The Antibiotic Watercolors of Dr. Vineetha Zacharia #ArtTuesday
via Art the Science
“One day, out of sheer curiosity, I dipped a paintbrush directly onto an actinorhodin droplet and realized how similar it was to watercolour paint,” [Dr. Vineetha] Zacharia says, explaining that the discovery became the inspiration for a new creative outlet. Today, this antibiotic is the basis of most of her artistic work. She calls these vibrant paintings “Actino Art.”
Zacharia has also experimented with actinorhodin’s pH-responsive properties to change her paintings’ colours. Under basic pH levels (ammonia is a basic solution, for example), the antibiotic is blue, but at acidic pH levels (e.g. vinegar), it becomes red. On her Twitter and Instagram accounts, she has demonstrated this characteristic by adding dilute acetic acid to turn a blue painting red.
Every Tuesday is Art Tuesday here at Adafruit! Today we celebrate artists and makers from around the world who are designing innovative and creative works using technology, science, electronics and more. You can start your own career as an artist today with Adafruit’s conductive paints, art-related electronics kits, LEDs, wearables, 3D printers and more! Make your most imaginative designs come to life with our helpful tutorials from the Adafruit Learning System. And don’t forget to check in every Art Tuesday for more artistic inspiration here on the Adafruit Blog!