The penny painters is a term sometimes used to describe miniature artists. Many of us look for ways to show the size of our work, relative to objects everyone knows the measurements of. So, at some point, miniature artists started taking photos with a penny in the image, as a sort of watermark and size reference. Hence, the nickname.
I've never used a penny to size my art. But I do picture them in my palm, or in a vignette with eyeglasses or paintbrushes, or other things that call attention to how small the work is.
In miniature art, we paint "in the spirit of miniature." In a nutshell, this means that if you magnify my 3 inch painting, it is painted in a way that would look the way you'd expect a 3 foot painting above your mantle to look.
The penny painters is a term sometimes used to describe miniature artists. Many of us look for ways to show the size of our work, relative to objects everyone knows the measurements of. So, at some point, miniature artists started taking photos with a penny in the image, as a sort of watermark and size reference. Hence, the nickname.
I've never used a penny to size my art. But I do picture them in my palm, or in a vignette with eyeglasses or paintbrushes, or other things that call attention to how small the work is.
In miniature art, we paint "in the spirit of miniature." In a nutshell, this means that if you magnify my 3 inch painting, it is painted in a way that would look the way you'd expect a 3 foot painting above your mantle to look.
Framed to 4" x 4"