Miniature art has a long history dating back to the 1500's and for many years served society in much the same way that photographs are used today. Since the advent of photography, miniature art has suffered a sad decline in demand, but over the past 20 years there has been a revival of interest by collectors and art lovers for this challenging, rewarding and beautiful form of art.
In Australia, there are three Miniature Art Societies. These are ASMA (NSW), ASMA (VIC) and ASMA (TAS). There was a society in Queensland, however this society has since disbanded. The guidelines for all three Australian Societies state that artwork should be less than 100 square centimetres in size, whether rectangle, oval or square. Miniature art societies in other countries such as the UK and the US have different requiremtents. Miniature art is generally extremely detailed and should hold up well under close magnification.
Australian Societies encourage the exploration of a wide variety of mediums, and art may be either traditional or contemporary, provided that it falls within the guidelines for a miniature. This particular genre of art requires an eye for detail and a steady hand. Traditionally, miniature art was painted mainly in oils, and later, in watercolours on surfaces such as ivory and vellum. The vast majority of these early paintings were commissioned portraits. These days, many miniature artists still follow the traditional methods of miniature artists of centuries past with a wider range of subject material. Recycled ivory may be used, or a sythetic product called ivorine which has similar properties to the original ivory. Other surfaces such as vellum, polymin, canvas and watercolour papers may be used.
Each four to five years, a World Exhbition of miniature art is held, and the next one is to be held in March 2008 in Burnie, Tasmania (Australia)
