Coins

Miniatures have always fascinated me, but it wan’t until I saw the portrait of Henry VIII by Nicholas Hilliard in person, that I began to understand that while viewing a highly detailed miniature, you must get so close that the experience is yours alone. For that moment, what you’re seeing is a secret between you and the artwork. Even in a crowded gallery, you have a sudden quiet, intimate experience.

This little grouping is a small sampling of at least 60 paintings under 2″ in diameter that I have made over the years. The larger body of work has been either painted on actual coins or small copper disks and have been variously framed with unusual found objects (one was framed with a sanding wheel), traditional wooden frames with mats, and have had T-pins epoxied to the back so that they could be pinned right to the wall. They have represented all of the major subjects that have inspired my artwork; the figure and the lovely people around me, animals, insects, and silent films. Even after completing all these paintings, I still love the format, and I keep finding moments and figures that I yearn to capture in this quiet, careful and very subtle way.

Take a look at my Monthly Miniatures to see an ongoing series of slightly larger (but still quite small) paintings of rabbits.