Pale Blue Maple (original UNFRAMED 22 x 30 inch botanical cyanotype on paper)

(22 x 30 inch botanical cyanotype on paper)

The name of this Japanese maple is “Dancing Peacock” or “Full Moon” maple. Its intricate leaves each have nine points which remind one a fan made of feathers. The leaves in this print are paler than the blue leave of the similar print of the same size called “Blue Maple.”

Though this may look like a woodcut or aquatint etching it is technically a kind of photography. Cyanotypes are a 19th century alternative (cameraless) photographic process. The traditional cyanotypes are like this, a navy blue background with sharp white silhouettes.

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.

Hand-printed on 100% cotton Arches watercolor paper. Ships rolled in a tube.