Miniatura

I paint one off, original, unique oil paintings in 1/12 scale. The vast majority are from imagination. I never paint the same scene twice and I never make prints of my work, so each piece is literally one of a kind. I also make bespoke hand-painted MDF frames for my specific sizes of work.

I began painting landscapes in oil in the Autumn of 2011 after re-discovering the late American painter and TV personality Bob Ross on television. Although I have always enjoyed drawing, I never aspired to paint… it just wasn’t a medium I thought I would be able to use. However, I found the wet on wet oil painting method I had seen Mr Ross using was easily achievable and painting quickly became an obsession, a compulsion even, at a time of particular difficulty for my mental health (major work stress!). I began painting every day and soon amassed a number of artworks.

I never wanted to emulate Bob Boss’s scenes particularly and, over the years, I have experimented with different paints and brushes and pushed the method to develop a style I enjoy. I have a particular affinity with skies and trees, so the vast majority of my pieces contain both, with a single, coloured tree on a grey toned backdrop becoming my ‘signature’ style. I have painted a couple of florals, but those are rare!

I began painting miniatures both as a way of using paint left over from larger works, and in order to be able to continue painting in a session, rather than having to clean up and then wait for a larger piece to dry. Miniature oil paintings are also easier to store and dry more quickly! My first art sale was a miniature, a tiny 1.5 x 1” piece painted on mount board. I posted it on eBay at a starting bid of 99p and was blown away when it was bid up to a selling price of £9.99! I later discovered the collectible ACEO – Art Card Editions and Originals, artworks of a specific size of 3.5 x 2.5”. I began selling these on eBay too. I showed my tiny pieces to my brother and he said, ‘blimey bro, you’ll be painting postage stamps next’. I saw this as a gauntlet raised, measured a stamp and produced my smallest ever painting. I then proceeded to paint one half the size of a stamp and then one half THAT size too! Since then, my smallest has been 5mm x 5mm!

When someone suggested I could sell miniatures to the dolls house and miniature maker community, I began painting more and more for that market, with the added realisation that there are non-dolls house makers that simply collect tiny artworks too. I am totally in awe at the tiny things so many people design and make, so to be able to add a little something to this vast community is rather special and humbling.

I resurrected an Etsy shop I had opened back in 2013 and have been selling on there ever since, with only the odd older piece going on eBay (although the latter can be something of a lottery). Thanks to the two platforms though, plus the gallery platform Artfinder, I find myself in the heady position of being an ‘international selling artist’. In 2023 I plan to develop my own website and maybe my hobby that pays for itself might become something more!

I teamed up with a friend and ex-work colleague to attend various art/craft fairs and I really appreciate the opportunity to discuss my work with customers. I receive great comments and even if I don’t make a sale, it is heart- warming to have a complete stranger tell you your work is amazing. It is one thing your family and friends telling you your work is great, but validation from a stranger is very rewarding indeed.