Experiments in wet cyanotype - part 96

Wet cyanotype fun time, shrubbery edition! In my ongoing project to fill my yard with interesting plants instead of boring grass, I planted some new shrubs this summer. They needed some light pruning when planted, so I used the leaves for printmaking. First up is the bottlebrush buckeye,  Aesculus parviflora, a native with palmate leaves and a vigorous growth habit. I look forward to it flowering next summer.

Next is a smokebush, Cotinus coggygria, with maroon leaves. It's not a native, but I've made an exception because I've always wanted one, and it's said to be especially good for printmaking and ecoprintmaking. 

Next I did a print of my leatherleaf viburnum, Viburnum rhytidophyllum, which is extremely well established here, and needs to be whacked back on occasion. It's one of the few things I have that the deer will leave absolutely alone, and I appreciate that deeply. These prints are on cotton sateen, using cyanotype chemicals with a splash of Solarfast. 

To round out this session, I did three prints of the smokebush on mineral paper.

Here are the prints after exposure but before rinsing out. Everything looks very promising at this point.

And here are the finished prints. I'm very happy with them all. I'm particularly pleased with the smokebush on mineral paper results.

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