Cleo Vilett – Instant Art
Cleo Vilett is not only good, she’s also fast. At least one might think so while watching her create a watercolor painting in this time-lapse film. The actual project took about an hour and a half. With the aid of an iPhone mounted above the project, we’re able to watch as the talented painter confidently moves from a light pencil outline, through multiple layers of watercolor, to a finished work of art. At different moments you can actually see the paint drying.
Vilett is one of a number of amazing artist to come out of the the Science Illustration Program, which began at the University of California at Santa Cruz and now resides at California State University at Monterey Bay. She specializes in fine art painting and works in a number of mediums. Her subjects are varied, although she has a special fondness for marine biology. Her use of light and color give of all her work a sparkle and crispness, and her sense of composition is wonderful.
Versatility has meant that you can find her work in magazines (Scientific American), on walls (Coastal Discovery Center, San Simeon, California), and in art galleries, having had numerous show on both the east and west coast. You can enjoy more of her work at: http://www.cleovilett.com/ Below are a few samples…
The Surface of Pluto
Pluto is the farthest planet from Earth (dwarf planet for the purists), but it seems that each image that the New Horizons satellite sends back to Earth is more spectacular than the previous one. The amount of detail in many of the images is truly eye-opening. Unlike the Cassini mission, the piano sized New Horizons was moving so fast as it approached Pluto that it only got one chance at gathering as much data as it could before it sped by. Nonetheless, what it is sending back is astonishing and will take years to analyze.
I’m hoping to take some of New Horizons images and re-image them as three dimensional objects. I think this will allow an even greater appreciation of the beauty and complexity of this world. The short test animation above is a simple example of what I’m 
planning. It takes one of the first impressive images New Horizons sent back (an area now called Sputnik Planum) and places the viewer closer to the surface, which is how we are accustomed to seeing terrain. The snowy plains, gouged out troughs and hilly ridges are given depth. I’ll be doing more of this type of visualization in the future. The piece shown here is a work in progress. More to come!
Recent Comments