Tiny Paintings That are Big on Giving!

First generation Canadian, Dale Dirks, whose father was born in South Dakota, is a Canadian Armed Forces Veteran and artist who turned is 81 this year. He has been painting since he was 4 years old with a passion for creating and for giving back to the community. When he was in the army, he helped start an arts organization.

Dale chose to spend his retirement years using his talents and time to create paintings in full scale and in miniature which he then sells to generate donations to worthy veterans organizations. He mostly applies acrylics on canvas but also uses pen and ink as well as pencil for his works.

While he enjoys themes which contain landscapes and seascapes, he also builds pastoral scenes featuring run down garages filled with rusted antique cars and snow capped cabins nestled in the woods.

His work has been seen across Canada, in Japan, Israel, England and other parts of the world and the sale of his work often benefits charities and organizations which give back to veterans. While Dale finds painting personally fulfilling, he hopes everyone who views his work enjoys them.

D. Thomas Miniatures is pleased to present a sale and auction of several of Mr. Dirk's work starting Sunday, April 4, 2021 at 7pm ET and ending Sunday April 11 at pm ET on eBay. 50% of the proceeds from the sale of each painting will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. This is a great chance for art buyers and miniatures enthusiasts alike to own a hand-painted treasure while giving back to a great organization.

The Wounded Warrior Project is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization which started in 2003 and is dedicated to "]]honor and empower Wounded Warriors who incurred a physical or mental injury, illnesses, or wound, co-incident to your military service on or after September 11, 2001."

We're excited to participate in this event and to help Mr.Dirks achieve his goal of painting miniatures and giving back to the veteran community for which Mr. Dirks has been a part of!

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Until Next Time: #LiveYourBestMiniLife

Rise of the Outdoor Mini Gallery

Interest in miniatures as a hobby has grown over the past year as folks have moved inside due to Covid-19 restrictions and are looking for ways to entertain and occupy their time. Rediscovery is underway of childhood dollhouses nestled away in attics and basements and refurbishing projects are underway.

Others have turned to creating small art and crafting tiny treasures on their kitchen table tops. A natural inclination for crafters is to share their work with others but the pandemic has placed restriction on these opportunities. As a result, some makers have turned to creating mini outdoor galleries to showcase mini art in a safe environment for others to enjoy including those who have never been exposed to miniatures before!

QUARAN-TEENY OUTDOOR GALLERY

May Burnett is an arts educator from Dobbs Ferry, New York, a suburban enclave just north of New York City. Growing bored and restless during the pandemic lock down, she decided to create a series of whimsical mini art vignettes which provide commentary (and levity!) during the global crisis. She then affixed her work to a line of trees along a popular trail near her home.

May’s “Quaran-teeny” outdoor gallery features a series of assemblages created using with a mix of photographs, foam core and scrapbooking materials. Her “Corona-Lisa,” inspired by DaVinci’s masterpiece, spurs on chuckles while encouraging viewers not only to socially distance when viewing the art, but to wear a mask and keep surfaces around them virus free!

STREET ART MINIATURES (SAM)

Canadian-based artist, Street Art Miniaturist (she goes by “SAM”), sculpts realistic polymer clay miniature foods including tiny hamburgers, popsicle sticks and ripened and peeled bananas.

She showcases her really tiny miniatures in various spots along streets in the Ottawa neighborhoods where she lives.

Part of the appeal of her exhibits is the discovery process not only to those viewers who “stumble” upon her work (if they are lucky) but to her followers on social media who she encourages her to go out and find her hidden in plain site treasures. SAM can be found on Instagram at @streetartminiatures

FREE LITTLE ART GALLERY

Stacy Milrany, a Seattle based artist, created the Free Little Art Gallery (FLAG) on a street near her home in Washington State late in 2020. Her concept became a viral sensation when she started what she calls her “public art experiment,” encouraging passer-bys to look at the art, leave a tiny treasure or take a tiny treasure from the 18” x 16” x 9” gallery built with a friend to showcase inch-scaled paintings, sculpture and 3D printed figures.

The concept was created to “to shed a little light, levity and beauty on a heavy world and catastrophic year” as described on her website www.milrany.com

While the global pandemic has been devastating for so many (and continues to be), there is a mini silver lining as mini makers have been encouraged to find new ways to showcase their miniatures in unexpected places to a broad array of viewers who may have never known about our awesome little world, further encouraging folks to it has brought miniatures to a new, more broad range of people who may now consider taking up this awesome little hobby. More images can be found on her Instagram here.

Head over the DollsHouse and Miniature Scene Magazine for more news, features and talk about miniatures from the UK and around the world!

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Until Next Time - Live Your Best MiniLife!

The Dutch Cabinet House by Steve Putnam

Steve Putnam, from Steve Putnam Designs, is a multi-disciplined artist from the UK who has had a passion for miniatures since childhood inspired by his grandfather, who was a model maker.

Putnam studied fine art and has broad experience in set design, high-end retail display and (award winning!) landscape architecture. While his design work is stunning, it's his miniatures that deserve a prize! (photo above: Steve Putnam Easter display for Gisela Graham London).

Steve created a Dutch cabinet house, which harken back to the renaissance era when baby houses were all the fashionable rage with women of a certain social class and status, refurbished from an existing antique reproduction find. The cabinet house contains masterfully crafted rooms which feature Georgian arches, gilded columns, inlaid mahogany flooring and extensive moulding throughout.

The cabinet house features several rooms including a grand dining room, a drawing room and a library. Each space contains extraordinary details such as wood paneled walls, dramatic coffered ceilings built-in bookcases.

Steve's collection of artisan miniatures are placed throughout the structure including John Hodgson mirrors, a Keith Bougourd chess table and and walnut cabinet with animatronic tweeting bird by Ken Palmer.

Watch my special Meet the Miniaturist featuring Steve Putnam broadcasted on Sunday, April 4, 2021 at 4pm ET. We had a wonderful chat with Steve and learned more about his passion for the tiny, got a tour of the uber-fabulous Dutch cabinet house he created and saw more of the fine artisan miniatures he has collected over the past 25 years to fill the structure.

This was super!

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Support this Programming!

Thank you for all your support and encouragement for the Meet the Miniaturist series. There is no cost for this programming but If you like what you see and would like to contribute to the development of this ongoing series, follow this link: paypal.me/dthomasminiatures

Until Next Time - Live Your Best MiniLife!