Tiny Talent - Q&A with Lorraine Loots

Lorraine Loots’s miniature paintings: 2013’s 365 Painting for Ants, 2014’s 365 Postcards for Ants, and 2015’s Potluck100 have garnered massive traction in the local and international art scene, allowing Lorraine to exhibit in New York, create beautiful retrospective printed books, and reach up to R20,000 in her Instagram auction of the original paintings. I got in touch with Lorraine to chat miniatures and motherhood.

How did you come up with the idea for this series?

Ironically, the idea came about after I had decided that I didn't want to pursue a career as an artist after all. I didn't want to stop painting though, so I constructed this borderline-OCD project where I had to spend an hour a day creating something. The only thing I could finish in that time frame was a miniature, and so 365 Paintings for Ants was born.

Why did you entitle the project Paintings for Ants' What size are your pieces?

The pages I’m working on are about 10x 10cm, and the images themselves vary from 8mm to 30mm in diameter. When I just started doing miniatures, people would say: “Oh, that’s nice, but what would you do with something that small?” I just started saying they were made for ants.

Have you always painted on such a small scale?

No, but I've always loved detail. Painting smaller pictures just allows me to put in the amount of detail I want to (otherwise it would take me a lifetime). I also love the intimacy of it - the fact that you have to get so close to the image to really appreciate it.

It’s amazing how Instagram basically made Paintings for Ants so successful. What would be your advice for other creatives wanting to use Instagram or social media to market their work successfully?

I would advise them to produce a lot of work and to post as consistently as possible. Also, please don’t succumb to the temptation of asking people to follow you or taking part in any of those #followforfollow or #shareforshare campaigns. If you work hard and put your work out there, your audience will find you.

365 Paintings for Ants with Lorraine Loots from Gareth Pon on Vimeo.

Which painting of yours are you most proud of?

That would be like choosing your favourite child! Each painting has presented it’s own challenge and while I don’t necessarily like all of them, I am definitely proud of each one.

Your style and skill has really developed over the three years. What technical tricks have you learnt when it comes to painting on such a small scale?

The biggest trick I learnt was to have my papers pre-cut at the art shop, as opposed to cutting them myself – sounds logical, doesn’t it? The other thing was to sign every painting as soon as I finished is – at the end of 2013 I had to sign 365 paintings in one day!

How long does each piece, on average, take to create?

At first I would have to paint them in an hour or two, but now that it's become a full-time job I allow myself to indulge and will sometimes spend up to nine hours on one miniature. In general though, between six and eight hours.

What was your time in NY like? What was the highlight of that trip?

It was challenging and very beautiful at the same time – such a rewarding experience, and a time I will never forget. I had no idea what to expect and the response just blew my mind. The highlight was seeing all the South African faces at the show!

#ANTSinNYC from Gareth Pon on Vimeo.

What was the highest bid at an auction of one of your paintings?

$1350.

If you had to describe your mind, or thought processes, in terms of a design or artwork what would it look like?

I guess it would look like a mountain or a hill, depending on the piece.

What are your thoughts on our local creative scene? Which local designers, artists and creatives are you inspired by?

I am surrounded by so many talented and hard-working people. Danielle Clough, Jean de Wet and Michael Taylor come to mind.

If you had to describe your personal style as a song or song lyric, what would it be and why?

Good Vibrations.

Are you finding this year slightly less taxing as the frequency of paintings is less?

Nope, unfortunately not. I was hoping that it would be, but the workload has really just seemed to increase.

Congrats on the soon-to-be baby! How do you plan to balance motherhood and work?

Thank you! I have always wanted to be a present mother, so that is going to be my focus, but I also feel that it’s be important to me personally to continue working – to have a small part of the day to dedicate to my work would keep me feeling a little more balanced as a person. But as with all things, time will tell.

What is the plan for 2017, will there be more miniatures?

There is no plan to stop painting anytime soon. I’ll be taking a break for a few months starting now, so I can really absorb this time in our life with our little person coming into the world. As soon as I’m ready (which is always a little sooner than I anticipate!) I’ll be back in my studio painting away.

lorraineloots.com