July 5, 2017

Experiments in wet cyanotype, part 2

Wet cyanotype, Sue Reno, Image 14
 In my previous post about experimenting with wet cyanotype, I speculated that some paint stains on the foam board I was using had transferred onto some of the prints. This led me to speculate further about what would happen if I added pigment to the process purposefully. So I set up for another round. This time I misted the foam board with water to which I had added just a bit of Jacquard Dyn-na-Flow #84 Salmon color. Above, I used a plume poppy leaf, and below, a painted fern frond, on freshly treated cotton sateen.
Wet cyanotype, Sue Reno, Image 15
 I did the same, using Japanese anemone leaves on old stock commercially treated muslin. Then I misted the glass cover with plain water, covered them up, and waited.
Wet cyanotype, Sue Reno, Image 16
 Again, on the muslin, I could see color shifts almost immediately.
Wet cyanotype, Sue Reno, Image 17
About 18 hours into the exposure, a big thunderstorm sprang up unexpectedly while I was away, and drenched the experiment. The glass preventing any direct rain contact, but a lot of water seeped in around the edges.  Oh, the drama! I hovered over them anxiously:
Wet cyanotype, Sue Reno, Image 18
 I let them sit a few hours longer in the hope that some of the water would drain off, then brought them in. They were very wet, and I was hesitant to rinse the prints for fear it would all wash away, so they went into a dark, air conditioned room to dry off.  They did look pretty cool at this point:
Wet cyanotype, Sue Reno, Image 19
 And then, the big reveal after rinsing and drying! This plume poppy leaf print is just fabulous. There's just so much going on here, and it's all good. I was practically beside myself with joy:
Wet cyanotype, Sue Reno, Image 20
 Here's the other three from this batch, after exposure and before rinsing:
Wet cyanotype, Sue Reno, Image 21

Wet cyanotype, Sue Reno, Image 22

Wet cyanotype, Sue Reno, Image 23
 And here's the finished prints:
Wet cyanotype, Sue Reno, Image 24
 The pinkish tones from the Dye-na-flow show up the most on the coarser muslin fabric.
Wet cyanotype, Sue Reno, Image 25

Wet cyanotype, Sue Reno, Image 26

Up next: full blown printmaking frenzy mode.

As always, thanks for reading and commenting.

July 2022 Update: This post has been doing some numbers, so I wanted to say hello, and thank you, to everyone stopping by. I also wanted to let you know that this exploration turned into a series of 78 posts, and counting! You can easily access them, in reverse chronological order, by clicking on the Wet Cyanotype tab in the top header. I share a lot of details about what I've tried, and am always honest about the results in each post. Mixed in is the occasional post showing artquits I've made with my prints. I hope you enjoy reading my blog, learn a thing or two, and try your own hand at this very enjoyable process. 

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4 comments:

Unknown said...

This is so cool!!

Dorcas said...

Such an interesting article - thanks for sharing.

fair weather said...

The these leaf prints are just stunning! Thanks for sharing.

Sue Reno said...

I am excited and having fun and am happy to share the process and results! Thanks to all for engaging.