Starting Small

*This blog post was initially published over on my Wordpress blog (now closed) on 17 June 2015*

I have long been a fan of the fabulous miniaturists on Instagram, Brooke Rothshank and Lorraine Loots. Recently I have been pushing myself to try out new skills and techniques, and to make art more frequently. It seemed only natural to give miniatures a go myself, as I love tiny paintings by other people and, quite simply, a small project takes less time (and less emotional investment) than a larger one.

It will also surprise no one who has met me or glanced at the picture above to hear that I am also a huge Jane Austen fan, and have been since I first read Pride and Prejudice as a 14 year old. I was utterly enchanted with the blue cover of my Norton edition of Emma and with the inset painting of a regency woman walking through a flower garden, so I decided that this would be a beautiful piece to start with. If I'm honest, I was also thinking of a quote from Austen's letters about working on a small and detailed scale:

...the little bit (two inches wide) of ivory on which I work with so fine a brush as produces little effect after much labour...

So I set to work with my 0.35mm mechanical pencil to sketch out the design.

As the picture itself is so small I worked on an A5 piece of watercolour paper, with the image centered. Working with 0 and 00 brushes I built up the colour values and details, before adding some final touches (ie. the Title) with super sharp charcoal and chalk pencils.

I was really pleased with how it turned out and I so enjoyed doing it that I couldn't resist doing some more miniatures. I plan on painting some more tiny books, to complete my Austen collection, and to build up a 'Miniature Library' collection.

I'll be posting more of the collection on my Instagram and Facebook pages, where some originals are available for purchase.