Here is where you can view a collection of images showing the step-by-step process I’ve used in different paintings. Please check back to see new painting progressions as they are added.

An average miniature painting takes me about 15 hours to complete, and the format of the painting depends largely on how I want to feature the landscape I’m working with. The format varies from a wide panorama, to a narrow vertical, to a traditional rectangle, all of which are approximately nine inches squared.

Every now and then I like to paint the really little minis, measuring only one or two inches in size. These little guys present a slightly different challenge, which is to keep the whole painting feeling complete, and not just part of a larger image. The smallest I have ever painted was a tiny cottage on a single grain of rice, and that was many years ago when my eyes were younger and my patience was considerably greater!

Using acrylic on paper board means building up depth slowly with many thin layers of paint. I use larger (yes, that’s a relative term), paintbrushes to begin with and switch to smaller brushes as I work, finishing with the tiniest brushes at the end.

Sometimes little figures and/or animals are added to the landscape as a final touch. Tiny seagulls are commonly found soaring above my coastal scenes as a tribute to my grandmother, who loved them dearly. She had a favourite seagull who regularly visited her balcony and I still think of him every time I paint gulls into a scene. There are a couple of them in the miniature painting below.