Catalpa 7-31-13 Triptych, 2013

Fels’ cyanotype series stem from his lengthy engagement with a single subject: a tree in his garden and it’s dappled shadows. Previously he had addressed these through pencil drawings and photographs. The discovery of the availability of large-scale cyanotype paper, a medium to which he had been alerted through his work with photographs of the 19^th century, took the experience in a new direction.

The cyanotype is an early process of great simplicity and unique colour – a deep blue. Typically, the method has been employed to produce silhouettes – of leaves, for example, as in the botanical illustrations of the pioneer British photographer Anna Atkins (1799-1871) – but the same process was also used to make photographic prints from negatives, as well as architectural blueprints.

Fels’ cyanotypes are camera-less photographs, popularly called “sun prints” or “shadow prints.” There is no negative; each is unique. The prints are life-sized, 1:1 scale renderings of their natural subject matter obtained directly, outdoors, from bushes and trees. The result of a technical process dependent on light and chemistry alone, these prints can be regarded on one level as simply un-manipulated records of the organic world. On another they are richly suggestive, capturing a deeply evocative sense of motion and form. Each print is sold un-framed and is sold as a triptych (a set of three prints).  Other works are available by this artist, to see a wider selection please contact us.