I do love my tiny art. Mostly because I can create something in a relatively short amount of time. I still have to wait for layers to dry but it’s much easier to wait for a 3″ square to dry than a larger piece.
Another thing I like with smaller works is not having to worry about things like mixing up enough of a paint color. In fact I often have a little bit of leftover paint. Have you ever been painting something large and you’ve mixed the perfect color but you run out about 80% of the way along? I don’t enjoy that scramble to mix up some more of the same color.
Anyway, here are some of my recent tiny collages. I had so much fun creating these. Working on this small form factor also gives me the opportunity to experiment with a variety of techniques and products. All of these mixed media collages are on 3″ x 3″ pieces of watercolor paper. I like the watercolor paper for it’s texture and thickness.
This butterfly piece started with some papers pulled from books and a few watercolor washes. I added the butterfly ephemera and then glazed it with Modge Podge. I added some ink pen as the final touch.

For this next piece I was going for a bit of a steampunk look and I used acrylic paint instead of watercolor. I put some washi tape and a few bits of dictionary page down. I had been wanting to practice my use of stencils so that came next. Until this piece my experience with stencils had not been good. I decided to try using some gesso this time instead of paint or ink. It gave a great texture to the piece and since it dries clear you can still see everything below.
I followed that up with some Raw Umber acrylic paint mixed with airbrush medium and that definitely highlighted the stenciled gesso. I like to apply the Raw Umber and almost immediately wipe it off so you are only left with the highlights. It’s a fantastic way to add a grungy feel to a piece.
After that I added a couple of tiny gear bits and a piece of ephemera that just felt right.

Keep it Sassy. I had some little papers and this one picture and text were so cute I wanted to do something with it. Red acrylic paint was used for the background and iridescent paint for the splatters. Micron pen was used to circle the splatters and make them pop. After that I cut out the image and glued it in place. Simple but so much fun.

I hope you enjoyed my little mixed media pieces. Do you have a favorite? I like them all so I can’t decide.
I can’t choose! >_< I love the butterflies and colors of the first one, the textures on the second one, and the theme of the third one! So, which one do I like best? Yes. 😀
lol exactly! They are all too different to make someone choose I suppose. I know I can’t.