 Feature Archive in the Discussion section (using the "embed" link on your image page).
Kathy Crockett
Wow! I am impressed with how many skills and how much knowledge is among the artists on this site! The print is beautiful! Very nice work! F
Gary F Richards
Outstanding capture, lighting, shading, color and artwork! F/L … voted for this piece in the Favorite Things contest!
Gull G
“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” .. Congratulations on your recent sale of an amazing work.
Robyn King
Congratulations your beautiful work is being featured in An Image Inspiring Meditation:-)
Angela Davies
Your Cyanotype art is so unique and wonderful, loved the interesting description of how you achieved this style. Love your gallery and thanks for sharing this process. I thought at first they were negative watercolor paintings. LF