June | 2016 | gill hughes photography & fine art

I thought I’d take advantage of the sunshine last week and do some cyanotypes on a mix of solar paper and home prepared cyanotpye paper…I’m glad I made the most of it as there’s no sign of the sun this week!

Prints hanging out to dry

I have since learnt that hanging prints out to dry in direct sunlight is not recommended as it can mean that prints darken, these have ended up with less contrast than shown in this photo

Whilst I enjoyed my afternoon in the garden the results were not as good as I hoped, there’s not enough contrast in any of the prints, I have ended up with pale, washed out prints in varying shades of blue, rather than the characteristic blue and white of the Cyanotype.

Photogram

Glass Negative

Some useful websites which I have come across, Alternative Photography, this is a great website, where you can find information about processes and photographers/artists working with historical processes today.

Jacquard Products, I haven’t fully explored their website yet, as there’s a host of information on it, but this link will take you to their Cyanotype page where they provide PDF’s of instructions on the process, FAQ’s and Tips & Troubleshooting. It would have been beneficial for me to have read this prior to starting, I just need to wait for the next sunny day before I can put the tips into practice

It’s been a few weeks since all work was handed in, the final degree show was installed, we had the opening night, which was good and really well attended. The work has been taken down and it’s waiting for our results now. I promised myself that I would keep up with this blog, so here goes with the first blog post which won’t be for my professional practice module.

I’m feeling a little bit lost with what seems like too much time on my hands, I need to stay focused on making work, and in light of this I have signed up to a Sketchbook Circle , I’ve joined as a late comer, half way through the year and will I will be working with 2 other ladies. The idea of the circle initially was to encourage art teachers to find time to make their own work, the circle has since expanded to include anybody who is interested in joining. You keep the sketchbook for a month then return it to your partner who will response over the next month whilst you work in a different sketchbook with your other partner.

I’m a little bit unsure as to how much to do in the book, so I have held back a little bit whilst working in my partners book, I was a bit cautious about filling too much of the book up.