New website in construction

Soon I will be posting a new website! It is devoted entirely to miniature art and portraiture. Not only will it be a place to see all my miniature paintings, but it will be a place to learn about the history and techniques of painting "in the Little", as well as links to other miniature artists. I will take you step by step as I paint a portrait, with possible video snippets. The site is almost done and will go public hopefully within a week or so.

This miniature is only 1.5"x1.5", oil on claybord. Of three cross country skiers.

"Xski"

MASF exhibit

What an amazing exhibit! I have never attended an art show that hung so many excellent works. There wasn't a bad painting in the bunch... 829 of them! They weren't exaggerating when they told me that the collectors line up outside waiting to get in and buy. 20% of the art was sold in the first few hours, my Red Fox and Fern was one of them. And there was an interested buyer for the Fox Den that was looking into finances.

An added bonus: my Hutch Bunny was featured along with two others in the Weekend Magazine that was a supplement to Florida newspapers up and down the Gulf Coast!

I can't say enough good things about this show. The people are warm and friendly, the artists are all top notch, coming from all over the world, the exhibit was well organized. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend attending one of their shows if you are ever in Florida in late January.

Things are Brewing!

November was a terribly busy month. Aside from the usual holiday hubbub, our family had dealings with the swine flu. But on a better note, I won an illustration contest and won an award in a national art exhibit! Also, my husband and I started a new hobby... wine making!

The contest was to develop three Gypsy Cob horses into an Anime format using colors requested by the sponsor. And it looks like I will be working on future projects with these horses and the products their images adorn.

The exhibit is with the Miniature Art Society of Florida. "Hutch Bunny" won Best Work By a First Time Entrant. The opening is January 16 in Tarpon Springs, Florida at the Leeper-Rattner Museum of Art.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving... there is so much to be thankful for!

Fox Den And Hemlock finished

Painting fur can be daunting if you don't know what order to put down the colors. I started out blocking in the fox shape with a transparent red oxide. Using a tiny grass rake brush, the various shades of earthy reds were worked, layer upon layer. The highlights were last.

Talk about tiny! The pups' heads are only about 5/16th of an inch.

After it dries, I will coat the painting with Galkyd medium. It will give it an even gloss, and because it is a painting medium, not a varnish, it can be applied over paint that has just dried. Varnishes can only be applied after about 6 months of cure time. Galkyd also deepens all the darks and brings out the brightness of lighter colors. Below is Fox and Fern, which has been coated with Galkyd.

Painting in Miniature

                                               

Let me quote the Miniature Art Society of Florida: "Miniature art is fine art. Miniature art is most often extremely detailed work, exquisite in color with a strength of composition which can more than compete with larger paintings. A compositional guide requires a gentle, no more than 1/6th scale of the actual subject. 

A miniature usually takes as long or longer to produce as a large piece of art. A fine miniature can be magnified many times and it will still hold together as a fine work of art of much greater size. This unique art form, based on a minute scale, traces its roots back to the book paintings and illuminated manuscripts of the 7th century."

I prefer to paint on copper, due to it's smooth surface and midtone color. Although most miniatures rely on a white support to reflect light through the thin layers of paint, I proceed as if I am painting one of my large canvases. Thus I am painting a true miniature of MY art.

To begin, I start with a square or rectangle of copper (copper roof flashing works wonderfully). I polish the surface, then spray it with a matte fixative. It allows the color of the copper to show, but dulls the surface to allow the paint to stick. It also protects the copper from oxidation.