With miniatures came passion for painting

Judges at the show of miniature art will award $24,000 in prizes to 65 winners on Sunday at the Dunedin Fine Art Center.

By EILEEN SCHULTE
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 18, 2002

DUNEDIN -- Years ago when she was a young mother, Kay Petryszak enrolled in a painting course at Clearwater High School. As the class wore on, some of her fellow students challenged Petryszak to try her hand at painting miniature art.

"I said, "What's that?' " Petryszak recalled.

Petryszak, now 64 and the Miniature Art Society of Florida's assistant vice president for public relations, learned quickly that miniature art is an ancient, time-consuming art form that is highly prized by collectors.

During the Elizabethan era, miniaturists were commissioned by wealthy royals to paint tiny portraits as personal mementos of loved ones who left on long journeys.

But with the invention of the camera, miniature paintings were no longer in demand and the art form nearly died before a 20th century "revival period" made it popular again.

Today, they are collected by those who wish to carry on the tradition.

Some of Petryszak's paintings will be on display at the 27th International Miniature Art Show opening Sunday at the Dunedin Fine Art Center and running through Feb. 10.

The show features 900 entries by artists from 40 states and 15 foreign countries who follow the traditional "one-sixth guide," painting subjects that are no larger than one-sixth of their natural size.

It is a juried show; five judges who will award $24,000 in prizes to 65 winners at 1 p.m. Sunday during a brunch at the Dunedin Fine Art Center.

At the display area, some of the artwork will have magnifying glasses attached so viewers can appreciate the details of each painting.

They will need them.

Like other miniaturists in the show, Petryszak's smallest artworks are 1 inch by 1 inch, the size of a postage stamp. Her pictures are of the head of Christ, a seascape with rocks and a field of pumpkins. She once created a 4- by 6-inch painting of a section of the Vietnam War Memorial.

"There are 500 names," she said. "And you can read the names."

She said collectors often purchase several small paintings and put them all in a single large frame.

Miniature art is popular in Florida because "our homes are smaller. We don't have the wall space," Petryszak said.

She paints five tiny works each year with delicate, $14 Windsor Newton sable brushes imported from England.

"I can wear out a brush with one painting," she said.

While some artists must use a magnifying glass to paint their pictures, Petryszak simply removes her glasses.

"I'm nearsighted," she said.

At a glance

The 27th International Miniature Art Show will open Sunday at the Dunedin Fine Art Center, 1143 Michigan Blvd., and run through Feb.10. Admission is free. The hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

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