You Can Make Art With Sunlight (Cyanotype)

I’ve been seeing cyanotypes everywhere lately and I absolutely love how soft and dreamy they look. The coolest part about it is that you don’t need a chemistry degree or any expensive gear. Just two powders, some paper, and sunlight. I will share here my experience making one with actual flowers, and one with a printed transparency. Both worked. I didn’t get the same polished results you see in fancy tutorials from experienced makers, of course, but what you’ll create is still something you’d love hanging on your wall.

How Cyanotype Works

It’s a contact print. You place something on sensitized paper, let the sunlight hit it, then rinse. The covered parts stay white, and the exposed parts turn deep blue. You can also use a UV lamp for that, but I didn't have one to test it.

What you need:

Ferric ammonium citrate (Solution A)

Potassium ferricyanide (Solution B)

Or just search for any available cyanotype kit online. It comes with both powders pre-measured. That’s what I did and it cost about $20.

And don’t forget to wear gloves.

Mix the chemicals

Mix equal parts A and B and let the mixed solution sit for at least an hour before using it. I didn’t do this the first time and got sad pale blue prints. Letting it sit makes a huge difference.

Coat the paper

Do this in dim light (just no direct sun). Pour a bit of solution on the paper. Spread it evenly with the foam brush. Let it dry in complete darkness (drawer, box, whatever). Takes up to 60 minutes. Use it within a day or two. The longer it sits, the less sensitive it gets.

Arrange your stuff

Flowers and other things

Lay your coated paper down. Arrange flowers, leaves, anything you think may produce a nice shape. Optionally, you can put glass on top to press everything flat. Might be useful if it’s windy outside, so your flowers stay in place and don’t shift.

Digital negative (for actual photos)

Take a photo, convert to black and white, invert it, flip it horizontally and print on transparency film.

Put the transparency on the paper with the printed side touching the paper. Glass on top.

Sun time

Take it outside. Keep it flat in direct sunlight. My flower prints took around 15 minutes. The photo negative took 25-30. Watch for the paper turns from yellow-green to bronze/metallic. When it looks properly bronze, it's done. Overexpose rather than underexpose. You can always wash out an overexposed print.

Lift off your stuff. Rinse the paper in cold water (warm water ruins it, believe me). Gently agitate for some time. The yellow-green washes out, leaving the blue image. The image just appears.

Fresh prints are pale. They’ll deepen over 24 hours. You can also skip a wait and just splash some hydrogen peroxide to the image. Don't know how much, I was just dripping it over the picture. The blue deepens instantly. It's genuinely satisfying.

Lay it flat or hang it up. And that’s it. You just made a cyanotype.