Junior, Mechanical Engineering, minoring in mathematics and art and design
Oil painting
Abstract
This oil painting study portrays the making of a mobius strip. It is quite simple to turn a piece of paper (four edges and two sides) into a mobius strip (one side, one edge).
Artistic strategies: This oil painting study portrays three pieces of paper entangled into an organic composition. Realistic soft light is created through layers of glazing (mix of oil paint and gamsol medium, which creates semi-transparent layers). Only three paints are used: ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, and titanium white. This color palette can create a rich black and both warm and cool tones, which together emphasize the illusion of dimension.
Scientific principles: The subjects of this piece are a mobius strip (top) and two pieces of cut paper. The mobius strip is a mathematical object with one side and one edge. This means that if one were to walk along a mobius strip, they would end up in their starting spot without ever transitioning between sides. It is topologically different than the single piece of paper, which it was created from.