Cyanotype & Watercolor: Painting with the Sun
In Sarasota, where sunlight can make even an ordinary afternoon feel composed, the natural world has long been an artistic collaborator.
By Edit Sarasota Staff
In Sarasota, where sunlight can make even an ordinary afternoon feel composed, the natural world has long been an artistic collaborator. On October 12, that partnership moves from garden to paper during “Cyanotype & Watercolor: Painting with the Sun,” a hands-on workshop that combines one of photography’s earliest processes with the fluid freedom of watercolor.
Cyanotype is an almost alchemical medium. Participants arrange leaves, flowers, and other forms on pre-prepared, deckled-edge watercolor paper, then let the sun expose the composition. The result is a deep blue image—part botanical study, part photographic trace—that can be further transformed with washes of watercolor. What begins as an arrangement of borrowed shapes becomes something more personal once color enters the picture.
The workshop offers an especially fitting way to experience Sarasota’s relationship with the outdoors. At Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, plants are not simply scenery; they are subjects, materials, and sources of inquiry. The Gardens’ downtown campus has made art and horticulture natural companions through exhibitions, classes, and programs that invite visitors to look more closely at the living world. Here, the familiar act of wandering among palms and tropical foliage becomes a starting point for making something by hand.
Leading the session is Bianca Clyburn of Art on Fire, LLC, a professional watercolorist who will guide participants through both the cyanotype process and the painting that follows. No previous experience is required. The class is designed for curious beginners as much as practiced makers, with all materials and supplies included in the tuition. Because the work unfolds both indoors and outdoors, participants are encouraged to check the forecast and dress for comfort in the Florida elements.
There is also something appealingly unhurried about the format. Cyanotype asks for patience: a composition must be placed, exposed, rinsed, and revealed. Watercolor then takes over, introducing the small surprises of pigment, water, and gesture. The finished piece carries evidence of both control and chance—a fitting record of time spent paying attention.
“Cyanotype & Watercolor: Painting with the Sun” takes place Monday, October 12, 2026, at the Downtown Sarasota campus of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 1534 Mound Street. General admission is included in the course fee, and attendees are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy the Gardens before class. Questions may be directed to programs-classes@selby.org.