Working Wet: Techniques and Effects in Super-Wet Cyanotypes. Part 2

In part 2 of our cyanotype series, Caroline Roberts explores the “super-wet” technique – a variation where paper is soaked before coating, unlocking a vibrant spectrum of unexpected tones. Originally developed to cope with hot Texas weather, this method opens up creative possibilities for photograms, unconventional coating methods, and dramatic colour shifts. In this 5-part experimental cyanotype series, Caroline Roberts explores how variations in dilution, exposure, and moisture can expand the creative potential of cyanotypes. Based on her research and studio practice, the series focuses on material and process-based experimentation beyond traditional methods.

Writer and photography / Caroline Roberts

Read the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) before attempting to use chemicals and use the correct safety equipment.

In part 1, Going Beyond Blue to Explore Cyanotype Variables: Dilution, Exposure, and Moisture of this series we looked at how changes in chemical dilution and mixing ratios affect tone and color for wet and dry cyanotype exposures. In this second part we’re going to look at the ‘super-wet’ cyanotype, a variation that adds more possibilities. It is a process that can be used with objects for photograms, or with added chemicals (which we will cover in part 3 – Introducing Chemigraphs: Abstract Cyanotypes with Added Chemistry. Get the cyanotype newsletter and you will be notified when part 3 is published).

What is a wet cyanotype?

A wet cyanotype is a cyanotype that is exposed while the chemistry is wet, whether the paper is rewetted, or whether the paper is simply taken outside without drying. It may or may not include substances such as vinegar, salt, soap, turmeric, baking soda, and lemon juice.
For more on the wet cyanotype:

• Wet cyanotype – an excerpt from Cyanotype on glass and ceramics
• Wet Cyanotype Painting: Fun under the sun
• Wet Cyanotype – injecting colours and double exposing

So, what is a ‘super-wet’ cyanotype?

Essentially, it is similar to the Wet Cyanotype, only the paper is soaked before coating. I live in Texas, and I did this initially to keep my wet solutions from drying too quickly in the heat. I noticed that I was getting unexpected colors and ended up testing all the same dilutions and ratios for this process variation.

I find that the ‘super-wet’ variation has some great applications. Plants and other objects placed on the wet surface attract the chemistry thanks to the surface tension of water. This can give interesting dark blue haloes around the object. This is also a great way to coat the paper in non-traditional ways, with drips, pours and spritzes. The solution disperses across the wet paper surface in interesting ways.

When I tested these super-wet dilutions and ratios, I soaked my watercolor paper pieces for about 10-15 minutes, briefly blotted the paper to remove excess water, and then coated it with the same solution that I was using for the dry cyanotype and wet cyanotype exposures. The difference in color of the wet and the super-wet exposures is quite dramatic. The soaked paper does, of course, add some water to the exposing solution, but that does not account for all of the color change. Super-wet exposures have more teal and even olive or orange tones, especially for higher ratios of Solution A: Solution B. Some of the most interesting colors emerge when one or both of the solutions is extremely dilute. The turquoise of a very dilute mix, or the green or orange of mixes with a normal dilution of A and very dilute B.

The paper used is vital to the success of this process. The surface needs to have enough sizing so that the solutions stay on the surface and can flow. My favorite is Canson Moulin du Roy Not/Cold Press but any good quality watercolor paper is worth investigating. My main advice on paper is that the process is less finicky than using negatives, so Arches Platine is not necessary, but cotton rag, unbuffered and reasonably sized (waterproof sizing not physical sizing) papers, that can be soaked without tearing, work best, whether they are screenprinting, watercolor, or just good papers. I also really like Arches Cover and Arches Text (not Text Wove which has a texture) because they can be used in books.

Process Steps of Super-Wet Cyanotype

Warning: this is a very wet process that is prone to dripping all over you and your surroundings. Some tips on safety and protecting your work area. Read the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) before attempting to use chemicals and use the correct safety equipment.

• Wear gloves and an apron or dark clothing.
• Wear shoes and long pants or be ready to have blue drips down your legs…
• Protect your working and exposure areas with sheeting
• Use a shallow, flat-bottomed tray to hold the coated paper
• Don’t do any of these steps in a food preparation area!

1. Soak your paper, submerging it fully in clean water for 10-15 minutes.

   

2. Briefly blot the paper to remove excess water. This gives you a base that stays wet while you coat the paper and for the first 30+ minutes of exposure.
3. To coat the paper, I use a hake brush as I would for any other type of cyanotype. I tend to lay out the soaked paper outside, in full sunlight, where I want to expose it, so I don’t have to move the wet paper, and then coat it. This is mostly to avoid spills and drips. It does mean that I have to move quickly if I want to add plants or other objects to the wet chemistry. The exposure surface needs to be as level as possible to avoid runoff, but some pooling of solution is inevitable, hence the white marks on some of my test pieces.

   

   Try diluting your chemistry and altering the ratio of the two chemistries. For example, Solution A (Ferric Ammonium Citrate) diluted 25:75 with water combined with full-strength Solution B (Potassium Ferricyanide), or vice versa. This is not a fussy process – I’ve had results over an extreme range of dilutions. You can work with bottles of pre-mixed solution, but I now have an entire set of dilutions that I mix from dry and keep on hand.

   

4. Add objects. It is, of course, not possible to use transparencies with this method, but plants and other objects that you might use with the Wet Cyanotype process can be used. Be aware that they will end up coated in the solutions themselves and eventually turn blue.

   

   

5. Expose the paper in full sun for as long as possible between 10 am-3 pm. You cannot use glass so use objects that will weigh the paper, or that are already flat and make good contact, and make sure that you are exposing in an area sheltered from any wind.
6. Wash the print as you would for any other cyanotype print – I wash for 10 minutes in running water. The colors change A LOT, so if you particularly love an unwashed piece, you may want to scan or photograph it before washing.

   

   

   

   

7. Let your piece dry – the colors will change as it dries and oxidises.
   My experience with the dilution tests made it clear that this is not an exact science – the color achieved from a particular mix is not completely predictable. It depends on the paper, the batch of A chemical (which can vary significantly in purity), the exact amount of UV received, and possibly how long it takes for the paper to dry out during the exposure (humidity and temperature variation). There are so many variables! I control for what I can and try to record everything that I can’t – date, temperature, humidity, time of day, approximate exposure time.

While great with photograms, this process comes into its own when you add other chemicals, such as salt: I cover this in part 3 – Introducing Chemigraphs: Abstract Cyanotypes with Added Chemistry.

The 5-part experimental cyanotype series

In this 5-part experimental cyanotype series, Caroline Roberts explores how variations in dilution, exposure, and moisture can expand the creative potential of cyanotypes. Based on her research and studio practice, the series focuses on material and process-based experimentation beyond traditional methods.

• Part #1 – Going Beyond Blue to Explore Cyanotype Variables: Dilution, Exposure, and Moisture – introduces her initial experiments – systematically varying wet, dry, and soaked paper conditions, as well as chemistry dilution and exposure settings – to establish a base for further testing.
• Part #2 – Working Wet: Techniques and Effects in Super-Wet Cyanotypes – explores what she calls the “super-wet” cyanotype: highly fluid chemistry used to create photograms with differing object weights and absorbency, but without adding other chemicals.
• Part #3 – Introducing Chemigraphs: Abstract Cyanotypes with Added Chemistry – focuses on chemigraphs – abstract works created by introducing reactive materials to the cyanotype mix, altering colour and texture during exposure and development.
• Part #4 – Combining Cyanotypes, Chemigraphs and Transparencies – details her process for combining dried chemigraph surfaces with simple transparency overlays, particularly text-based elements used in her publications Memoranda and Daybook.
• Part #5 – Cyanotype Layering: Chemigraphs Followed by Contact Prints – looks at combining these approaches – layering chemigraphs and transparency cyanotypes through multiple exposures and different coatings – to create complex, multi-process images.

This series is both a visual record and a technical resource for artists working with cyanotype, offering practical insights and encouraging further material investigation. To get notified when cyanotype articles are published, subscribe to the Cyanotype Newsletter.

Caroline Roberts, with a background in Chemical Engineering and an MFA in Painting, creates experimental, camera-less work exploring nature and climate. Her art has been widely exhibited and supported through residencies at BOX13, The Printing Museum, and Penland.