Dawn Hunter Art® - Say my name, but don't credit other people with the art that I have made!

What is in a name? A lot.  

We live in a time of digital technology, and with the increasing use of artificial intelligence or bots by websites, confusion can be created, erroneous attributions can occur, and significant mistakes made.

My name is Dawn Hunter, and I have been a professional artist for over two decades and I have operated my website, www.dawnhunterart.com™, since the early aughts. This past year I have become aware of a website called “Wall of Celebrities” because they have posted eighteen of my original artworks and associated those artworks with an actress by the same name. In fact, there are more images of my artwork or me with my artwork than there are of the actress or her performances. This misattribution is significant, it compromises the authority of my work while simultaneously creating market and brand identity confusion for prospective exhibitors and collectors of my art. 

Like anyone finding themselves in this predicament, I have notified the company of the erroneous attributions of artwork created by me but credited to another person. They promised to remove my artwork, and they have not. That was eight months ago, so I find the lack of action appalling. Additionally, they are offering free downloads of my artwork, Gasp! - without asking or receiving my permission.

My advice to my students and any young artist starting a professional practice is to copyright your artwork. If you find yourself in the same predicament, you will be able to pursue appropriate legal action. Which, of course, will be my next step.

In the meantime, to help eliminate confusion as to who created what, I am featuring my artworks (below) that are currently erroneously attributed to and associated with another person on the "Wall of Celebrities." I am also including a summary of their creation, links that verify the timeline history of the works and the professional exhibition history of those works. I have been very diligent over the years and recorded my creative and exhibition output on this blog and other social media outlets like Facebook and Flickr.  All of this information can be seen publicly and the history of the creation and exhibition of my artwork can be traced.  I have numbered (1-18) each image featured without my permission.

8/10/2022 Update:

Wall of Celebrities continues a copyright infringement of my artwork. They have taken down the artworks numbered 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 18 featured in this post. However they continue to display my artwork without my consent on the following links below.

Artworks numbered  4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 and 17 are featured on this link:

https://www.wallofcelebrities.com/celebrities/dawn-hunter/landscape-photos-1.html

Artworks numbered 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14 and 16 are featured on this link:

https://www.wallofcelebrities.com/celebrities/dawn-hunter/landscape-photos-2.html

1) Dawn Hunter, Portrait of Cajal from observation of Jorge Zockoll's oversized photograph at the Instituto Cajal, Madrid, marker and pen on paper, 

11" x 14," 2017.

The work (#1 above) was also featured in an article about me by Aggie Mika in "The Scientist" magazine.

2) Dawn Hunter, Diana the Huntress, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14," 2017.

3) Dawn Hunter, study of Cajal's Diencephalic Nuclei, marker and pen on paper, 

11" x 14," 2017.

4) Dawn Hunter, drawing of NIH researcher Kenton Swartz's talk,  marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14," 2017.

5) Artist Dawn Hunter with installation of the Cajal Inventory. 

Here I am with my work while it was on display at the Instituto Cajal, 2017. For more information on the Cajal Inventory work, click here: 

 Cumulative Effect:  Cajal Inventory drawings.

  

All of these images were originally featured on this blog after my participation in a collaborative symposium facilitated by the National Institutes of Health and the Instituto of Cajal, Madrid, Spain.  Original post can be accessed here:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/600178827940883609/1115373249925306054

The works have gone on to be featured in national and international exhibitions, most recently at the college of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas, 2021. Images from exhibition featured below.

6) Dawn Hunter, Man as Sunflower, acrylic and graphite on paper, 14" x 17," 2014.

This work is currently on exhibition at the John Porter Neuroscience Research Center of the National Institutes of Health, alongside seven original scientific drawings created by Cajal. You can learn more about the show by clicking on the photos below.

Artist, Dawn Hunter and her daughter with the NIH exhibition, 2019.  

Here I am with my daughter when we visited the show. The artwork Man as Sunflower is the closest work to the Cajal exhibition case.  Man as Sunflower was also featured in a Jasper magazine article, see below.

Jasper Magazine Article featuring my artwork inspired by the life of 

Santiago Ramón y Cajal.

Below is the link to the online copy of the Jasper Magazine article "The Artist and the Scientist," pp. 50-52, 2015.  Use you right arrow on your keyboard to view the pages in the online publication.  

http://issuu.com/jaspermagazine/docs/110163_cropped_lower?e=3523036/11854158

7) Above is the detail from my painting Art Department.  This is my most famous work from my Spectacle Spectacular series.  It has toured in exhibitions internationally in the U.K. and Germany, and was a center piece work of the Kansas City Art Institute, Foundation 50th exhibition at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, 2015.  The painting was also prominently featured in my solo exhibition at the Delaware Contemporary Art Center and appeared on the cover of the 86th issue of the College of Charleston's literary journal, Crazyhorse.  The painting made its debut in the critically acclaimed, Day Job, 2010, exhibition, held at the Drawing Center, New York, NY.  The artwork was also reviewed and featured in Artnet.

8) The creation of this painting, Blue Cerberus, has been well documented on this blog.  I recorded the entire process through many posts. This work was featured in my solo exhibition at the Delaware Contemporary Art Center, 2014.  

Learn about the show, click here.

Learn about the creation of the painting, click here.

9) Dawn Hunter, detail of Blue Cerberus.

Below are two more works from my exhibition at the Delaware Contemporary Art Center:

10) Dawn Hunter, A Dream in August, graphite and ink on paper, 2014.

Exhibition image from the Delaware Contemporary Art Center.

11) Dawn Hunter, Dusk and Dawn with Horses, graphite and ink on paper, 18" x 24," 2014.

During my first sabbatical after I was awarded tenure at the University of South Carolina, I created a series titled:  Personified Doubles and Complementary Opposites.  The entire process of the series was well documented diaristtcally through a series of Facebook and Flickr posts.

To view the process on Facebook, click here.

To view the process on Flickr, click here.

To view the entire series on my personal website, click here.

12) Dawn Hunter, Vegas Garden, graphite, ink and acrylic on paper, 36" x 58,"2012.

13) Dawn Hunter, Secluded Play, graphite and ink on paper, 26" x 40," 2012.

Secluded Play continues fo garner critical attention, and the drawing was selected to be included in the juried exhibition, Simulacra, at the Sulfur Studios, Savannah, Georgia in 2021.

Read the entire article here: 

https://www.savannahnow.com/story/lifestyle/2021/08/29/where-to-see-art-galleries-savannah-georgia-to-do-galleries-museums/5591926001/

14) Dawn Hunter, Magician's Garden, graphite and ink on paper, 30" x 40," 2012.

Both of the works #14 and #15 below were featured and the annual What's Love Fest.

Photos from the exhibition and link to the Facebook album about the event are below the images of the works.

15) Dawn Hunter, The Magician, graphite and ink on paper, 26" x 40," 2010.

16) Dawn Hunter, Birthday Cake, graphite and ink on paper, 26" x 40," 2010.

The Magician and Birthday Cake on exhibit at the What's Love Fest, 2010.

Artist, Dawn Hunter is featured in the center of this group photo.  

Here I am with two UofSC Magellan Scholars that I mentored.

Dawn Hunter's artwork on exhibit at the What's Love Fest, The Magician and Birthday Cake were among five works that she exhibited.  To learn more about the exhibition, click here.

Below is a work from my Spectacle Spectacular series, and it is from the portfolio series titled Spectacle Spectacular, Etcetera.  This work was prominently featured in a SECAC members exhibition.  To learn more about this work and the SECAC exhibition, click here.

17) Dawn Hunter, Bling Bling, Boobatopia, graphite and ink on paper, 72" x 80," 2007.

18) Dawn Hunter, Gold Rush, acrylic and gold leaf on canvas, 18" x 24," 2008.

The painting Gold Rush is from my Spectacle Spectacular series and is part of the Sitting Pretty installation which was exhibited at Rogue Community College, the UofSC Arts Institute, Mesquite Art Center and the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

I have also exhibited works from that series separately on under the individual titles of the work, like featured below.  In that photo I am giving an artist's talk about the works at the Upstairs Artspace in Tryon, North Carolina.

Artist Dawn Hunter discusses her work with artist and, Line and Lies of the Face, exhibition curator, Margaret Curtis.

I had so much fun talking about my work at this show!

Exhibition announcement for the Lines and Lies of the Face.

Dawn Hunter, the evolving Sitting Pretty installation, viewers examining the work at an exhibition, eighteen works completed by 2008.

Dawn Hunter, detail of Sitting Pretty.

2021 Highlights Review: Brooklyn, Cajal, Las Vegas, Simulacra, and New Websites - oh my!

Dawn Hunter, nine square reflection of 2021 featuring my portraits of Cajal and recreations of his scientific illustrations. All images are marker, pen and ink on paper that I created about Cajal through researching his scientific drawings on display at the National Institutes of Health, and other primary sources as a Fulbright Scholar at the Instituto Cajal.

Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

I focused time and creative energy on self-care this past calendar year. During the summer, I drove from South Carolina to Brooklyn, New York to immerse myself in the city and the natural beauty of the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and draw. This past summer, other terrific events were happening in New York, like the Cézanne exhibition at MoMA. Taking in different cultural events was enriching, but I found my time drawing at the BBG to be the most spiritually, emotionally and creatively replenishing.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14"

Japanese Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, marker and 

pen on paper, 11" x 14"

Me, sweltering in the heat, but loving it, while drawing 

at the BBG.  June 2021.

2021 and Aesthetic Instincts: The Intersection of Art and Science

I have continued my artistic journey with Santiago Ramón y Cajal.  Despite the challenges of the pandemic, 2021 has been an extremely productive year.  I have continued an active engagement in my artistic series about Cajal.  To that end, new opportunities include:  selections from that series were featured in the international publication UpperCase (featured July 28 on this blog in the ¡Muchas gracias! post), I had a solo exhibition of the entire series in Las Vegas, and works from the series were chosen as featured artwork in the 75th Anniversary Exhibition for the Fulbright Foundation (held online). 

I presented a lecture about Santiago Ramón y Cajal to CSN students, faculty and the general public of the greater Las Vegas area on October 19, 2021. 

View of my exhibition at the College of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas

The evening of my lecture, October 19, 2021

75th Anniversary Fulbright online, juried and curated, Exhibition:

It was an honor to have my work selected and featured in the 75th Anniversary of the Fulbright Foundation.  The time I spent at the Instituto Cajal was priceless and life changing.  When I began this series, I never dreamed that I would have access to his original journals, sketchbooks, personal photographs, histology slides, scientific equipment and personal objects.  You can learn more about the Fulbright exhibition by clicking:  HERE.

Re-creation of pages from Cajal's first sketchbook from Valencia, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14"

Drawing Cajal's death mask, Instituto Cajal, Madrid, Spain.

Re-creation of inside back cover of Cajal's first sketchbook from Valencia, Fulbright Espana, Instiuto Cajal, Madrid, Spain.

100th Anniversary of the Instituto Cajal!

Continuing opportunities include that in celebration of the 100 anniversary of the Instituto Cajal, my work has continued to be displayed at the Instituto Cajal.  My work also continues to be displayed alongside Cajal’s work at the National Institutes of Health.

I currently have 10 drawings from my Fulbright research on display at the Instituto Cajal in celebration of its 100th Anniversary.  Below are two of the drawings from that display.  

For more information:  Instituto Cajal, Av. Doctor Arce, 37 28002, Madrid tel: 91 585 47 50 fax: 91 585 47 54

Drawing of NIH researcher Benjamin White's talk, marker on paper, 11" x 14", 2017.

Cajal's hands, microscope, pyramidal neuron, and mini self-portrait from his sketchbook juxtaposed with his retirement statement and design details from his Nobel Prize - the photographic source imagery was originally black and white. Color has been added and the color of the Nobel Prize design details has been altered, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14."

Select work on display at the John Porter Neuroscience Research Center:

Cajal exhibition case for scientific drawings.

My work on display alongside Cajal's scientific drawing.

My portrait of Cajal, Man as Sunflower, graphite, ink and acrylic on paper, 11" x 14"

Savannah and Simulacra

I was honored to have my artwork, Secluded Play selected for the Simulacra exhibition at the Sulfur studios in Savannah, Georgia.  The show consisted of many works of diverse media, materials and themes. My works Vegas Garden and Secluded Play were both select for inclusion in the show.

Vegas Garden, graphite, pen, ink and acrylic on paper.

Secluded Play, graphite, pen and ink on paper.

New Websites!

Lastly, as I wrap up 2021 I am overhauling my website.  Within the process I realize that I have created too much work thus far in my lifetime to be featured on one website. Trying to organize it for one place has proved difficult and overwhelming. 

During March of 2021, because my current Cajal series is so comprehensive, I consolidated all of my Cajal portfolios on my parent website: www.dawnhunterart.com. 

I felt unsure what to do with my other portfolios, like Spectacle Spectacular, Personified Doubles & Complementary Opposites, Blue Cerberus, etc. I concluded that a sister website was in order. Thus, www.dawnhuntergallery.com was born. To eliminate confusion, I have branded both sites the same, linking back to each other. 

In addition to the portfolios I mentioned, I am also featuring new projects, like my Darcy Inventory, an installation selected for ArtFields 2022. I have also uploaded on the website my entire teaching portfolio at UofSC and included a curation of twelve other portfolios of my personal artwork, highlighting my Spectacle Spectacular series, that can be viewed:  HERE. Please visit both sites to browse and enjoy!

As we ring in the New Year, let us be reminded of these words of wisdom from Cajal:

"Time and concentration allow the intellect to perceive a ray of light in the darkness of the most complex problem."

― Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Advice for a Young Investigator

Have a Happy New Year everyone!  I wish you all lots of love, friendship, good health and great success during 2022!  XOXO

Always, 

Dawn 

Dawn Hunter, December 2021

¡Muchas gracias!

A big thank you to Janine from #Uppercase for including artwork from my Cajal project in the 50th Issue, Visualizing Science.  I was so thrilled to receive the print issue - it's beautiful!  View the issue here: @uppercasemag.

"The brain is a world consisting of a number of unexplored continents and great stretches of unknown territory."

― Santiago Ramón y Cajal

Dawn Hunter, Re-creation of pages from Cajal's first sketchbook from Valencia, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14"

Re-creation of inside back cover of Cajal's first sketchbook from Valencia, Fulbright Espana, 

Instiuto Cajal, Madrid, Spain.

More work can be viewed at:  Cajal Project: The Fulbright Experience

Learn more about this work here:  Communing and Giggling with Cajal 

Order your copy of the 50th edition, Visualizing Science here:  UPPERCASE

Sumptuous Summer Landscape

I am spending the summer feeding the artistic soul, senses, and sensual while relishing my time Plein air drawing and painting the luscious landscape at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Highlights from the visual adventures. 

Dawn Hunter, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14," 2021

Dawn Hunter, Brooklyn Botanic Garden_2, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14," 2021

Dawn Hunter, Brooklyn Botanic Garden_3, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14," 2021

Dawn Hunter | Visual Artist | Portraits ~ Landscapes ~ Still-lifes 

https://www.dawnhunterart.com/Dawn_Hunter_Landscape_painting.html

“consider the possibility that any man could, if he were so inclined, be the sculptor of his own brain, and that even the least gifted may, like the poorest land that has been well cultivated and fertilized, produce an abundant harvest.” 

― Santiago Ramón y Cajal

Birthday Amusements: Cajal Tweets Freud

On the advent of Cajal's birthday (1 de mayo de 1852), I have been amusing myself by imagining Cajal's reaction to two things.

First, the Psychology Department at UofSC commissioned a Founders of Psychology mural  painted by a colleague, Marius Valdes. The mural includes great pioneers from Psychology disciplines. The first time I saw it, I got a good chuckle because included among the featured figures was Cajal, but not Freud. Cajal disliked Freud and disagreed with his theories. He invested a great deal of time recording his dreams to disprove Freud.  Ultimately, Cajal decided that what he had did not merit publishing. 

Founders of Psychology Mural, UoSC Psychology Department, by Marius Valdes:  http://mariusvaldes.com/#/usc-dept-of-psych/

Second, I recently ran across the interview Freud gave in 1934, where he proclaimed that he was by nature an artist.   It was published in August of 1934. I wonder if Cajal ever saw it. If so, from the perspective of someone who was truly an artist, did he get a good laugh from it before his death in October of that same year? . . . . How, if given the opportunity would he respond in a tweet?

Digitally Fabricated Tweet by Dawn Hunter, Birthday Card Comedy for Cajal, April 29, 2021.  #neildegrassetyson  #steakumms

https://www.newsweek.com/steak-umms-twitter-account-feuds-neil-degrasse-tyson-over-science-log-off-bro-1583236

"Everybody thinks that I stand by the scientific character of my work and that my principal scope lies in curing mental maladies. This is a terrible error that has prevailed for years and that I have been unable to set right. I am a scientist by necessity, and not by vocation. I am really by nature an artist...My books, in fact, more resemble works of imagination than treatises on pathology." -Freud quote from Giovanni Papini interview, August, 1934.

Cajal, I am sure, would be much more gracious than my featured comedy routine above. All too often in our digital age powerful political and business leaders clashing on social media can be daunting, demoralizing, and cringe worthy. It is more fun imagining historical figures from the past colliding in the ether.

If you have not had a chance to see my new web site, please take a moment to check it out.  Here is a link to one of my Cajal Portfolio pages highlighting my experiences at the Cajal Institute as a Fulbright Scholar:  The Fulbright Experience.

S

antiago Ramón y Cajal, top Dawn Hunter, bottom.

Re-creation of inside back cover of Cajal's first sketchbook from Valencia, Fulbright Espana, Instiuto Cajal, Madrid, Spain.

A Walk with Cajal among his Canopy of Trees

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Cajal!  (1 de mayo de 1852)  Hoy tomemos el tiempo para disfrutar de los placeres simples del sol, el aire fresco y los árboles. Y a todos, espero que tengan buena salud y seguridad durante este tiempo inusual.

Dawn Hunter, Cajal editing a student's thesis, La Residencia de Estudiantes, marker, pen and ink on paper, 11"x 14"

The writing below has been revised and updated to mirror the content of this topic on my website.  www.dawnhunterart.com:

For anyone who is a Cajalian, it is a personal journey. Cajal, this historical and monumental figure in neuroscience, can reach out and expose his humanity through his work, writings, and drawings in a simple, profound, and relatable manner. He accomplishes this by describing his painful childhood experiences, his self-deprecating humor regarding his ego, and the generosity he expressed to his students. When he is the most vulnerable is through his drawings. Despite the scientific intention – his beating heart, personal vulnerability, and passion of mind are communicated through his drawings' line quality. This ideographic expression is why so many of us recognize and perceive his drawings as art, and this quality is why his work continues to be discussed, emulated, and admired.

Cajal's first-person narrative in his biography, Recuerdos de mi Vida, makes one feel as though he is confiding exclusively in them over coffee at a cafe. He is transformed from the storyteller into the best friend of the favorite pupil. Through his written words from the encapsulated past, he springs alive into the present, becoming a privy partner in creative, intellectual, or objective quests. With humility and wisdom, like Siddhartha before him, he inspires the highest ideals of human capability in artistic expression and scientific research..

Some descendants of his disciples and family are fortunate individuals because they know him the best in many ways. Not as an ideal historical figure, but through those who were closest to Cajal. Their family and friends' real-life experiences interacting with him. Including stories that have been passed down through generations plus real "treasures," cherished, personal mementos from Cajal.

It was distressing when I arrived in Madrid at the Instituto Cajal, to conduct my Fulbright research, to learn the Cajal family home in Atocha was being remodeled into condominiums. Cajal had a direct hand in the house's design and final construction, thus the renovation felt like a great loss of historical significance. Seeking comfort, I conceived of a project which entailed retracing Cajal's afternoon walks in Retiro Park, Atocha, and at La Residencia de Estudiantes. On the weekends, with my daughter in tow, we would sit at the entrance of the Cajal home and draw the cityscape from that vantage point. My goal, to find sites and trees at places that were in existence when Cajal was alive and immerse myself. Through viewing the environments that are layered with the past intertwining with present as much as possible I sought to see through his perspective some of his day-to-day routine, thus creating my own momentos of Cajal.

― Dawn Hunter, March 2021

Dawn Hunter, Velazquez Paseo del Prado, pen, ink and acrylic on paper, 11" x 14"

Dawn Hunter, Monumento a Ramón y Cajal, Retiro, marker, pen and ink on paper, 11" x 14"

Dawn Hunter, Sunday Morning Meditation in Atocha, marker, pen and ink on paper, 11" x 14"

Dawn Hunter, Anthropology Museum, Atocha, marker, pen and ink on paper, 11" x 14"

Dawn Hunter, Retiro Park Evening Walk, pen, ink and acrylic on paper, 11" x 14"

Dawn Hunter, Retiro Park Evening Walk, II, pen, ink and acrylic on paper, 11" x 14"

Dawn Hunter, View from the Front door of the Cajal Home, Madrid, pen, ink and acrylic on paper, 11" x 14"

Dawn Hunter, Drawing of the trees across from the Cajal home in Madrid, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14"

Dawn Hunter, Drawing of Retiro park near the Cajal home in Madrid, Spain, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14"

Dawn Hunter, Re-creation of Cajal's school photo badge and a "selfie" he took after returning to Spain from a tour as a military doctor in Cuba.  The plant foliage was drawn from the observation of plants that are at the Instituto Cajal, Madrid, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14

Dawn Hunter, Drawing of the Observatory across from the Cajal home in Madrid, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14

Dawn Hunter, Paseo del Prado, pen, ink and acrylic on paper, 11" x 14"

Dawn Hunter, Cajal's hands, microscope, pyramidal neuron, and mini self-portrait from his sketchbook juxtaposed with his retirement statement and design details from his Nobel Prize - the photographic source imagery was originally black and white.  Color has been added and the color of the Nobel Prize design details has been altered, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14"