Anatomy and Art

Last night I was presented with an interesting opportunity.  I was asked to participate in an art installation out at Flipside (Texas’s primary regional burn event) called The Gallery of Dreams.  To participate I would create an art project, most likely a painting, but it could really be anything, and agree never to photograph it, to leave it for people to experience for the week of the event, and then to let it burn at the end of the event, along with the whole gallery.  It is not a primary focus of mine, but I do have a soft spot in my heart for temporary art.

Lately, I have been getting to know Cinema 4D.  And I think that I am finally starting to make some progress with it.  The other day I decided to model a DNA strand.  This is actually a pretty simple modeling design.  To do it, I used a cloner on a slightly flattened cylinder and then used larger flattened cylinders on either side, like a ladder.  The whole thing was placed under a null named DNA and then I applied the twist modifier to it.

From there, I’ve been poking around learning to render out of the program.  I’m familiar with the idea of rendering in passes from my previous work with both 3DsMax and also Maya.  I’m still getting the hang of the new system of doing things, but I think I’m going to like working with this program in the long run.

So here is the DNA I made yesterday.

And then today, I started animating the models, and playing with some moving particles in the background, so hopefully soon I’ll have an animated piece to share from this!

It’s funny.  I had the pleasure of attending the Austin City Limits taping of Radiohead last night (and I swear I’m going somewhere with this and not just saying that to brag).  As I watched them play, I couldn’t get over how well rounded of musicians they were.  Back when I first started listening to them, I’d thought that they wouldn’t be a very good show live because I thought that most of what they did happened in a computer.  They are so technically proficient, and they use such a variety of instruments, they couldn’t possibly actually play all of those instruments live on stage, could they?  Oh yeah, they can and do.  And while I’m watching this, I’m thinking about the level that some artists hit where tools/instruments… they are just exactly that.  We spend so much time trying to learn to use these tools, to master them.  But for everything that comes with that, it’s what we want to do with that expertise that really matters.  I want to be the kind of artist who can use a multitude of tools.  I want to be the kind of artist who can pick up a new tool for the purposes of particular piece.  I want to reach that.

One of the things that has been so nice about working at Sapling Learning, is the sheer variety of what I get to do from one day to the next.  And as frustrating as it can be, having to switch tools when you know something else better, I love that feeling that comes when you start to get a handle on a variety of tools.  The focus, it shifts back onto your message again, where it was back before you knew how to do anything, only now you can get it out.

Anyway, I’m not quite there yet.  But I’m working on it.  Getting to work with a variety of subject matters really suits me too.  For all the times I’ve been told that this trait makes me unmarketable as an artist, I’m finding that it does serve me well in other respects.  Get ready, I may be on the verge of breaking out the paints here in Austin soon!

Finally finished this last painting of 2011.  It’ll be glossed tomorrow, and I can start packing up my paints without that loose end hanging.  And I’m happy with how it turned out.

By the way, if anyone in Chicago ever wanted to buy any art from me, right before I have to pack things up is always the best time to get a deal!

I’ve been working on this painting for a couple of months now.  It’s not something that I’ve worked on every day or anything like that.  But it is something that I keep coming back to.  I was hoping to finish it before getting into holiday travels, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.  I’ve been taking the occasional cell phone picture as it’s come along though.  Sometimes I kind of like looking at the steps a piece takes on it’s way to becoming the finished work.

I just gave it a few more hours tonight.  It’s getting closer, but it’s not the kind of piece I can rush.  Anyway, that’s just something that I’ve been working on lately.

I recently finished up one of my old little skulls.  I still haven’t started reproducing any of these little guys yet, but a buyer contacted me not long ago for the originals I have around so far, so that’s encouraging to get back into it.  I wound up baking this last one completely black, but that just makes it strong.  Hopefully I haven’t lost too much detail in the coloring.  I think that getting back to these is really good practice for me while I’m out of the clinic.  Working in polymer clay is very different than working in wax, but I think that any kind of working in shape and form like this is good practice for me.

Gonna polish this little guy up a touch with some denim or something and I’ve got a bundle of skulls to send off to someone 🙂

Well it’s been an interesting week, between the new phone contracts and some new endeavors I’ve been pushing through to facilitate taking payments from people.  I am literally fried with new passwords, paranoia, and learning how all these new tricks work.  I’ve been terrified for days of all the ways I might be handing over the keys to my bank account or credit to what forces may be in these here wily internets.  It’s been a real leap of faith.  But the functionality I’m getting for that leap is certainly promising.

Up from last week, I am once again connected on the go.  Yes, I finally rejoined the ranks of cell phone owners.  And not only have I reconnected to a mobile network, but I’ve upgraded substantially into a modern smart phone.  I picked up the iPhone 4, recently marked down with the new release of the iPhone 4s.  It’s amazing.  There is still so much I haven’t figured out on it yet, but already I am amazed at everything that I can do.  And over the weekend I signed up for an account with Square.  Square is a company that is quickly making a name for itself amongst merchants.  Basically, you sign up, and they send you a credit card reader in the mail that connects to your smartphone and allows you to run a credit card via your phone.  You have to connect it to your bank account, but then you have the ability to directly deposit money from a card into your account with just your phone and that little plastic piece.  The only fees are a small percentage that gets taken from each transaction, and it’s about the same as you see for larger credit card readers like businesses use.  It’s really a pretty sweet deal.

And then today I also set up a PayPal account so that I can sell pieces online.  With all the hassle I’ve been experiencing with the post office out here, I finally let my fears of direct 3rd party involvement in my bank account go by the wayside.  So now, if you see something of mine here that you would like to purchase (other than the Cafe Press site that is), you can do so with an online payment directly to me.  All I will need is your email address to send an invoice, and your mailing address where I can send your purchase.  Pretty neat, eh?

So it only seems fitting that I should follow that all up by highlighting a few pieces that are presently available for purchase…

If you’re looking for prints, I still have just a couple left from a very limited edition printing I ran on “Red Woman.”  The painting itself is no longer available, but the individual prints sell for $100 each, plus shipping if you’re not in the area to pick it up.)  They are done with archival quality ink and paper, and there were only six made in total.

I have also been considering making prints of the blood vessel scene if anyone is interested.  I don’t anticipate making a limited run out of these so I would have to charge a little less.  If someone is interested, let me know and we can talk sizing and prices.

If an original painting is more your thing, I still have several of those available.  You can peruse them all at my gallery page, and any individual image will let you know when you click on it if it is still available.  But while I’m doing this, let me highlight a couple that I know to be available right now…

Of course, there is still the most recent, “Feel,” which is a 6″x6″ acrylic on canvas piece.

I also have “Tom Tips His Hat,” which is another small acrylic on canvas piece, 6″x9″

Or, if you are interested in my larger work, the two biggest pieces I have at present are “Scream,” which measures 24″x30″,

and “The Fall,” which measures 40″x30″

There are plenty more up on the gallery site, but sometimes I think it’s easier to just see a few at a time.  And if you are interested in making an offer on a piece, or asking for me to name a price, I can always be reached either in the comments here, or by email – sara(at)anatomyandart(dot)com.

I am all revved up and ready to make things happen!

The new painting has been scanned and posted at my gallery site.  This one is just a little 6″x6″ canvas.  I actually started her a long time ago, but had to set her aside and work on some other things in the meantime.  Well, recently in setting aside another piece I noticed her again and realized I needed to change the color structure entirely, and suddenly I had something that was working again.  So here she is.

And the job hunt is on! Been getting a lot of flattering feedback about my work lately, but I’m still trying to figure out the big step into gainful employment. And in the meantime, I’ve started another painting again. I’m still sorting out exactly where this is going, but it’s a start that I can work with.

Actually, it occurs to me that being between grad school and work right now, maybe I should be promoting some of my previous paintings for sale a little bit more.  So here are a few that I have around presently that are available for purchase, and if you ever care to peruse the full collection, I keep a record of every one I make over at http://snapshotgenius.com/paint Any image you click on there will tell you if it is available for purchase, has been sold, or was made as a gift there.  But for now, here are a few of my paintings that are presently available for sale.  And if you should ever care to inquire about pricing, I can be reached here, or via direct email Sara(at)anatomyandart(dot)com.

Yesterday I finished a new painting.

This tree has been keeping me sane throughout my last weeks of grad school.  Thank you tree!  And yesterday I finally had time to finish it.

So, I was going to wait until I’d shown this in my big presentation next month, but I just couldn’t.  I put it up tonight.

Introducing, The Bilateral Sagittal Split Osteotomy and Osseous Genioplasty…

And if that doesn’t work, here’s a direct link to the YouTube page itself – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQI8L5Sxa6w