Two Miniature Shows Opening Today!

"Carribean Cruise Flag," (shown at actual size), 3 1/16" x 2 1/2", (framed size 5 7/8" x 4 7/8") egg tempera on Kelmscott vellum, at Seaside Art Gallery, Nags Head, North Carolina, or visit my art at Seaside to purchase this painting online

"Niche in Aix en Provence," (enlarged for detail), 1 7/8" x 1 1/2", (framed size 3 1/2" x 3 1/2") egg tempera on Kelmscott vellum, The Snow Goose Gallery, Bethlehem, PA (to purchase visit The Snow Goose Gallery)

I also have lovely items for sale in my new Etsy store online, which I'll introduce next post, but it's here too: Art by MonaDianeConner at Etsy

"Tulip Garden at Giverny," and more tulips at home

"Madonna in the Leaves," 2 5/8" x 1 7/8", egg tempera on Kelmscott vellum

"Tulip Garden at Giverny," 2" diameter (shown enlarged for detail), oil over gold leaf on bone

view of the open basket box and lid

Tulips at home in Prospect Park, Brooklyn

Bird bath at the Litchfield garden

Tulips and grape hyacinth at the Litchfield garden

I'm hoping Parklane Gallery (in Kirkland, Washington) accepts "Tulip Garden at Giverny" since it has a dimensional quality to it. I've sent two miniatures to the Parkland Miniature Show, and the other one is "Madonna in the Leaves," shown here at the top.

Holiday Wishes, & a Painting Award

"Crucifix for B-Gay," 2 1/4" x 1 7/8", egg tempera on Kelmscott vellum

I've received the "Passion for Painting" award again, this time for my Ruby Slippers blog, from Deb Kierce.  Thank you Deb!  Deb enjoys painting ACEO's, another form of miniature painting, and she features precious scenes from nature.  In acknowledging this award I am supposed to name five things I love, and since I especially love going to the movies, I am choosing just five out of many great movies I have particularly enjoyed over the years:  "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "Corrina, Corrina," "Saint Ralph," "Picture Bride," & "The Horse's Mouth."  "The Horse's Mouth" is an old British classic with Alec Guiness that every artist should see! 

Since this award has already been around the block, I'm not passing it forward; however, I am creating an award of my own for something very special, so stay tuned for that tomorrow.  Passover and Easter are special times.  Tonight I am attending a Paschal Vigil at my local church, and I wish everyone a joyful and meaningful holiday time.

Congratulations Marcia & Harry!

You may remember my miniature study, "Tulip Garden at Giverny."  This painting was purchased by my sister, Peggy, as a wedding gift for Mom & Harry.  Last year when Mom & Peggy travelled to France with me, they gave me a special gift of a ticket to see Giverny Gardens and take photos, so this was a great idea come full circle.  Thanks for thinking of it, Peggy!

"Tulip Garden at Giverny," 1 1/4" x 3 1/4" egg tempera on Kelmscott vellum

During their honeymoon visit to NYC, I had lunch with Mom & Harry at Asiate on the 35th floor of NYC's Mandarin Oriental Hotel

Here is the first photo I have of the happy couple, Mom & her new husband Harry

L to R:  my sister Peggy and 2 of her 4 sons, David & Daniel, with Harry.   Since my brother is a qualified justice of the peace, he performed the ceremony. 

My Very First Miniature Compared to Now

"Water Lilies with Trochus Shells," 2" x 3", egg tempera on Strathmore board with glazed and shelled frame  (SOLD)

I thought it would be interesting to post for you the first miniature I ever painted, because I think it shows how I have been making some progress over the past nine years compared to my first try.  The details in "Water Lilies" are less defined, and it was also painted on a coarser surface of cold press Strathmore, which made it harder for me to achieve detail.  I worked on a smoother surface for this more recent miniature,"The Ruby Slippers."

"The Ruby Slippers," 3/4" x 1 3/8," egg tempera on kelmscott vellum

in Venetian glass frame, Available

Tomorrow I'll be posting a review of all the paintings which are currently available for sale on this blog, and on Wednesday I hope to post my next video, which is called, "The Ruby Slippers."  Stay tuned and watch it later this week to find out why.

(*Note:  sorry it's late, but my sale will be posting soon, so please check back for it and the video too, and thanks for your patience.)

Pink Lotus with Shells

"Pink Lotus with Rose Cup and Apple Blossom Shells," egg tempera, gold acrylic paint, rose cup, apple blossom, and pearlized umbonium shells, 4 1/2" x 4" (size including frame)

If it's just another example of gold in miniature, here is one I did with just gold acrylic paint, yet it has it's own kind of beauty.  Both because I'm currently working on a commission, and because I am trying to decide if I can part with this miniature from my personal collection, I'm putting it up as a post to see if anyone is interested in purchasing it.  

The shell craft alone took a week for me to create, and I emulated the lotus flower in shells on the top and bottom of the frame.  Please indicate your interest in purchasing this miniature via email (mona@monadianeconner.com).  

Aretha's Famous Hat

(portrait in progress, 4" x 4")

After two days of patient work, I finally got all the Swarovsky crystals on Aretha's hat!  It took a bit longer than it would have if I had a few new brushes, but since it was extremely cold today I decided to wait on this trip to the art store, and give it my best try anyway. 

I was surprised to find out this week that Aretha's hat, designed by Luke Song, has become quite famous, and believe it or not, it even has it's own Facebook page now, with over 100,000 fans, including yours truly!  Due to at least 300 requests, a $179 less expensive version of the hat has been made available by Song's millinery, and according to the Chicago Tribune, the Smithsonian has requested to make Aretha's hat part of a special permanent exhibit.  

Aretha's response:  "I am considering it.  It would be hard to part with my chapeau, since it was such a crowning moment in history.  I would like to smile every time I look back at it and remember what a great moment it was in American and African-American history."

A "Kiwi Berry Tart" for your sweetheart

"Kiwi Berry Tart", 1  1/8" x 1  1/8", egg tempera on vellum, 

$50 + $5 shipping (see 3/21/09 sale to purchase)

More on Aretha next, but one of my colleagues, Ed, wanted to see me do some miniature paintings of pastries from my favorite local bakery, Brooklyn Bread, so here is a "Kiwi Berry Tart" for someone's lucky sweetheart!  Mmmmm.........

Two Bluebirds of Happiness, Version 1 and 2

"The Bluebird of Happiness II," 1" x 1", egg tempera on vellum, 

with hand-painted matt, for the Hipp family

my first "Bluebird of Happiness," 1" x 1", egg tempera on vellum with hand-painted vellum matt, Venetian glass mosaic frame

My friends, the Hipp family, moved out of my building a few weeks ago, and I was sad to lose them as neighbors, even though they will still be in Brooklyn.  The Hipp daughters loved my "Bluebird of Happiness" and the miniature painting I did of it, so I decided to surprise them with a housewarming gift for their new apartment by painting another one inch square painting of the bluebird of happiness, version 2.  I tried to make it as close to the first version as possible, but gave the second bluebird a different framing treatment.  I like both framing treatments for different reasons.  What do you think?

MASF Miniature Show Opening Weekend

Dear family friends, Donna, David, and Ilda Littell attended the opening (Donna & David are pictured with me here).  Ilda brought two enthusiastic friends along, and it was great to see all of them at the show.

Late nite fun at Bon Apetit on Saturday after a lovely party for the artists at Dunedin Fine Art Center. ( l-r) Wes Siegrist, Bill Mundy, Herb Weed, Helen Hause, me, Carol Curtiss, Rachelle Siegrist

The mini-ribbon cutting ceremony officially opens the show, & always brings smiles!

The miniature paintings are displayed in groups on panels that fill two large gallery rooms. This is the panel that holds my three miniatures.  Hanging beside each panel is a magnifying 

glass with which to admire the detail in each miniature painting.  The MASF permanent collection is also on display in a separate corridor adjoining the two gallery rooms.

standing here with five talented artists whose work I admire (see their miniatures via the links on my list at right), l-r, Roz Pierson, Wes and Rachelle Siegrist, Bill Mundy, & Dana Thompson. 

 Roz and Bill came all the way from England for the festivities.

President Emeritus, Social Chair, and volunteer who never quits, Carol Curtiss, is my dear friend standing with me here.

It is always a great pleasure for me whenever I have the opportunity to go down to Florida for the opening weekend of the Miniature Art Society of Florida show.  Here are some photos to provide you a birdseye view of the fabulous time I had there!  A special note of thanks to all of you from MASF who work so very hard all year long to make it so special for the artists in attendance!

This year's show includes 823 miniature paintings by 240 participating artists from all over the world.  An Iranian artist, Hossen Fallahi, even submitted his five entries on camel bone.  It's the traditional Persian surface for miniature painting.

"Pink Star-Gazer Lily"

"Pink Star-Gazer Lily"  SOLD

(click on image for a larger view)

1 1/4 inches x  1 1/2 inches, egg tempera on vellum

Happy New Year!

"Basket of Red Flowers," 3" x 3", egg tempera, framed, (for purchase info., please inquire via the contact page of my website)

Happy New Year! I have several plans for the new year in progress. I am planning a trip to Florida for the MASF show opening in two weeks, I am working on rolling out a second blog, and I am developing a series of large paintings for a gallery show. Look for updates on these plans in future posts. While I am working on these things, here is an older miniature I am posting for sale.

Feast of the Holy Family

"St. Joseph and Jesus Devotional, Cathedrale Saint-Sauveur, 

Aix en Provence," 1  3/8" x 1  15/16"  egg tempera on vellum, 

(in progress)

Although I am not Catholic, I believe in certain Catholic traditions, such as the saints, and how they can help us.  I have been working on this miniature since before Christmas, and in Catholic tradition, today is the "Feast of the Holy Family," so it feels like the perfect time to post my progress on Joseph and Jesus.  As a Patron Saint, home and family are Joseph's realm.

The subject for this painting is a lovely devotional statue I photographed at historic Holy Saviour Cathedral in Aix en Provence during my stay in southern France.  I love the feeling of intimacy and the preciousness of the baby Jesus in this particular statue, and found it very inspiring to paint.  It was also special that someone had placed a real green branch upon the figures.  I plan to fine-tune this one further.

"The Bluebird of Happiness," All Decked Out

1" x 1  5/8", egg tempera miniature on vellum with artist hand-painted matt, Available

Remember the "The Bluebird of Happiness?" 

Here it is, revised and all decked out with a vellum matt I hand-painted,

in a small Venetian glass mosaic frame.  "Bluebird" will appear at the 

Weatherburn Gallery in Naples, Florida, along with the other miniature paintings I prepared for "It's a Small World----World Class Art in Miniature."  It's a very elegant venue, and I am thrilled to be part of this show.

Painting all those tiny dots on the vellum matt surrounding the bird, took practice to match them for size and shape at this tiny scale.  If you remember, the bluebird in this painting measures 3/8 of an inch.  The bluebird I painted it from was a small blown glass bluebird my mother gave me inscribed with 'Bluebird of Happiness' on it's bottom. 

Tomorrow I will post the last of the five paintings I sent to Weatherburn Gallery.

"Royal Carribean Ship Flag"

"Royal Carribean Ship Flag," 2 1/2" x 3 1/8"

egg tempera on Kelmscott vellum, Available 

My scanner, (which I've come to realize I can't live without!) broke down in the middle of a show shipment, but finally here is my other ship flag. I took the reference photos for this painting on a wonderful Carribean cruise in 2006 with my sister Peggy's family on our last day on "Adventure of the Seas" as we pulled into the home port in Puerto Rico. We sat in the picture window area of the lunch room looking right out on this flag, and it was a sparkling water crystal clear day. My artistic friend Sarah Nunez from El Pollo here in Brooklyn especially liked the photo of this flag and thought it would make a great miniature. I think she was right.

My two flag paintings will be on sale at Francesca Anderson Fine Art for a great show, "Almost Miniatures," from November 20 through January 17, in Lexington, Massachusetts.

"The Bluebird of Happiness"

"The Blue Bird of Happiness", 3/4" x 3/4"

egg tempera on vellum, (revised in a later post, 11/17)

Shown with a penny for scale, here is the tiniest Bluebird of Happiness I have ever painted.  

It's my smallest miniature ever.  The bird itself measures 3/8 of an inch in height.  

"L'madone et l'Enfant de Remy de Saint" (Madonna & Child of Saint Remy)

4  3/16" x 5  13/16", egg tempera on Kelmscott vellum, 

(at Dunedin Fine Arts Center in Dunedin, Florida

for the MASF 2009 Annual International Miniature Art Show)

Here is the final version of "Madonna and Child of Saint Remy."  I titled this in French because I found my inspiration for this painting during my trip to France, when our guide gave us some time to explore Saint Remy by ourselves.  I took a walk on my own and discovered a small cathedral called St. Martin's, with many beautiful devotional statues.  It was very dark inside, and I couldn't believe I was alone in such a beautiful place.  I felt so blessed to find this life-sized Madonna and Child dressed in gold, and knew then that I would want to paint my own version.

This got sent out for the MASF show in a lovely gold frame.  Framing is part of the jurying process in this particular miniature competition.  Certain specifications and guidelines must be followed, and I'll discuss more about framing for competition in a future post.

"Two September Berries"

1" x 1", egg tempera on Kelmscott vellum

dailywork miniature - Happy Birthday Hilda!

My sister's mother-in-law, Hilda, and I have the same birthday on Sept. 7.  This year Hilda is visiting from Barcelona, and we were both treated to a wonderful birthday dinner at Sequoia on Pier 17 in Manhattan, which overlooks Brooklyn's skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge.  Today's miniature is Hilda's birthday present.