Laurinda Bellew
Laurinda is a cyanotype artist working in both traditional and wet processes, as well as other alternative photographic methods such as lumen print. Working from her home studio in rural Wiltshire, UK, she finds inspiration in the English countryside and at the south coast, as well as from her childhood living in the US and her extensive travels across the Arctic.
Laurinda first discovered alternative photographic processes while studying for a master’s degree in history of art in 1995 and returned to the process in 2013 as a way of recording and preserving the beauty of her rural surroundings.
Cyanotype was invented in the 1840’s and became popular as a cheaper, camera-less, alternative to traditional photographic techniques. Laurinda follows the same process as the early Victorian pioneers; printing from local botanicals, or handmade negatives, exposing and developing the prints using just sunshine, water and air.
She also works with wet process cyanotype, and cyanolumen which combines cyanotype with lumen printing on expired photographic paper. Working wet-in-wet, she adds spices, coffee, soap bubbles, vinegar, or salt before exposing it to the sun. Longer exposures are used to create depth, tone and texture.
Laurinda also experiments with mixed media colour to capture seasonal nuances or the natural essence of the day.
Her work is often embellished with hints of silver or gold leaf, reflecting the sunlight used to create each print.