A splendid collection of mesmerising miniature art
Meet four art connoisseurs and their splendid collection of miniature arts that are too adorable to pass by
How did you get introduced to Miniature art?
I fell in love with it when I was 19 and saw some miniatures in the Rijks museum in Amsterdam. I was fortunate enough to have a professor at the university who allowed me to do an independent study that involved landscape miniature painting.
What is the fun and the challenging part about it?
For me, making it is fun as I love getting lost in the details with tiny brushes, creating miniature worlds and surfacing hours later. The challenging part has been finding an audience and a market for it. For a long time galleries were reluctant to show the work because it didn’t take up much space on the wall, and wasn’t very profitable for them.
What all materials and mediums do you prefer to use?
My current favourite medium is oil on copper, although I have painted on canvas, panel, mylar and plexiglas in the past. All had their advantages, but copper is my favourite for the smooth texture and warm luminosity it brings to anything on top of it.
How much time does it take to complete one project?
Each painting takes between 10-20 hours. The projects are series of paintings, each taking about a year to complete. I’ve recently gone back to finish a series, I started in 2015 called “Cycling Guide to Lilliput”, which was interrupted by the birth of my son.
Your art is currently inspired from?
The current project is based on the long distance cycling trips I take through Europe in the summer.
Your dream project?
The work I’m making right now is my dream project - miniature paintings based on cycling trips are something I’ve always wanted to do.
How did you get introduced to miniature art?
We’re a family of artists, and I started sketching live portraits at the age of seven. I used to sit with my dad in the evenings and prepare colours from pigments and natural materials. And I believe I always had the patience and temper needed as an artist.
What is the fun and the challenging part about it?
Miniature art as an Indian heritage has lost its traditional value and keeping this art form alive through my works has definitely been a challenge.
What all materials and mediums do you prefer to use?
All the colours I use are 100 per cent natural, made out of vegetables, flowers and precious and semi-precious stones like emeralds, rubies and diamonds.
How much time does it take to complete one project?
Its varies from project to project. Generally a life size portrait takes a month or half to complete. Wall arts, fresco work projects in residences and showrooms generally take a month to three months, depending on the area.
You art is currently inspired from?
My art collection focuses on the royalties of the country and also on the fusion of Indian and European art, which gives it a sense of fusion and it blends well with the new age modern houses as well as the traditional ones.
Your dream project?
I am very close to seeing my dream project coming to life. We are opening a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in the country to teach this traditional art form and its variant dimensions.
How did you get introduced to Miniature art?
I’ve always had a fascination with toys, small animals and miniature figures. The idea of leaving miniature figures on the street came to me in 2006 while I was working as an art director in London.
What is the fun and the challenging part about it?
Working on such a small scale can be difficult at first, but over the years it has become second nature to me. The photography side of my work is more challenging as it often involves an element of luck - finding the right location, the right light and weather conditions to bring a scene to life.
What all materials and mediums do you prefer to use?
The miniatures that I use are railway figures that I customise and paint. I also make a lot of ‘props’ for my scenes. I have boxes full of insects and litter that I have found and I cannibalise random model kits to create new items. Finding existing street architecture and furniture is also important.
How much time does it take to complete one project?
That can really depend on the complexity of the project. Some installations just involve one figure and the location where as other involve more complicated model-making and location scouting in cities and this can make a work go for a few weeks before it is completed.
You art is currently inspired from?
I have been lately inspired by the natural world and the ways it encroaches on the city and man-made environment. I’ve been creating installations that re-purpose litter, often using lighting to illuminate scenes, much like the dioramas I use to make when I was a child.
Your dream project?
I am a huge Star Wars fan and I would love to create a series of works behind the scenes of one of the new movies.
How did you get introduced to Miniature art?
The concept of mixing objects of different sizes was used particularly in American cinema, television and advertising when I was growing up. As a hobby, I started taking pictures of tiny figures and food around the end of 2002. After some of my images were published in Europe and went viral, Big Appetites became my fulltime career.
What is the fun and the challenging part about it?
Food is very challenging to work with, it can be wet, soft or can have oil which stains the backdrop. In terms of fun, it is always a treat when fine art collectors purchase prints of my photographs.
What all materials and mediums do you prefer to use?
Food and 3D printed plastic figures.
How much time does it take to complete one project?
In all of the years making these images I’ve never set a timer or even paid attention to the time. What is important is to work until I’ve found a successful image. Some of my images are simple. Others are more complex. They take as much time to make as it takes.
Your art is currently inspired from?
Cinema. Television. Advertising. Toys I played with as a kid. Inspiration is everywhere.