Moonlight Bamboo (24 x 18 inches)

(18 x 24” original cyanotype on 100% cotton acid-free watercolor paper)

Unframed.

This monoprint may resemble an etching or block print but it is a cyanotype, a form of 19th century cameraless photography also known as blueprints or sun prints. Cyanotypes are a kind of 19th century alternative (cameraless) photographic process. While traditional cyanotypes are a navy blue background with sharp white silhouettes, I prefer to manipulate the process to achieve varying softer shades of blue instead, rather like aquatint etchings.

This print without any white in it, only shades of blue, is a double exposure cyanotype. The different hues of blue were created by exposing some parts of the light-sensitive paper to sunlight longer than others, and exposing every inch of the paper ,rather than leaving some parts covered the entire time.

My layering and monochromatic multi-tone technique is inspired by different kinds of printmaking that I have practiced in the past, especially multiple-plate block prints and aquatints.

All my botanical cyanotypes are one-of-kind monotypes. There is no etched copper plate, no carved wood block, no printing press and no ink to be able to reproduce these images. There is no film negative either. Each is a unique, hand-printed lensless photograph made using real plants from my own garden.

Every one of my botanical cyanotypes is an entirely unique monotype as the cut plants are laid by hand in that one exact composition only once. Even if I reuse the same plants once or twice before they wilt, no two of my botanical cyanotypes are ever identical. There is no carved block nor etched copper plate; there is no ink or printing press to be able to reproduce the same image twice.

(12 x 16” original cyanotype on 100% cotton acid-free watercolor paper)

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Contact me for a quote on the additional cost of shipping artwork outside the United States.

Note: there are customs fees that the buyer will need to cover once the art arrives at its destination as well. Fees vary from country to country.