Monthly Miniatures
Taking a page from my friend and seattle based painter, Rebecca Luncan, I started making monthly miniatures in 2024. I take these small pieces as a way to keep experimenting with paper, focus on something other than flowers, and to provide some works under 500 USD. On this page you will find the series and it will be updated every month. If interested in any of the available pieces feel free to reach out via the contact page.
March 2025
Monarch Butterflies
cut paper, glue and watercolor paint
| 8” x 8” x 2” | 20.3cm x 20.3cm x 5cm | 2024
unframed
Available - 475 USD - This includes shipping
Continuing my bug and insect series I decided to mix it up a bit with this one and move away from the straight entomological vibe of a single subject (see previous monthly miniatures here). This gaggle of Monarchs were made with a simplified color pallet and in a grouping of five.
Growing up in North America monarch butterflies were really popular. The biggest bit of trivia about these long haulers is that Eastern North American monarchs, unlike other butterflies that rely on overwintering as larvae, pupae, or even adult butterfriends, travel up to 3,000 miles south for the winter months. How neat is that!
January 2025
Ladybug
cut paper and glue | 8” x 8” x 1” | 20.3cm x 20.3cm x 2.5cm | 2024
unframed
Available - 400 USD + shipping
The Insect:
This month’s miniature is a ladybug or coccinella septempunctatta. I was reading up on winter bugs and kept coming across folks in the US and elsewhere having an issue with ladybugs ganging up and living in parts of there homes. Ladybugs (as I’m used to calling them) hibernate for the winter, gathering into clusters to keep warm, sometimes in nooks and crannies in houses.
They are pretty ubiquitous and resilient on this planet of ours. There are approximately 5,000 different species around the world and they can live up to nine months without food. They are great garden guests due to feeding on smaller insects that damage plants, such as aphids.
They also have a number of different, enjoyable names around the world. Ladybird or lady beetle in the UK. Nyckelpiga (key helper), in Sweden. Bóín Dé (god’s little cow) in Ireland. Mariquita (relating to the virgin Mary) in Spain. Uğur böceğ (good luck bug) in Turkey.
The Build:
For this build I made the antenna, eyes, protonom, legs, and abdomen in the 250 gsm, white, cotton rag paper I use. The red was given four applications of a watered down of acrylic paint. The black dots painted in a similar fashion to give an organic edge for each spot. The shell was then covered in an acrylic medium to give it a high gloss finish.
The paper wings were covered in the same gloss medium, filling the voids. A second layer of medium was applied and a happy accident happened; the gloss took on a slight satin finish as well as introducing some ripples within the wings, adding further organic quality to the piece.
December 2024
For this monthly miniature I decided to make a moth! Two challenges for this one: fuzziness and the wing designs. I wanted to depict the fuzziness and fur like quality of moths and landed on cutting tiny tiny lines on every edge of this creature save for the antenna and legs. Doing the frill on every edge made the wings especially challenging. There was a moment I had thought about utilizing paint but I’m really enjoying the stripped down, plain, white, 250gsm, cotton rag, vellum finish wonder that Stonehenge paper is.
Moth
cut paper and glue | 8” x 8” x 1” | 20.3cm x 20.3cm x 2.5cm | 2024
unframed
Available - 400 USD + shipping
November 2024
Back in September I was seeing so many dragonflies here in Dals Långed. In the moments between tossing the ball and walking down by the water there were many occasions where a dragonfly or two would join me as I sat or stood just taking nature in and keeping Kev (my border collie) busy.
I chose a common dragonfly to depict here, the sanddragon. With this study my aim was to make a specimen that you might find amidst an entomologist's collection. I think this would frame nicely in a walnut shadowbox frame. The full image seen above was photographed on my kitchen table. I was originally going to edit the table out, but I like that what you see above alludes to a specimen display. For a few moments I thought of making a tag to affix below the dragonfly with a title and the scientific name of for the sanddragon - progomphus obscurus. Simplicity won out.
Dragonfly
cut paper and glue | 8” x 8” x 1” | 20.3cm x 20.3cm x 2.5cm | 2024
unframed
SOLD
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