Paint Like You're Whispering

You can’t whisper to a crowd.

‘The act of suggesting something secretly or privately’ is kept for you and I, or the preferential few huddled tightly together.

A whisper doesn’t waste time on small talk, it conveys an important message with intention.

It is not flamboyant or domineering, rather soft, subtle and unassuming. It doesn’t lose breath demanding attention, nevertheless a whisper’s murmur piques your interest as you ponder what hidden message you’re not privy to.

You want in on the whisper.

Mini portraits are like a whisper. They may be small in size and appear unassuming or quiet but the impact they have is huge.

The painting doesn’t shout out, yet it captures a person's full and undivided attention. Physically the viewers begins to move, they lean in, focus and steady themselves, becoming silent as they enter it’s world.

When working this small your body stills and your breathing shallows as every carefully considered mark is tentatively and intentionally placed. You’ve to think ‘What’s the least amount of information needed to create this moment…what needs to go?’

I had not anticipated Mini Portraits to be quite so powerful when I began making them which makes me even more in love with working in this scale at the minute.

Mini portraits are perfect for old photographs or images with little detail and are the perfect way of re-framing a memory or moment in time into a painting you'll have for life.

If you're thinking of commissioning a mini portrait for yourself or as a way of whispering ‘I love you’ to someone dear, contact me and tell me about who you'd like painted and what it means to you.

Or if you'd like to give a mini painting a go yourself, pick up the Miniature Painting Cheatsheet below with Tips to instantly improve your paintings: