Cyanotypes painted with acrylics - AlternativePhotography.com (2024)

October 15, 2021November 19, 2020

Egill Ibsen shows us how cyanotypes can be painted with acrylics to get a spectacular result.

Writer and photography / Egill Ibsen

I first prepare a classic cyanotype either with standard or digital negative.
Usually I only dip it in 3% Hydroxide Peroxide for the added deep blue but sometimes I use Acetic acid as well to manipulate the print. Try to avoid pushing the brushes to hard or you will risk lifting the cyanotype layer of the paper.

After drying the print thoroughly I prepare the acyrilc paint. Some aerias are
painted thickly f.ex. the “tree”.

Other areas are painted with many layers of thin washes.

I like to paint these thin washes quite quickly and then I even them out with a mop brush. After every application the print needs to dry otherwise one risks muddying the painting.

Sometimes many layers are needed to get the desired effect.

The rest of the print is painted with different types of brushes and washes.

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6 thoughts on “Cyanotypes painted with acrylics”

Hi Melissa,
There are a number of factors that can affect the longevity of a print, the water you use to rinse the print in, the paper, the space in which it hangs (pollution and light). What is unique about cyanotypes is that if they fade you can put them in a dark drawer and they will come back, perhaps not always fully, but some at least.
Hello
Permanence is important to the project I am working on. Are cyanotypes archival if printed on neutral pH paper? Are they lightfast ?
Thank you
I…how long have you use the acrylique on Cyanotype?
Wath about time?
thanks…
This is cool! I have been using watercolor pencils to add subtle color to my cyanotypes after toning with tea. I will try using acrylics too. This is beautiful. I am also looking for a way to print a cyanotype onto something that would accept oil colors, but I’m not sure how that would effect the cyanotype itself.
Thank you Scott for commenting. I have not acrylic tried your method of painting the backside with clear polymer but I will give it a try. I might even try Polyvinyl-chloride (PVC) to experiment further.
This is great. Thanks for sharing. Beautiful work. Mixing media is very fun.
I have found that painting the back of a cyanotype with clear acrylic emulsion (or the stuff sold as acrylic “varnish”) eventually makes the entire cyanotype a deeper blue/purple. The same process applied to the front initially makes the cyanotype very light as if it were being bleached by ammonia (which is probably what is happening) but the color comes back within 24 hours. Once both sides are covered in acrylic, the possibilities just increase from there because it essentially is an acrylic painting at that point.