Hi folks, I’ll be at the show opening on Friday night at Gallery 8 (Nov 28) on Saltspring Island! This is the gallery’s annual small works show where my small painting “Radiant Bear” and miniature “Winter Walk” (which I don’t have a picture of yet – sorry!) will be featured. These larger paintings will be there too. The opening is from 5-8pm and lots of fun so come by if you’re in the area and say hi!
Most days in the studio boil down to one question for me: will it be the tiny brush or the big brush first? Will the day start with the cultivation of a miniature world or the abstraction of an observation? And sometimes the answer is: no brush. Instead, a walk, a course of errands, a pattern of bricks in a sidewalk, a conversation with a friend will fill the well of being-ness that I need to create.
My new painting titled “The Bridge” represents the crossing over to something different, something important perhaps, or safe passage through an uncertainty. This piece speaks to me personally as I enter my 25th year of painting miniatures and feel the pull to pursue new creative ideas. It isn’t always easy to cross into new territory and keep your footing, but sometimes it’s necessary to try – if for no other reason than to view more clearly, where you’ve been.
The Bridge (30 x 40 inches), acrylic on canvas.
After many years of studying and painting external landscapes it has been an adventure of a new kind to reflect on the curious nature of internal landscapes and what existential aspects of them might look like painted in a simple form.
Block paintings – What are they about?
My purpose for this series of paintings is to create an expression of the dynamism of the human spirit (represented by the circle) as it navigates a journey through the experience of life (represented by the blocks). The black line surrounding all objects signifies the great mystery that holds things together, and yet separate from each other, creating a perfectly imperfect motif of existence and what one makes of it.
Below is one of the images from my new series for the current Spot Light show at Peninsula Gallery in Syndey, BC. The show continues to July 11th.
Journey (30 x 40 inches), acrylic on canvas.
A big thank you to the kind folks at Peninsula Gallery and to everyone who supported or came out to see the show in Sidney – it sold out!! All ten miniature paintings featuring aspects of beautiful Vancouver Island have found new homes. Thanks everyone! 
And now for something completely different…
I’d like to introduce you to Blue! A tiny dragon wreaking havoc in my studio and the result of my first creative cross-over into miniature 3D painting and part of a project I’ve been working on recently.
Having painted miniature 2D for the last 22 years, it has been so much fun crossing over into the 3D miniature world a wee bit and learning about the fine art of 3D painting. Mainly, I’ve learned that it’s much harder to do than it looks! But very much worth the effort and hope I’ll never be too old to learn something new. 😊
I’m so pleased to share this article I’ve written for Tangible Day, a fantastic blog site for miniature painters and hobbyists alike! I’m super grateful for the opportunity to do this so please check out the site as it has so much info available for those in love with the miniature realm.
I drew inspiration for this new miniature painting titled: “Island Morning” (measuring 1.5 x 5.25 inches), from a morning walk along the water in beautiful Courtney BC.
This tiny painting is available at Excellent Frameworks in Duncan BC. Have a look on-line or stop in to view their annual miniature show if you want to see a great collection of tiny art.
This year I am delighted to donate the miniature painting “West Coast Rhapsody” (2.5 x 6 inches), to the annual MERS online auction (Marine Education & Research Society), in support of the tremendous work that they do. A big thank you to Jackie Hildering for sharing her beautiful photo with me as reference material for this painting!
If you would like to purchase this framed miniature painting, please follow this link to the MERS website to learn more about the online auction held Friday, April 22nd at 5pm until Sunday, May 1st at 7pm, PDT.
This is female Humpback Whale “Jigger” (BCX1188). Reference photo by Jackie Hildering aka @TheMarineDetective in her work as a researcher for @mersociety.
Below is a series of progressive images of the painting from start to finish. “West Coast Rhapsody” (2.5 x 6 inches), acrylic on paper board:
For me, a day on the west coast of Vancouver Island is usually a grand adventure out on the trails, through the trees and across the beaches. And yes, more often than not, a rainy one too. But when the sun is shining, it is absolutely glorious!
Here is a miniature painting I did of a day spent on the beautiful west coast titled: “Summer Shore” (measuring a tiny 1.75 x 4.25 inches in size), painted with acrylic on art board.
Some folks have asked me about the scale of my work so I thought I’d take a pic with a few of my paintings next to some studio items to compare size with. Often, I’ll use a quarter next to my painting for scale but it’s fun to use a few other things too! The white surface I’m painting on is Canson art board, nice and sturdy for acrylic painting. 🙂🎨🖌
Spring time in pretty Beacon Hill park on Vancouver Island, where lovely camas blooms in the grass and blue skies shine overhead. Lovely spot for a ramble on a sunny day!
“Spring Meadow” (1.75 x 4.25 inches), acrylic on art board, second image with coin to show scale.
Tiffany Hastie Art 
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