Embracing Life through Tiny Details with Dina Brodsky

No detail is too small: they make the difference between good stuff and great stuff

Dina Brodsky is a painter currently living in New York City. Born in 1981 in Belarus, she has been living in the United States since she was nine years old. Dina Brodsky has studied at the University of Massachusetts Amherst as well as New York Academy of Art where she received her MFA. Here’s her take on painting, and particularly on the tiniest details of miniature painting.

Tell me a little bit about yourself?

D.B.: I’m a mother, wife, daughter, reader, cyclist, teacher, but, for the sake of this interview – I’m a painter.

What defines you? What would you say defines your art style? 

D.B.: Painting, drawing and observing life through that is what defines me as an artist. I consider myself a contemporary miniaturist, and use the tiny scale of my work to try to get viewers to pay attention to parts of life that they would have otherwise passed by.

When and how did it all start?

D.B.: I started painting my first semester at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst when I was 17, and knew immediately that this is what I want to do, every day, for the rest of my life. Since then I have done my best to stick to that plan and am lucky that I have been able to make a career out of my passion.

Related article: “TINIER THAN TINY PAINTINGS BY LORRAINE LOOTS: GO TINY OR GO HOME!” 

What are your ongoing projects?

D.B.: My ongoing project is a series of 126 portraits of trees from around the world, to be eventually turned into an exhibition and a book.

Have you always painted miniatures?

D.B.: Yes, although throughout my art education I was always told to paint bigger. I think the miniature scale is where I am happiest – it is what comes organically to me.

How long does it take for you to create a piece?

D.B.: It depends on the size, and on whether it’s a painting or a drawing. The 2” diameter miniatures from my series “Cycling Guide to Lilliput” would take between 8-12 hours each.

For a full mindmap behind this article with articles, videos, and documents see #painter

What inspires you?

D.B.: Everything. I believe that life is infinitely interesting, and if looked at closely anything can turn into art – maybe by the very act of looking and observing and consciously paying attention to it.

Do you have a favorite artwork?

D.B.: Yes. It is an early painting by Vermeer, currently at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, called “Woman With a Water Jug”

What does the future hold for you, what’s next?

D.B.: Honestly, I don’t know.  I am currently in the middle of this tree drawing project project and it is hard to think of anything but what I’m working on at the moment. Also, I have a very small baby at home, and am adjusting to the various realities of motherhood. I do know that no matter what happens, I will keep painting, keep drawing.

Want to see more of her artwork? Visit her website or follow her on Instagram!

Recommended reading: “A PAINTER ON THE ENTANGLED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FIGURE AND FRAME“

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All paintings courtesy of Dina Brodsky.