Mutation

Alcohol and Pigment Ink on Paper

I started this sketch of a stylized petri dish a few months ago in my sketchbook, and yesterday, I was inspired to add some color. My first thoughts were to go with a muted color scheme in yellows, browns, and greens, but as I started adding ink to the page, the idea evolved into something different and much more colorful.

Hues shift around the image to show subtle mutations occurring as the microorganisms divide and the colonies grow.

pretty.rif

When I’m designing brushes in Corel Painter, I like to make quick squiggles and marks to see how the dynamic the stroke is.

Sometimes, I save them with silly filenames. I have tons of these scattered through the years.