Dinosaurs in the Yard

My nephew is turning 4 in a few days. Last summer he watched his older brother ride my grandfather's horse around the yard. He sees dinosaurs playing everywhere he goes. This altered cyanotype illustrates the wild dreams and thoughts of a little boy.

To add the dinosaurs to this cyanotype print I used vinegar, strong coffee and water to paint loose watery shapes. Each liquid affects the color of the print differently. Water simply clears away the emulsion to show the  paper undernieth. Vinegar reacts with the emulsion and leaves an intense blue trail. Coffee colors both paper and chemistry a nice vandyke brown. All of these are very uncontrolled since the liquids spread creating sharp shapes because the paper is dry when it is worked. Another great complication is the fact that you must work in near darkness. It makes it almost impossible to see your strokes as you work. This results in random shapes which only mimic what you had in mind. If you are open to a little visual chaos, this is an interesting twist on the cyanotype. I made the dinosaurs more defined by adding details using colored pencils.