Solace in Cyan
The Garden of Solace
During lockdown in 2020, I began experimenting with making cyanotype and lumen prints using botanical subjects collected on my daily walks in the woods (or from my garden). These camera-less processes gave much needed solace in a time of such uncertainty. I first became interested in cyanotypes (particularly wet cyanotypes) after seeing Jill Welham's wonderful Fireworks (overall winner of IGPOTY in 2019) and but never seemed to find the time to really practise this art until lockdown. When we all had to stay at home for a prolonged period due to Covid 19, I finally had no excuse, with the added bonus that making cyanotype and lumen prints does not involve a lot of expense (an important factor when your income has dropped). I find both processes endlessly fascinating, the results are often unpredictable and unrepeatable - I can prepare multiple prints in exactly the same way but each print will be different in some way. I also enjoy very much the tactile experience of making the prints using processes invented in the 19th Century - a refreshing change from creating images in a modern, high-tech, digital camera as I usually do.
Background Info on Cyanotypes and Lumen Prints
Cyanotypes are made by coating paper or cloth with light sensitive chemicals before exposing to uv light. Wet cyanotypes are created by adding liquid to the treated paper before exposing to the sun (liquids can be anything such as diluted vinegar, lemon juice, soap suds etc) to create interesting patterns and different colour tones to the classic prussian blue and white cyanotype. Lumen prints are made using expired darkroom paper which is then exposed to the sun for varying amounts of time - different papers can produce very different colour tones in the final result. Cyano-Lumen printing is a combination of wet cyanotype printing and lumen printing - the cyanotype chemicals are brushed on to the darkroom paper before exposing to sunlight which can produce very interesting effects.
The collage above (The Garden of Solace) is now available exclusively, as a limited edition print, from AFTER ART GALLERY. Please email the gallery if you would like to order a print: [email protected]
Background Info on Cyanotypes and Lumen Prints
Cyanotypes are made by coating paper or cloth with light sensitive chemicals before exposing to uv light. Wet cyanotypes are created by adding liquid to the treated paper before exposing to the sun (liquids can be anything such as diluted vinegar, lemon juice, soap suds etc) to create interesting patterns and different colour tones to the classic prussian blue and white cyanotype. Lumen prints are made using expired darkroom paper which is then exposed to the sun for varying amounts of time - different papers can produce very different colour tones in the final result. Cyano-Lumen printing is a combination of wet cyanotype printing and lumen printing - the cyanotype chemicals are brushed on to the darkroom paper before exposing to sunlight which can produce very interesting effects.
The collage above (The Garden of Solace) is now available exclusively, as a limited edition print, from AFTER ART GALLERY. Please email the gallery if you would like to order a print: [email protected]
