Botany Sections

An interesting comparison came to me recently in regards to the biology of us, humans and plants; flowers, trees etc. I have been looking at plant, specifically flower, sections focusing on the reproductive organs. The line drawings I made simplify the forms into an abstract much like the human cryosections. The personal nature of them is erased by the lines, they are no longer living organisms just an collections of shapes that can be interpreted into anything the viewer wishes. Their original function is irrelevant.

The same goes for the paintings, which is juxtaposed underneath. A cross section of the brain, with colour and life contrasting the harsh black lines but them softened further through the opaque quality of the tracing paper. Something I wish to take further.

Sculpture work

Sculpture played a large part in my work during my time at university. I had a difficult time finding a discipline I felt comfortable in and eventually found myself working with sculpture moving to installation.
I used mainly plaster, oil paint and pigment to create quite simple columns, large and small. My degree show piece was 5 large columns of plaster based on the members of my family, however that factor wasn't intended to be obvious to the viewer, which pointed out to me the anonymity of medical anatomy and research.

Looking back at studies

Along with the watercolours in my previous post I've found some drawings I completed a few years ago now. I find them useful to hang on to for reference and sometimes inspiration. I try not to throw old work away, unless it really needs to be for good of everyone.
These come from a huge range of studies I did of the heart, from both observation drawings and from my own photographs. I was trying to not only improve my own drawing and observation skills but my knowledge of the heart as an organ. I think that's what really sparked off my interest in the workings of the human anatomy.

Collection of watercolours

I've finally documented some watercolour studies I completed from a heart dissection. I really loved painting these, they're simple but I felt like they really caught the colours of the object I was painting them from.

The effect of the watercolour really helped soften the very clinical nature and preciseness of the anatomical drawings I normally do. They gave the object a warmth of feeling, which considering it is a heart, seems quite appropriate.

A first look into cryosections

First piece of work for a while and it's turned out ok. I'm looking into anatomical studies and cryosections of the human body. It's just a work in progress at the moment but I'm hoping to keep taking it further till I can find something that works for me.

Mainly been looking at Georgian and Victorian anatomical studies when they were first discoveries the wonders of the human body. This is alongside previous work where I studied the heart through dissection, photography, painting and printmaking.