Two Easy Cyanotype Embellishments

A blue and white cyanotype print is lovely all on its own, but sometimes the image just seems to need a little something more. One easy way to bring out the best in your cyanotype prints is to add outlining or details with a white gel pen. My favorite is the Sakura Gelly Roll size 08 pen, which you can easily find at most craft supply stores and online. 

Another easy way to embellish your cyanotype prints is to print over the image with acrylic paint. I especially like the look of silver, gold, and copper metallic paint with the deep blue and clean white of a cyanotype image. I use Golden and Liquitex brand acrylic paints, but any thick acrylic brand will work. For the image below, I brushed gold acrylic to the back of the same leaves that I had used to make the cyanotype print. After putting the leaves paint side down on the paper, I covered it with paper towel and gently pressed the leaves. Lift off gently, and you now have a lovely shimmer on the finished piece!

The mat for this image was created using cyanotype sensitizer solution and a stencil with random holes. The stencil was somewhat translucent, so the resulting image is a subtle dot pattern. Gold acrylic was added to the beveled edge of the inside mat opening. The biggest problem with this technique is rinsing the cyanotype solution after exposure to sunlight. The paper layers of the mat separated and had to be glued together using mat medium. I like the effect, but the technique needs refining!