Limited Edition Signed Prints & Framed Pictures
Science art is the fusion of both art and science. Behind each image is contained real-world data from imaged samples under a research microscope. The imagery provides a glimpse into the hidden world of nature where the invisible is made visible. The colourful patterns that you see in the pictures represent the underlying crystal lattice structure and topography and come about due to the interference between it and light. These kinds of imagery are often used in scientific research to elucidate various physical properties about the nature of the crystals. Each print comes with a caption ready to be displayed alongside the picture. The captions are made on foamex which can be mounted beside the picture.
The art is available in a small number of limited editions, signed and numbered on the lower left of each print. Unless otherwise stated, the pictures shown below measure on average 48.80 cm x 60.00 cm, 18.90" x 23.62". The images are professionally printed to the highest quality on heavy, museum quality paper called Fine Art Rag from the Copperhouse Gallery. When held in hand, the images appear to pop out of the page due to their bright vibrant colours. For smaller or larger sizes, please contact me through the contact form.
The images below intend to give an idea of how the prints might look when framed. You can see actual framed examples towards the bottom of the page from a recent exhibition.
The colours contained in the imagery below are not artificially applied nor are they digitally enhanced. Crystal subjects are freshly grown and the images are composed and captured in situ. The different colours arise depending on the thickness of the crystalline subjects and on how the light interacts with them as it passes through their lattice structure. In otherwords, the imagery is not designed, but is purely a research and discovery process. Once crystals are grown, they must be photographed quickly as they decompose within a short time frame. Although Karl keeps a record of the parameters he imposes on crystal growth (and develops a cook book of recipes for his subjects), the imagery can never be reproduced exactly. This is because there are factors involved in the crystallographic growth process that are inherently random in nature. Patterns may sometimes appear similar but are never exactly the same. For more information about the imagery contained on this page, please contact Karl through the contact page
47.50 x 34.50cm
Signed 1 of 7.
47.50 x 34.50cm
Signed 1 of 7.
I've named this as such because it reminds me of the beanstalk from the childhood novel. The beanstalk rises high up through the clouds on a beautiful autumn evening with stars visible behind the clouds.
47.50 x 34.50cm
Signed 1 of 7.
47.50 x 34.50cm
Signed 1 of 7.
47.50 x 34.50cm
Signed 1 of 7.
47.50 x 34.50cm
Signed 1 of 15.
In a race to minimise energy and reach an energetically favoured state of equilibrium, a tug-of-war ensues between many thousands of trapped air pockets and the compressing effects of the surrounding viscous liquid. A bubble is a balancing act of forces that occur between it's internal air pressure pushing outward on its membrane and the compressive forces of the surrounding liquid trying to crush it inwards. As a result, the molecular field density and thus the optical path length surrounding the air pockets will be significantly distorted. This effect can be seen by the vivid coloured bands immediately surrounding the bubble aggregations.
Signed 2 of 7.
Three coexisting phases of matter form layers in this image. A solid crystalline base layer has cracked as it undergoes cooling. Crystals can be seen growing from random seeding points. We can infer that the cooling of the crystal decreses the volume and increases its density and internal energy which is then disspated along lines of weaknesses. The layer resting above is hot molten msg with numerous small air pockets cocooned within a larger bubble.
Signed 1 of 3.
A close-up of a dewetting pattern left by a solution of ammonium nitrate. The pattern consists of a network of filaments, the filaments being the coalescence of ammonium nitrate crystals caused by the nucleation and growth of randomly formed evaporation sites. The process began with a continuous film of ammonium nitrate and solvent.
Signed 1 of 15.
A close-up of Creatine magnified approximately 150 times. Initially, forming a heterogenous mixture, minute crystals of creatine were suspended in a solvent of water. The crystals, jittering about in the molecular storm of Brownian motion, undergo random walks, colliding and adhering to other crystals. Over time, these clusters increase in size, eventually forming the branched fractal structure seen here, called a Brownian Tree. This self-assembly process is called diffusion-limited-aggregation (DLA). The colours in the image are a result of thin film interference. Residual water fills the spaces between the branches. Surface tension causes the top surface of the water to form a meniscus along the branches. As such, close to the branches there is a sudden change in thickness of the fluid film which leads to a change in the wavelength (colour). Regions of the same colour correspond to equal film thickness.
Signed 1 of 7.
The image brings to mind a vortex systems.
Signed 1 of 7.
Reminiscent of scenes from Antarctica, this is a spontaneous crystalline thin film chemical formation.
Signed 1 of 7.
Like layered pieces of paper.....
Signed 1 of 7.
Floral-like abstract art made from amino acids.
Print size: 147 cm x 64.50 cm unframed. The art piece is printed on gallery quality fine art photo rag paper with a torn black or white border depending on preference. Gold or silver paint can be rubbed along the edge of the printed black border for a nice finish. Right click on the image and choose view image to see larger.
Signed 1 of 7.
Do you see what I see? I see what look like feathers arranged in a pattern that resembles a hummingbird sipping from a flower. This is a thin film of Potassium Hexacyanoferrate (III).
Signed 1 of 5.
This is the crystal film formed when a popular face cream is smeared out on a cool surface and allowed to dry at room temperature. There are two stages of crystallisation states for this chemical compound, with this being the first stage. The colour is a result of a property of the material called birefringence and other factors including the orientation of the molecules constituting the crystal and the optical path length through the crystal.
Signed 1 of 3.
Signed 1 of 3.
Signed 1 of 3.
Signed 1 of 7.
What gives the flower petals their colour? Blue skies and multicoloured flower. The magenta coloured petals fade to golden hues of yellows in this Autumn scene. The crystalline film was made from a mixture of Ferrous Sulphate Pentahydrate and Potassium Hexacyanoferrate (III).
Signed 1 of 7.
It's Autumn in Northern Europe and the Sun’s radiance incident on the forest canopy is declining. The photosynthetic machinery within the trees foliage begins to break down and disintegrate, transforming into various shades of yellows, oranges and browns. Over time, they drop away from their parent trees and scatter the forest floor below. However, looks can be deceptive. These structures are not botanical in nature, but are crystallized organic compounds imaged under a microscope.
Signed 1 of 3.
Radiating from a central seed point, the contours of the topography of the crystal film follows a ripple-like pattern. Areas of the same colour..... The perpendicular bars that cut through the image are caused by the axial rotation of the molecules which filters the polarised light. ***** changing The symmetrically radial variation of the thickness of the film A close-up of Creatine magnified approximately 150 times. Initially, forming a heterogenous mixture, minute crystals of creatine were suspended in a solvent of water. The crystals, jittering about in the molecular storm of Brownian motion, undergo random walks, colliding and adhering to other crystals. Over time, these clusters increase in size, eventually forming the branched fractal structure seen here, called a Brownian Tree. This self-assembly process is called diffusion-limited-aggregation (DLA). The colours in the image are a result of thin film interference. Residual water fills the spaces between the branches. Surface tension causes the top surface of the water to form a meniscus along the branches. As such, close to the branches there is a sudden change in thickness of the fluid film which leads to a change in the wavelength (colour). Regions of the same colour correspond to equal film thickness.
Signed 1 of 3.
Signed 1 of 7.
Silhouetted against the background alien sky on a frosty night.
Signed 1 of 7.
This image to me resembles part of the branching network of the Linneaus Tree of Life. The branching network is used to classify all species of life. In the eighteenth century, naturalists believed that these groups were a glimpse at the divine order of the world. If they could discover a way to classify all species, they would, in effect, be reading the Book of Nature, written by God. Contrary to most peoples thinking, Darwin was not the first to classify species in the tree of life. It was the achievement of Linneaus in figuring out this system. At the time, botanists realised that plants reproduce through a sexual process contained in their flowers. The male organs, the stamens, are where pollen grains are produced, and these pollen grains fertilize the pistils, the female organs. Since reproduction was central to life, Linnaeus used the number and size of stamens and pistils to organize species into larger groups, called genera. The genera would go into orders, and the orders into classes, and the classes would all go into the plant kingdom.
Signed 1 of 7.
It’s night time in a shadow world of other wonders. The plants of the rain forest are lit by a full moon. Fireflies, attracted by aromatic molecules oozing out from specialised scent glands called osmophores on some types of flowers, swarm around them in a dance. The tropical forest is a labyrinth of fauna and flora species that all have a role to play in a highly interconnected and complex web of life. This image was created from a mixture of agricultural fertilizers and compounds used in the cosmetics industry.
Signed 1 of 6.
Signed 1 of 7.
Signed 1 of 3.
This is the crystallisation of a popular skin cream. Print measures 94.87 cm x 154.01 cm, 37.35" x 60.63".
Signed 1 of 3.
Signed 1 of 7.
Signed 1 of 7.
This picture is one in a series of images I took which I think strikingly resembles a scene in which a cluster of exotic palms and ferns are engulfed in flames. All life on Earth is comprised of cells. Cells are complex biochemical systems. At the heart of the cell is the nuclear complex which has locked within it the genome. Through the process of translation by ribosomes, amino acids are synthesized which later fold into functional proteins. Amino acids are the building blocks of living systems. This image captures the complex and organic like crystal structures that form from a combination of amino acids mixed in a specific ratio. The colours are derived from the interaction of compensated plane polarised light with the crystal.
Signed 1 of 7.
Captures here is the complex and organic-like crystal structures that form from a combination of amino acids. The colours are derived from the interaction of compensated plane polarised light with the crystal, and brings to mind exotic palms and ferns being scorched in the recent Australian wild fires.
Signed 1 of 7.
Signed 1 of 7.
Signed 1 of 7.
Signed 1 of 7.
Signed 1 of 7.
Signed 1 of 7.
Signed 1 of 7.
Signed 1 of 15.
Fluid dynamics is the branch of physics describing the flow of liquids. The movement of liquid can be categorised as laminar or turbulent and the magnitude of that flow can be quantified by the Reynolds number. In this case, the fluid flowing around, and in the wake of the air bubbles is smooth and laminar. This of course makes sense because the fluid here is a viscous ‘gloup’ of molten sucrose or table sugar and the bubbles move relatively slowly through it. Otherwise invisible, the flow is made visible here through a technique called differential interference contrast.
Prints are to a high standard and made on fine art rag heavy weight paper. When framed, the prints are presented floating in a high quality box frame as you can see in the above image. Signed and numbered 1 of 15.
Signed and numbered 1 of 10.
Resembling a lotus flower, this is a close-up of vitamin B3. 100 cm x 100 cm print.
Signed 1 of 7.
Self-organisation of vitamin b3 (nicotinic acid) crystals into What gives the flower petals their colour? Blue skies and multicoloured flower. The magenta coloured petals fade to golden hues of yellows in this Autumn scene. The crystalline film was made from a mixture of Ferrous Sulphate Pentahydrate and Potassium Hexacyanoferrate (III).
Signed 1 of 7.
Primary and secondary crystallisation stages of vitamin b3 (nicotinic acid).