The Art of Science- Rogue Waves

Chronicle Books is publishing a visual anthology called The Art of Science and I was asked to participate in the collaboration. Each artist was paired with a scientist to answer a mysterious question. I was assigned "Do Rogue Waves Exist?"

Julia Rothman, the art director/curator, (for lack of a better description) described it like this:


We have been working with a huge group (more than 50) scientists from all different fields: Anthropology, Physics, Chemistry, Meteorology... They have described some of the big mysteries in their fields and the theories behind them. From the big picture (What existed before the Big Bang? What is dark matter? Are there more than three dimensions? Why does the Earth hum? Can evolution outpace climate change?) to the little wonders (Why do we yawn? Can trees talk to each other? Why do cats purr? What is the smallest unit of matter?). In many ways both scientists and artists are exploring the unknown, and we hope this book will amaze readers with both science's mysteries and artists' imagined explanations.

Needless to say, this is 100% fun, and the essential reason I love my job. Here are a few sketches, color studies and other thumbnail ideas from the creation process below.

 

I might be most proud of that super flat yellow, which was not created digitally. It is like I'm working in the 19th Century! 

Didn't realize I used the golden rectangle... (sort of)