Concentration #10

This piece is Multiple Sclerosis. This genetic disease causes the coating on the nerve cells to deteriorate, depicted in the frayed orange nerve cell in the bottom left corner. The blue and purple nerve cells are smooth and healthy.  The brown round shapes are the nerve cell extensions as they appear under a microscope. The ones in the bottom section are slightly fades and the outlines, the coating that deteriorates, is very thin. The ones in the top of the painting are dark with thick coatings like healthy nerve cells. I added some fraying to the brown nerve cells in the bottom of the picture to strengthen the anomaly.

Concentration #9

This piece depicts PKU (Phenylketonuria). I chose bright yellow for the healthy section (bottom two-thirds) and a cool blue for the unhealthy section (top third). PKU causes brain damage, represented by the unraveling brain in the top of the painting. The other two brains are solid looking to convey that they are healthy. The three molecules running vertically in the middle of the bottom section are the type of molecule a person with PKU is missing, therefore the top lacks this molecule. The missing molecule normally converts the little yellow molecules seen in the top of the painting (phenylalanine) into the small blue molecules seen in the bottom of the painting (tyrosine). So, the little yellow molecules are accumulating disorderly in the top of the painting and the normal product is seen in organized rows in the bottom of the painting. The shape of the little molecule, the hexagon, is magnified in the large green shape seen in the background to give the eye a break from looking at all the little shapes and to integrate the two sections of the painting. I am very pleased with the composition of this painting. I think it has good balance and rhythm, and the anomaly in the brain and the anomaly with the various molecules are strongly evident.

Concentration #8 2nd Picture

I added more contrast, but I'm still not quite pleased with it.

Concentration #8

This painting depicts Osteogenesis Imperfecta, or more commonly known as Brittle Bones Disease. A person with this disease has weak bones that fracture easily due to half the normal amount of collagen. While researching for this piece I was inspired by old medical journals that doctors would fill with their observations, so the first layer on my canvas is torn paper. I found a book that had really old, golden pages and the color makes a good background and the text adds linear texture. Next I added the skeletons in pencil, charcoal, and a little acrylic for more intense white. The molecules are collagen and the section depicting Brittle Bones Disease has one, rather than two, collagen molecules to represent half the normal amount of collagen. To visually tie together the bottom skeleton, the single red collagen molecule, and the red set of dots in the bottom right corner, I used red. The red dots continue behind the bottom skeleton to include it in the Brittle Bones section. The dots represent bone density and I painted them in concentration structures that are very dense for the normal bone and considerably less dense for the brittle bones. One thing I plan to improve is the contrast in this piece, particularly on the skeletons - part of the problem is the light I took the picture in...I need to take another picture and maybe the contrast will be okay.

Concentration #7

This piece portrays Muscular Dystrophy. In this disorder cells are not able to produce the protein dystrophin which stabilizes muscle tissue. So the muscle cells turn into weak connective tissue. The top section of this painting shows the cells of a person with Muscular Dystrophy; the cells are faded and empty-looking. The blue strands are tangled because without dystrophin, the muscle tissue is not stable. The bottom section shows healthy muscle cells and strong muscle strands.

Concentration #6

This painting depicts Cystic Fibrosis, a disease in which build-up in the lungs and other organs cause frequent infections. I used a blue and green color scheme to partially represent the build-up in the organs, but I chose shades that are not disgusting. The long horizontal shapes are the cell membranes which contain the protein which allows chloride ions (the green spheres) to pass through, or in the case of a person with Cystic Fibrosis (the delta508 form), the protein does not let the ions through so they collect on the outside of the cell. The deformed cell membrane protein is represented in the top cell membrane, it is missing several of the extensions seen in the protein in the middle cell membrane. The rods in the background are chromosomes which code for this protein, and the nucleotide sequence for the healthy or malfunctioning protein is written into the shadows of the cell membrane for texture.

Concentration #5

This piece is Down Syndrome, which occurs when the chromosomes do not separate properly in cell division. Someone with Down Syndrome has an extra 21 chromosome which results in the symptoms of Down Syndrome (written on DNA strands in background). People with Down Syndrome have very happy, innocent dispositions (represented through the color scheme in background and chromosomes). This piece has developed considerably from its early direction and the suggestions I received at the critic helped me to change it to the way it looks now. However, I am uncertain about the extra chromosome in the middle of the bottom row of chromosomes. I don't know how best to make it stand out, while still making it appear to be a part of the set of chromosomes.

Concentration #4

This concentration piece is Hemophilia. The background texture is drippy and splattered to represent blood. The top and bottom blood vessels (dark red) are healthy, while the blood vessels in the middle are broken in two places, and they are not healing. The bright blue strands are fibrin molecules, the molecules necessary for blood clotting. The fibrin molecule in the middle is falling apart because it is missing key components (specifically factor viii) which are not synthesized because of the genetic anomaly that causes Hemophilia. Finally, I added blue splatter on top of the section of the painting depicting the structural breakdown during Hemophilia to give it a foggy, broken feeling (also to represent atoms and molecule building blocks of the fibrin that are not put together properly).

Concentration #3

This piece depicts the general qualities of cancer. It is black and white because the kind of microscope that shows cells in three dimensions do not show color. The top middle section shows cancer cells growing uncontrollably. The bottom left and middle right sections show normal cells that grow in sheets then stop growing. The sections with words in the top corner and middle left describe the effects of normal cell growth and division in non-cancerous cells. The bottom section with words described the impact of cancer cells going through abnormal cell division (they don't stop dividing). The white sections show the cell cycles, how a particular cell grows and divides, and fails to divide if there is no need for more cells. The half circle in the cancer column portrays an abnormal cell cycle. A cancerous cell ignores key signals that regulate the cell cycle, so cancerous cells divide ceaselessly. I thought about adding color, like red, in a few places, but I am worried about it looking like an after-thought. I may add color later. I would appreciate any suggestions regarding where color might add interest to the piece, without looking out of place. This piece fits into my concentration as it investigates the impact of a breakdown in microscopic structure (cellular regulations in this case). I chose to divide the painting into distinct sections this time so that not all of my pieces are very heavily layered; so it is different from the others but it still has the same central idea.
Here's the edited version with color:

Concentration #2

I took the advice from last week and added visual texture to the surface of this painting before I began adding content; which definitely adds depth to the piece. The texture of the background represents the deterioration of order in the brain. This painting is loosely divided into three sections. The top section represents a normal brain, the middle section represents early Alzheimer's Disease, and the bottom section represents late Alzheimer's. The yellow diagrams in the background depict nerve signals being transmitted in the top section, and failing to be transmitted as well in the bottom two sections. The white brain nerve cells are healthy in the top, but in the bottom of the painting they become seriously tangled, preventing proper brain activity (depicted in the yellow diagrams). The brain in the top section is red and orange, representing healthy brain function. The middle brain is yellow and orange, representing a slight decline in brain activity. The bottom brain is blue and is sort of falling apart, representing an extreme loss of brain function. The brains are set at different angles to suggest the idea that the brain is falling down. This piece shows that the tangled nerve cells in the brain cause the brain to be unable to transmit signals properly, resulting in a serious loss of brain activity. This stays true to my concentration of exploring anomoly in molecular and cellular structure and its results. I am very pleased with the way this one turned out.

Concentration #1

This piece shows the structures of red blood cells. In the bottom 3rd fourth of the painting I show structural anomaly that occurs in Sickle Cell Anemia. The actual red blood cells are in the background, with some sickle shaped ones in the Sickle Cell Anemia section. On top of that I painted in the hemoglobin protein structure that is responsible for carrying oxygen in red blood cells, and in the anomaly section the hemoglobin is deformed. Then layered through the hemoglobin are the abbreviations for the amino acids in the sequences for normal and Sickle Cell Anemia hemoglobin and the molecular pattern of the hydrocarbon backbone of the amino acid chain (excluding the r-groups except for the ones that change for Sickle Cell Anemia) in green and blue respectively. I think the structure and visual texture are strong in this piece, and I think the white highlights on some of the red blood cells make them stand out more. I think the anomaly could be emphasized more strongly. In my next piece I will focus on making the anomaly the central focal point of the piece.

Concentration Statement

My concentration focuses on the structure and order of cells and molecules on the microscopic level. Specifically my concentration investigates the dependence of the various levels of structure on one another and the consequences of deterioration of this order in genetic diseases.

Atmosphere

Star Gazing

Caged

Artificial

Double

Breakfast

Diary

Giant

Satellite

Paisley

Ripple