New Painting on the Brain and the Visual Cortex

Brace yourselves for some eye catching work :)

Focusing on our brain and the visual cortex, I introduce you to:

Yet to be Seen

20" x 24"

Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

Got dots?

Our visual cortex is located at the back of our brains and covers both left and right hemispheres. By knowing just that bit of information, I wanted the the angle of the head to be 3/4 profile from the back. I felt that if it was a full view from the back, it may be hard to know how much area the visual cortex covers. In this detail below, you'll see that the visual cortex area of the brain is highlighted with this dense area of reddish dots.

The idea for how to paint this work seemed pretty straight forward...as a color blind test! I couldn't think of a vision painting without connecting it to a vision test of all things. As you can imagine, the painting became a bit hard at times to look at while creating it. You can view some in progress pics and video below.

While there are different types of color blindness and different types of tests for it, I chose to do the painting in the style of the Ishihara Color Vision Charts common for red-green color blindness. Not only are these tests useful, I personally find them fun to do; it's like exercise for our eyes (or at least how I thought of it).

(c) Michelle Hunter

(c) Michelle Hunter

(c) Michelle Hunter

(c) Michelle Hunter

(c) Michelle Hunter

Want to learn more about how our visual cortex works? Visit the Wikipedia on the topic here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_cortex

How about the Ishihara Color Vision Charts? Read more about them here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_perception_test

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SEE the whole Brain Series so far!!! Check out this particular page that will be updated with each completed brain painting! http://hunterart.blogspot.com/p/brain-paintings.html

'Til next time!

Regards,

Michelle Hunter 

Contemporary Artist
Tel: (646) 504-5034

 Facebook Page [facebook.com/hunterart]

 Hunter Art Blog [hunterart.blogspot.com]

 Twitter [@artcoholic]

 LinkedIn [linkedin.com/in/hunterart]

New Painting: "First Aid"




(c) Michelle Hunter 2011
(you can click on the image for a larger view)

First Aid

20" x 20"

Acrylic on Stretched Canvas 

Hello everyone....can I get you a drink? It's on me ;)

I'm pleased to share with you my latest painting titled "First Aid".

Want to see pictures of this painting from beginning to end? (7 new pictures added) Click here to view my previous blog post: http://hunterart.blogspot.com/2011/03/work-in-progress-shots-of-first-aid-20.html

While some titles for paintings don't come to me pretty easily, this one came into my head before I was done with painting the outline for the composition I scrapped.

Most of the time, getting a drink feels like putting on a band-aid on to help cover up whatever is going on. Whether you:

• Had a long day and feel like you want to unwind,
• Are dealing/coping with something personally,
• Wanting to avoid something (emotionally or physically),
• May feel out of place without a drink in your hand,
• Want the courage to do something you wouldn't typically do while sober
• Feel free to add to this list based on your own experience

What's a quicker fixer-upper than a drink?!

Having the setting for the painting within a bar seemed natural. I chose to use a shot glass instead of a regular glass because a shot gets straight to the point - nothing to sip or savor here. 

The label on the bottle was a clear place to put a red cross. 

As your liquor of choice is being poured into the glass, certain parts of the brain imprinted on the glass are becoming activated:



(c) Michelle Hunter 2011
(you can click on the image for a larger view)

• Cerebral cortex: This is the outermost part of the brain where you process thoughts and where consciousness resides. When alcohol is introduces, it is here where processing of information from the senses like your eyes, ears, touch, etc become inhibited. Here is also where you become unable to think clearly and start to think more slowly.

• Cerebellum (round part at the base of the brain): Here controls out center of movement and balance. Alcohol leaves us off balance and/or staggering.

• Hypothalamus and pituitary: This region coordinates automatic brain functions and hormone release. As you drink, the nerve centers in the hypothalamus that control sexual arousal become pressed down and strained. So while your sexual urge may increase, your sexual performance declines. It's a little hard to see but there are clutters of gender symbols in the shadow of the  glass.   

• Medulla (lower part of the brain stem): The impact of alcohol on this area of the brain results in sleepiness, perhaps you feel a chill and/or notice your breathing slowing. The medulla controls such automatic functions like breathing, consciousness and body temperature.

Source: http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/drugs-alcohol/alcoholism4.htm

Now my most difficult area for me of this painting was painting glass (the shot glass and bottle) especially since both are clear. That's what delayed me the most because I didn't want to mess it up. Through some help from Twitter, and me getting out of my head, it only took me a couple of days to finish the piece. I'm very proud of it. 

 

So, with all that said, CHEERS!

Regards,
Michelle
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Brain series (so far):
Painting 1: Past, Present, Future or Dreaming
http://hunterart.blogspot.com/2010/08/new-painting-which-image-matches-your.html

Painting 2: Caffeine Headache
http://hunterart.blogspot.com/2010/10/caffeine-headache.html 

 
Painting 3: Dont' You Remember?

http://hunterart.blogspot.com/2010/12/new-painting-dont-you-remember.html