Sunday 24 August 2014

Cyanotype Prints

My most current work uses a process called cyanotype printing which is a photographic printing process. It involves coating the surface, in my case canvas, with a mixture made of the chemicals ammonium iron(III) citrate and potassium ferricyanide. Combined this mixture is highly photosensitive and stains blue when exposed to UV light. I exposed the paintings to UV light with digital negatives from pictures of me working in the studio.

The paintings are based off colourful drawings i did of a character called "Mr. Painter" who is a creation mimicking the archetype of a painter combined with my own personal features to create an identity. These paintings comment on painting itself combining photographic process and painting to expand the boundaries of painting and comment on what identifies myself and also others as "painters."

These paintings, among a couple of others with be displayed in a charity exhibition in St Lawrence Church in Long Buckby on the 6th and 7th of September.



Artist in Study #2
120 x 120cm
Acrylic and Cyanotype on Canvas



Artist in Study #1
120 x 120cm
Acrylic and Cyanotype on Canvas



Artist at Work #1
120 x 120cm
Acrylic and Cyanotype on Canvas



Artist at Work #2
120 x 120cm
Acrylic and Cyanotype on Canvas



Sunday 16 February 2014

First Paintings of a New Semester

Due to the unavailibility of the printing inks that I required, (ordered from the shop, but they hadn't arrived yet) I decided to paint some studies based on how different circle forms and compositions react to the square canvas they are placed within. I started out with a blue canvas in an attempt to relate to the cyanotype printing technique (monochrome blue), that I will be trying.

I created the painting specifically with different colours, depths and forms so I could view how these different element transfer through the digital negative process and on to the cyanotype printing process. I will use this as a base point to evaluate the success of various further prints as it will allow me to gauge how the process treats various elements within paintings, such as shadow, depth and the conversion of colour to monochrome.


While the first painting contains a simple form with cool colours with a large tonal difference, the second is designed with a larger variety of colours. This is so I can evaluate the success of simple designs versus chaotic designs after they are processed and printed. The third painting was focusing more on the use of warmer colours to see how these colours would transfer into the monochrome blue of the cyanotype print.



Circle Study #1
60 x 60cm
Acrylic, Emulsion and Pastel on Canvas



Circle Study #2
60 x 60 cm
Acrylic, Oil and Emulsion on Canvas



Circle Study #3
60 x 60cm
Acrylic and Emulsion on Canvas