Misty Poppies (14 x 20 inch original handmade monotype)

(14 x 20 inch original handmade monotype)

Unframed.

This pale blue-gray is a very difficult color to achieve with the cyanotype antique photographic process. This one is more gray than pale green. I have other botanical monotypes that are more of a mint green in this collection.

The flowers are a species of native Californian flower called the California Tree Poppy. (Matilija poppy.) They bloom in summer and grow over 6 feet tall with white petals and a yellow center.

Although this looks like a screen print or woodcut, it is actually a form of 19th-century photography. The normal color of a cyanotype (blueprint) is dark blue and white. However, this slate gray and cream cyanotype was made by dramatically altering the ratio of two photo chemicals in the mix before brushing it on the paper.

NOTE: this is 14 x 20 inches, a little bit smaller than my many botanicals that are 18 x 24 inches. it could fit a standard 18 x 24” frame with a 2-inch wide mat border.