Today’s submission: “Inchies”. This miniature tradable art form gets its name from… have you guessed? The canvas size. Yep, those are 1 inch by 1 inch teensy pieces of “art”, for a swap I’m in. Three inchies, any medium, any subject. Frequently inchies, I think, like ATCs, have a combination of art media… painting, drawing, collage, 3-D elements. I often add charms, or ribbon, scraps of a printed phrase from a book, fortune cookie fortunes to my ATCs (Artist Trading Cards, 2 1/2″x 3 1/2″)… really anything. But today I’m being an acrylic purist. My inchies are already a little busy for their size… I think adding any embellishment may overwhelm them.

Acrylic paint on watercolor paper, each 1″x 1″. (Some of my squares don’t look actually square. A problem I’ve only noticed now, as I look at these photos.)

I followed this tutorial for the tiny trees (more or less). Very fun to paint. I’ll try a larger version sometime.

And this, because my swap partner loves cats:

I didn’t create the kitties on my own either. I got the idea here. I’m keeping a set of three trees and the lone kitty on the right.

What I learned:

-painting doesn’t have to be scary.

-inchies are an incredibly small work space.

-small spaces are (potentially) less forgiving.

-my current paper trimmer doesn’t cut a one inch square neatly. Two inches is its minimum. Hand cut future inchies, or purchase a better-for-inchies trimmer.

-simple curvy lines can make a cat.

-one inch paintings can take longer than you’d guess.

What I’m hoping:

-before the year is out, I’ll be able to paint things without following a tutorial and without stealing (ahem, borrowing) someone else’s idea.