Synapse

This is a complete view of "Synapse" showing the four structures
"entering" the center. These structures look much like seals with
"eyes." Much of the communication across the central part of the synapse
originates from these "eye" structures.

Today I completed another new painting / drawing. I call it "Synapse." A
synapse is the point where a nerve signal passes from one nerve cell to
another. When I began this piece (in its center) I had no plan for its
being a synapse. But not long after completing the four "seal-head"
penetrating structures, and their associated "eyes," I began to develop
an array of interwoven dots which connected to various other structures.
These dots or "pieces of communication" began to form what looked like a
synapse. I added watercolor dyes to the interior structures. The image
above, if magnified to its original size, will reveal a very detailed
"trail" of actual pathways from many different points. On closer
inspection of the actual art, it is much clearer to see that ALL areas
are interconnected by either a fine line of dots OR a small line. I
wanted these pathways to represent actual nerve signals -- often very
complicated in the "route" they followed. The red interior was painted
to show the "activity" of the synapse at its source. This piece is
larger than all previous pieces. It is 23 1/4 inches wide by 19 7/8
inches high. It took about 6 hours to draw and was painted using a
variety of pens, markers, watercolor inks and gouache. There are two
images. One shows the complete painting. The other shows its "nucleus"
in more detail. Again, it would only be possible to see the finer
detailed pathways at 100% size.