Seeing the Unseeable

The idea of an image of a molecule is challenging. Most simple molecules are much smaller than a wavelength of light so in a purely physical way "seeing" them is meaningless. Worse, atoms are almost entire empty space and their "shape" is due to invisible electric forces. So forget it, I'm not able to make painting of the molecules themselves, the subject matter has to be what is in our minds when we think about them.

Chemists use two kinds of model in order to help them understand a molecule, the "stick model" and the "space filling model". Both are very literal. They are the starting point for my art. Being a painter, anything that bores me, I can just leave out. What goes into my paintings, are the things I find interesting and hopefully a person looking at my painting see them. Of course, other "interesting things" are suggested by the painting itself as it progresses and are within the province of art than rather the province of science. When the painting is done, it should be a fair balance.