"Springing" into Action

Despite being punny and funny, it should be said that springtime is always my most productive studio time. This past April's studio time has once again demonstrated my creative pattern.  Below is a sampling of some works completed and some works in progress.

The brain is a world consisting of a number of unexplored continents & great stretches 

of unknown territory.  - Santiago Ramón y Cajal 

Dawn Hunter, study for Cajal inventory, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14"

Dawn Hunter, studio shot featuring Cajal Inventory in progress as well as other works, April 2016 

Dawn Hunter, Resting Butterflies study for Cajal Inventory, acrylic on paper

Dawn Hunter, Cerebellum study for Cajal Inventory, acrylic and marker on paper

Dawn Hunter, Fons Via Retiro Gardens study for Cajal Inventory, marker and pen on paper

Dawn Hunter, large painting based on sketchbook page, acrylic on canvas

Dawn Hunter, detail of large painting based on sketchbook page

Dawn Hunter, detail of large painting based on sketchbook page

Dawn Hunter, sketchbook page for large painting, marker, acrylic and ink on paper

To learn more about my handmade sketchbook book, please visit this previous Blog posts: 

• Picking up where the previous pages left off
• Handmade Sketchbook work about Santiago Ramón y Cajal Continues

 And Spring arose on the garden fair,

Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.

- Percy Bysshe Shelley from The Sensitive Plant 

Domestic Bliss, Immediate Observations

Here are a few of my daily sketchbook drawings from the last month.  Spring is in the air and the season has obviously influenced my use of color and subjects selected.

Dawn Hunter, Kitchen Window featuring the Boov, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14"

Dawn Hunter, Barbie Tots for Darcy, marker and crayon on paper, 8.5" x 11"

Dawn Hunter, Bedroom Window and Sleeping Cat, marker and pen on paper, 11" 14"

April Poem

In April fleecy clouds float by

Like cotton candy in the sky

April is tip-toeing into the land

Touching each leaf with her delicate hand.

~ Author Unknown ~

The Arte Corporis

"The Arte Corporis: Exploring the Anatomical Body exhibition will showcase anatomically and medically inspired contemporary art including drawing, painting, and ceramics. The artists in the exhibition employ their own connection to the study of medicine and anatomy through a wide range of applications and approaches."

I currently have fourteen drawings, that explore Santiago Ramón y Cajal's scientific drawings, on display in The Arte Corporis:  Exploring the Anatomical Body  exhibition in the McMaster Gallery housed in the School of Visual Art and Design at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.  The drawings of mine on display are works that I created while at on-site visits at the NIH.  Scientific drawings by Ramón y Cajal are currently on display at the John Porter Neuroscience Research Center. To understand his scientific drawings and how they are put together, I have been making regular trips to the NIH so that I can draw the actual works.

Other artists in the exhibition include Melissa Gwyn, Lisa Temple Cox, and Mallory Wetherell.  This exhibition is held in conjunction with the symposium, organized by Dr. Andrew Graciano, Art, Anatomy and Medicine since 1700, hosted by the Columbia Museum of Art from March 31-April 1, 2016.  The closing reception for The Arte Corporis will be March 31, 2016 from 5:30-7:30PM.  The McMaster Gallery is located on the first floor of the School of Visual Art and Design, McMaster College @ 1615 Senate Street on the USC campus.  For more information about the exhibition contact McMaster Gallery Director, Shannon Rae Lindsey, email:  slindsey@email.sc.edu or by phone:  803-777-5752.  

Below are some photos of the show.

A visitor looks at Lisa Cox-Temple's work, right.  The display of my drawings are on the left.

The display of my drawings in the show.

A closer view of the display of my drawings in the show.

Detail, of one of my works from the show.

Melissa Gywn's work, left and two works by Mallory Wetherell, right.

A work by Mallory Wetherell.

A work by Lisa Temple-Cox.

Three works by Lisa Temple-Cox

Two works by Melissa Gwyn.

Springtime on the USC Horseshoe and in the studio

Lots of time spent in the studio honing works and beginning new ones, and also! --making time to enjoy the eighty degree weather this week by doing some plein air drawings of the USC Horseshoe.

Dawn Hunter, Cajal and Golgi, acrylic on paper, 2016

Dawn Hunter, Cajal's spinal cord and butterflies, acrylic on paper, 2016

Dawn Hunter, studio shot, spring 2016

Dawn Hunter, USC Horseshoe, marker on paper, 2016

Dawn Hunter, USC Horseshoe, marker on paper, 2016

Spring makes its own statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be only one of the instruments, not the composer. 

-Geoffrey B. Charlesworth

Drawing Santiago Ramón y Cajal's "Structure of the Mammalian Retina" at the NIH

Had a wonderful couple of days drawing Cajal's Structure of the Mammalian Retina.  I drew this drawing three times as it was a challenging work to study and draw.  The work contains two different approaches to drawing within one work.  Usually Cajal approaches a or each drawing with a singular attitude, either strict observation or with a sense of design (to demonstrate a theory.)  The focal point or focal points of this particular drawing are the arrows.  In this work Cajal is inferring the direction in which the neurons transmitted information.  Some of the pathways he theorized correctly, while other pathways are incorrect.  To demonstrate his theory he has combined perceptual observation within a theoretically structured design.

Dawn Hunter, study of Cajal's Structure of the Mammalian Retina #1, marker and pen on paper, 2016.

Dawn Hunter, study of Cajal's Structure of the Mammalian Retina #3, marker and pen on paper, 2016.

Dawn Hunter, study of Cajal's Structure of the Mammalian Retina #2, marker and pen on paper, 2016.

Perseverance is a virtue of the less brilliant.

- Santiago Ramón y Cajal

Astrocytes and Developing Neocortex

I continue my investigation of Santiago Ramón y Cajal's drawings that are currently on display at the National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD.  Below are my drawings/studies of his "Astrocytes" and "Developing Neocortex" scientific drawings.

Astrocytes are star shaped glial cells.  They exist throughout the entire brain and spinal cord and perform many important functions, for example:  regulate and transmit ions and glucose between the blood vessels and the brain.

In the human brain, the neocortex comprises the creases,"trenches," and furrows that are visible on the top outer layer of three dimensional representations.  This tangled, complex jungle of cells are part of many processes like conscious thought, sensory perception, and language.

Dawn Hunter, study of Cajal's scientific Astrocytes drawing, pen and marker on paper, 11" x 14"

Dawn Hunter, study of Cajal's Developing Neocortex drawing, pen and marker on paper, 11" x 14"

Any man could, if he were so inclined, be the sculptor of his own brain.

-Santiago Ramón y Cajal

Happy New Year! Drawings from our family's holiday travel...

A change of pace for the daily routine and this blog.  Here are a few samples of the drawings I have done with the iPad Sketches app.  Some I would consider finished works but the drawings are mostly loose and feature my daughter in the airport(s) during layovers or on the airplane(s).  The app sure does take the sting out of flight delays!

Flight from KC to ATL

Atlanta Hartsfield Airport, Gate C-43

Flight from ATL to KC

Darcy at KC airport, Gate 57

Flight from KC to ATL

Darcy at KC airport, Gate 57

Flight from COLA to ATL

Gesture drawing, KC airport, Gate 57

Portrait of Shirley Luke Schnell, Lee's Summit, MO

A special part of our travels included a long visit with my mentor from Kansas City Art Institute, Shirley Luke Schnell.  Years ago when I was in graduate school she sent me a beautiful letter Friar Angelico sent to a friend in the 16th century.  In celebration of the New Year, I am posting it below:

New studies of Santiago Ramón y Cajal's work

There is a new batch of drawings by Santiago Ramón y Cajal on display at the John Porter Neuroscience Researcher Center of the NIH.  Just like with the previous set, I am spending time drawing and studying his work.  Much insight is to be gained about his creative process from this type of endeavor.  Below are the drawings I made last week:

Dawn Hunter's study of Cajal's Insect Visual System scientific drawing, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14"

Dawn Hunter's study of Cajal's Olfactory System scientific drawing, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14"

Dawn Hunter's study of Cajal's Calyx of Held scientific drawing, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14"

“Our novice runs the risk of failure without additional traits: a strong inclination toward originality, a taste for research, and a desire to experience the incomparable gratification associated with the act of discovery itself.” 

- Santiago Ramón y Cajal