Blue sunflowers

Cyanotypes made from sunflowers grown in my garden. I use a kit from Jaquard which is two chemicals, Potassium Ferricyanide and Ferric Ammonium Citrate. The chemicals are mixed together and the paper is coated. While the paper is still wet it appears yellow, it turns green as it drys. The pressed sunflowers are placed onto the coated paper on a board and then glass is place over the top. The flowers need to make contact with the paper to create an imprint on the paper. I leave the prints to expose in the sun for approximately an hour and a half. The paper is then washed in cold water and the prints begin to develop.

*Note to self: use a wide sponge brush to spread the chemicals onto the paper, ensuring that the solution is evenly spread. Try not to get finger prints onto the front of the paper as these will be exposed

I like to try out different papers to see how the flowers react. The paper used here was slightly ridged, it picks up more detail. My beautiful sunflowers are preserved.