Sienna Art Studios - Sienna Cenere

Intricate scientific numberism drawings and engravings on archival board. Each mark is a hand drawn number or equation scratched with fine blades or drawn with pigment pens.

Instead of traditional shading, I create each image by repeatedly writing data, such as a chemical formula for rose oxide (C₁₀H₁₈O) or the Hz frequency of a whale's song (51.75) , until the composition takes form. This technique, which I call numberism, is similar to pointillism and stippling, but instead of dots, I draw with numbers and equations that describe the subject’s form and function.

I work with a variety of traditional materials including oil paint on copper plate, watercolor on clayboard, and ink on scratchboard. I carve numbers through the surface with fine blades to reveal contrasting layers beneath. On paper, I use pigment pens over a gouache background, allowing the intricate Numberism illustration to stand out against a vivid field of color.