Process Breakdown: Rewetting Dry Cyanotype Paper

When I’m doing an art market, I tend to explain the dry vs wet method to a lot of people over the course of the market. I was thinking about them as two separate methods that you choose as a path in the beginning and then must stick to that. But I’ve had a few people ask if they can do wet cyanotypes with my kits. My first thought was no because the paper is already dry. But what if?…

So I’ve had it on my list to try that during the summer. Well friends, I finally did it. Not only did I try it, but I used a piece of paper I coated several months back. Sidenote: I have seen a lot of different views on how long cyanotype paper lasts once it’s been coated. I’m not sure of the full lifetime of the paper, but it’s a long time. Even a year on, the paper still works great. I think there’s maybe some detail fall off. But rewetting it and doing the wet method might be a good work around for that. More experiments are needed.

Essentially, my re-wet method goes like this. I took the dry coated paper and sprayed the whole thing with diluted white vinegar from a spray bottle. Specifically a spray bottle with the pump top (not the trigger kind). I think you get a better spray mist for this kind of thing with that type. Once the paper was wet again, I put my leaf in the position I wanted. Then I sprayed it with diluted walnut ink (my favorite additive for wet cyanotypes. highly recommend.), dropped on liquid watercolor, and sprinkled with salt. I let it cook out in the sun for a couple of hours. The leaf I used was pretty thick. So I didn’t expect any real transparency. But the effects achieved are nearly, if not exactly, identical to what I get for starting when the chemicals are still wet on the paper.

Really pleased with the outcome. I’ll try some more out next year when the sun is back full time.