Miniature art: Materials, bibliography and Suppliers

Early miniatures were painted on vellum sometimes stuck to the backs of playing cards, but by the middle 1700s the favourite surface was ivory. Although there are still stocks of old ivory (piano key etc.) around, most modern miniature painters use a range of surfaces, many of them man-made. Some popular surfaces include:

Fine hot-pressed paper:(some miniaturists recommend at least 140 pounds weight). Available from any good art supplier.

Ivorine: Similar to celluloid this provides a very smooth fine surface on which the paint sits. It is slightly translucent and can produce a most beautiful luminous effect when transparent paints are used. You can also paint on it using gouache, acrylic or oils. Supplied by R.J.Wood (UK), T.N. Lawrence & Son, Ltd.andMiniArt (US)

Polymin: Similar to Ivorine, but usually thinner. This can be useful if you want to trace a design through from the back. Supplied by Polymers Plus and MiniArt (US)

Ivorex: a smooth white card, available from good art shops.

Lumitex: double sided or on backing card. Available in the UK from Wrights of Norfolk. Outside the UK available from C.B. Turner

Vellum: made of goatskin or calfskin Suppliers include: William Cowley (UK), Polymers Plus (UK), Cornelissens (UK), and MiniArt (US).

Wood: Prepared wood panels in maple or natural fibre can be bought from Art Boardsand T.N. Lawrence & Son, Ltd.

Gesso panels: Hand-crafted art panels made from a traditional gesso recipe specially formulated from crushed marble, rabbitskin glue and high- quality titanium pigments. Several thick coats of this gesso are applied to a dimensionally- stable 1/4" premium hardboard. Excellent for use with oils, egg temperas, and acrylics. Boards can be custom made to specific sizes. Purchase them from www.realgesso.com

Tagua: This is palm ivory made from the tagua nut, also called Corozo and vegetable ivory. It looks and behaves very like mammal ivory. Details can be found at: http://home.iprimus.com.au/suewalters/Raw.html

Miniatures may also be painted on to fabrics, such as velvet or silk, or painted or even enamelled on to copper.

Miniatures may be painted with watercolours, gouaches, alkyds, acrylics, oils,or even pastels. Very popular is the enormous range of paints made by Winsor & Newton. Unless you are quite determined that your paintings will never sell always check the colour fastness before using them. Some paints fade alarmingly fast particularly on the celluloid-type surfaces.
A wide range of paints can be bought by mail order from Ken Bromley Art Supplies
www.artdiscount.co.uk sell a selection of Winsor & Newton paints by mail order in the UK.

Miniature engravers may get supplies from T.N. Lawrence & Son, Ltd.

have of course to have extremely fine points but at the same time be capable of holding a good deal of paint. Those of us using watercolour commonly use sable brushes made by Winsor and Newton,series 7, series 12, or series 16. Sizes go down to as small as 000. Ken Bromley Art Supplies can send small sable brushes by mail order, as can Rosemary and Co.

Chromacolour make an excellent series of nylon brushes, as do Trip the Daisey.
www.artdiscount.co.uk sell Winsor & Newton miniature brushes by mail order in the UK.

In the US, Miniart supply various brushes suitable for miniaturists.

For lifting off paint from a non-absorbent surface the nylon Daler size 00000 made by Dalon is invaluable.

Even the best nylon brushes bend at the tip after a certain amount of use, so aim to buy natural bristle brushes if at all possible - they are worth the extra cost.

The generally accepted maximum size for a miniature in the UK is 4.6 inches x 6 inches including mount and frame. The Royal Miniature Society does not accept mounts wider than 0.75 inches. Frames are usually custom made with very fine mouldings. Oval, circular, rectangular or square gold or brass plated frames with convex glass are also very popular.

Suppliers include, in the UK:

• RJW Products
• Polymers Plus
• "Frames"

Beautiful and unusual frames can also be ordered from Haffke Kunsthandwerk in Germany.and Bill Weibold in Ohio, who specialises in period frames.

All but the very youngest will require some help with seeing the very fine details of a true miniature. Magnification aids include "anglepoise" lenses, sometimes fitted with lamps, hand held magnifiers, desk magnifiers, lenses incorporated in headbands and lenses fitted on to spectacles. In the UK any good optician will have a range of magnifiers. Other suppliers include Polymers Plus

A selection of books on contemporary miniature art.

NB these may not all be still in print.

Try Amazon at www.amazon.com, or www.amazon.co.uk first (If you know of other books on the same subject, please do tell us about them)

HOW TO PAINT MINIATURES by Robert Hughes and Elizabeth Johnson, Quintet Publishing 1994, price £5.99 ISBN 1-85076-518-9

The TECHNIQUES OF PAINTING MINIATURES by Sue Burton, B.T.Batsford, 1995, price £19.99 ISBN 0-7134-7459-9

The MAGIC OF MINIATURES by Jo Clay, Mendip Publishing, 1991, ISBN 0-905903-29-3

PAINTING MINIATURES by Elizabeth Davys Wood, A & C Black, 1989 available from R.J.Wood

BRITISH PORTRAIT MINIATURES by Graham Reynolds, CUP, 1998; ISBN: 0521597811

MINIATURE ART OF AUSTRALIA Past And Present
Available via fax # 0061 03 6431 6419 or via e-mail Price: $20 (aus.) per copy plus postage and packing.

A COMPLETE GUIDE TO TECHNIQUES, MEDIUMS AND SURFACES by Joan Cornish Willies RMS HS MAA, Watson-Guptill Publications 1995, price $24.95, ISBN 0823029794.

THE WAY HOWE TO LYMNE [Tudor miniatures observed] by Jim Murrell [former curator of miniatures at the V & A].
Contains reprints of Hilliard's own advice on painting miniatures.
Published Victoria & Albert Museum 1983 - ISBN 0 905209 39 7