Scumble:  ”A painting technique in which semi-opaque or thin opaque colors are loosely brushed over an underpainted area so that patches of the color beneath show through.”
From  The Artist’s Handbook, by Ray Smith.

This began as a series of posts on my personal blog, The Flying Trilobite, as a way to brush highlights over the tremendous amount of science-based art that’s out there. I can’t begin to cover it all, so here’s a scumble over some recent posts that I found interesting, provocative, or otherwise caught my eye from the  Science Artists Feed, and other sources.

Science-art is becoming an increasingly popular form of science communication and entertainment. Drawing from fine art, laboratory work, scientific illustration, concept art and more, watch how artists spread scientific literacy and play with the inspiring concepts in science.  Doing the Scumble posts, I hope to connect artists with each other, and expose their work to a wider audience.

Put your feet up, make yourself a light roast espresso,  and enjoy the science-art. There’s a lot of stuff this week!

Click here for recent Scumbles and  here for even earlier Scumbles.

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Green Cell Telophase – Artologica. Anyone who does watercolours will know how hard it must be to get the waterstain edges right in shapes like this. Gooooahh-juss.

Scott Elyard’s Resume – Cyrillic Typewriter. Don’t miss this cephalopod resume full of win and genius.

Rudiger ‘Roger Haugwitz, chemist who used science to create art dies at 79 – Emma Brown, The Washington Post.  Take some time to explore this amazing artwork at his portfolio site. Like Max Ernst or an abstract expressionist if they understood chemistry. Tip of the hat to Artologica.

A different angle on the space station – Images by the Atlantis Crew, text by Alan Boyle, MSNBC Photoblog.

Buy art, help me go to school! – Katy’s Notebook. Fantastic exchange if you ask me! Katy specializes in cephalopods and space: help her get educated, own some amazing art by an up-and-comer.

Geometric Balance - art by Dalek and Greg Lamarche, Show & Tell Gallery, Toronto. Geometry that will put your eye out.

Buccal Cavity – Oddments and Curiosities by Leah Palmer Preiss. Every time I visit this blog I’m delighted.

Bubble and squeak – The Artwork of Chris Hutson.  Chris Hutson‘s work contains organic qualities both micro and macro and are really evocative of biological mysteries and abstractions. What are they?  I don’t know, but I love trying to figure them out.

2011 GNSI Conference in Olympia, Washington – News from the Studio: Science illustration by Emily S. Damstra. Terrific photos and commentary by SONSI president Damstra about the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators annual conference. Includes vandalism by mud swallows.

Field Notes: What’s half a billion years? - Arthropoda. Apparently, convergent insect evolution leads to whiny-baby insects.

John Hammond’s Island of Diminishing Returns? – Love in the Time of the Chasmosaurs. David Orr asks why all the hate for Jurassic Park?

Making Tentacles for a Stop-Motion Puppet – Blacknick Sculpture. I dont need to say anything else, do I?

Cornelia and her mutant bugs – The Soft Anonymous.  Fascinating look at an artists career shift in light of Chernobyl.

Beautiful Freaks, Mystical Cacti and Isopods – Thoughts on ‘Rango’ -Tricia’s Obligatory Art Blog. I agree with everything she says. Check out her gallery of animation style science-art too.

Preparing a Study Skin – Curatorial Trainee.

Underwater with Wild Newts – Joris Van Alphen Photography.

Why science needs art – Gurney Journey.  James Gurney gives a tip of his hat to Kalliopi’s post here.

My new Tijuangosaurus painting – by Angie Rodrigues, Art Evolved.  This painting is a must-see: non-traditional paleo-art at its finest, really more like a painting by Turner than scientific illustration.

Finally, I’d like to end this week’s Scumble by including some more non-traditional paleo-art by Tricia Arnold:

Oviraptor dA ID 2011 © Tricia Arnold. Under Creative Commons Licence.

You can find Tricia’s blog here, deviantArt gallery here, complete works on Flickr, and Zazzle store here.