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