Yellow Summer Grass (12 x 16 inch original yellow toned cyanotype on paper)

(12 x 16 inch original unframed work on paper)

Original monotype on 100% cotton paper, signed on the back. Though this resembles a block print, it is technically a kind of 19th century cameraless photography called a cyanotype. It was made using real freshly cut wild grass, juncus patens, a native California species that grows in wetlands and around ponds.

This cyanotype started as a blueprint but was "toned" or altered in color through a soaking in sodium carbonate, a natural detergent. The darker the original blue print, the darker the yellow will be upon toning (altering the color). The bleaching process takes an extra hour, and there is always a possibility of destroying the original blue with splotches if small spots in the original resist changing color from blue to yellow. Thus the cost is a bit higher than for my blue cyanotypes.