For Colorado-based artist Remington Robinson, working outdoor on a smaller scale—a lot smaller—was the important thing to creative success and inventive success.
By Amy Leibrock
This text initially appeared within the July/August challenge of Artists Journal. Learn the complete challenge HERE.
From illuminated manuscripts to ships in bottles to dollhouses, folks have been captivated for hundreds of years by tiny issues and the ability it takes to create one thing at a small scale. At the moment’s social media public is not any totally different. Take artist Remington Robinson. His miniature oil work, which he paints on panels minimize to suit on the within lids of Altoids mint bins, have attracted the eye of greater than half 1,000,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok.
Robinson captures vistas close to his house in Boulder, Colo., in addition to scenes from world travels along with his companion. His on a regular basis slice-of-life scenes—from espresso retailers to mountaintops—are rendered realistically and created en plein air with a painterly contact. He mixes his oils proper within the field and leaves them there to dry when he’s performed. The result’s one thing each fashionable and nostalgic, a second captured in time with the artist’s palette left behind, virtually like fingerprints.
Robinson shares brief, start-to-finish movies, narrating his methodology for distilling a sweeping mountain vista onto a wooden panel smaller than a taking part in card. He makes it look straightforward, and he hopes his examples may encourage even novice painters to provide portray a attempt. He has a e book popping out this summer season from Walter Foster Publishing, titled Mini Plein Air Portray with Remington Robinson, which can give artists of any degree insights and ideas for portray their very own mint-box paintings.
Robinson stresses that he didn’t invent the concept of utilizing a mint field as a tiny en plein air portray package. He gave it a attempt after assembly Heidi Annalise, one other Colorado artist who was already doing it. Not wanting to repeat her concept, he requested if she’d thoughts if he tried it. She stated positive—she didn’t personal the idea. Actually, she’d picked up the concept from one more artist.
Impressed by Nature
When Robinson goes out to color, he likes to have a unfastened concept of a topic in thoughts, like an autumn tree or a coffee-inspired nonetheless life at a neighborhood café. “Typically I get impressed by one other artist’s work or see one thing on Instagram or in {a magazine}, and I believe I do know a spot the place I might do one thing like that,” he says. Different days, he’ll problem himself to make use of a specific shade palette, like inexperienced and white, and can search for a topic that meets these particular situations.
Robinson says topics that work properly on a small scale are graphic, with a whole lot of huge shapes or areas of shade. He doesn’t utterly keep away from extra detailed or busy topics, however they do take him longer to color. He works from life almost 100% of the time. “It’s simply so a lot better, since you see extra together with your eye than your iPhone can see,” he says.
As soon as he chooses the topic, Robinson develops a composition after which begins by giving construction to the fundamental types. Usually, he does this by overlaying the entire floor with a wash of mineral spirits combined with a bit pigment. He cleans and dries his brush and lifts out pigment to ascertain the lighter values, then provides darker pigment for darkish values. Different occasions he’ll do a fast pencil sketch to ascertain the composition, particulars and values, particularly for a scene that options structure.
“Once I was first beginning out,” says Robinson, “I simply needed to begin detailing it. I needed it to look good with out having any concept in regards to the construction beneath.” The tip outcome would look “scrunched,” he says, as a result of he hadn’t taken the time to ascertain the general framework.
With these fundamentals established, the artist blocks in giant shapes and tweaks the colour nuance of these shapes; provides some mid-size shapes; after which paints the ultimate particulars. He makes use of bigger brushes so long as doable earlier than shifting to smaller and smaller brushes because the portray progresses.
Peace Via Portray
Robinson’s artwork and up to date social media reputation have introduced him some thrilling alternatives with main manufacturers and celebrities. These platforms join him straight with clients, and he sells his completed works on his web site. The items come within the field with the palette and a small wood block affixed to the again to prop it open for show.
Most significantly, Robinson will get satisfaction from inspiring others to get out in nature and take a look at portray. He proudly tells the story of a faculty pupil who stopped him mid-painting to inform him how his work impressed his mom to get again into making artwork after twenty years of elevating children. “It’s a simple entry level,” says Robinson. “All the provides might add as much as about 20 bucks. You don’t want a ton of colours. You may simply get the three primaries and a white.”
For Robinson, his artwork follow is, in some ways, a type of meditation. “Once I’m portray, I’m concentrating on the topic, and the remainder of the world can fall away,” he says. “It’s one of the vital therapeutic issues.” And, if it may be therapeutic for him personally, he hopes these advantages can develop outwardly as properly. “If I can encourage folks to get into meditation by portray, possibly it’s going to assist world peace or one thing. That’s type of corny, however I prefer to suppose it’s doable.”
A Compact Package
Robinson painted his first mint-tin portray in 2017. Over time, he has perfected a compact portray package that matches inside a fanny pack. In it, you’ll discover a zippered pencil case with elastic holders for brushes and some sheets of thick Viva-brand paper towels. He additionally brings a mint container with a wooden panel already affixed into the lid with squares of skinny Velcro.
For paint, he’ll deliver a tube of white and some colours. “When you’re making an attempt to be minimal, you don’t even have to deliver the tubes with you so long as your palette has been within the tin two days prematurely so it doesn’t slide round,” says Robinson. He makes use of oils most frequently however sometimes makes use of Golden Open slow-drying acrylics. “They dry sooner than oil however nonetheless gradual sufficient to have the ability to mix,” he says.
As for brushes, Robinson likes the Princeton Aspen Sequence of oil portray brushes, and makes use of ½- and ¼-inch flats, a spherical brush with a diameter in regards to the measurement of a chop stick and quite a lot of smaller Princeton Velvetouch brushes for element.
Robinson additionally brings 5 small (¼-ounce and ½-ounce) containers of odorless mineral spirits. To maintain them from spilling, he wedges them right into a small wooden block with a gap drilled in it that matches the containers.
Typically he brings a light-weight tenting chair. If he desires to report a video of his course of, he additionally carries a small tripod with versatile legs that he attaches to the strap of his backpack or fanny pack.
In chilly climate, he recommends gloves (these steel bins get chilly!). He additionally made himself a bit wood holder with magnets to carry the bins, hands-free, on actually chilly days.
As for the place he will get all of the mint bins? Satirically, he says he virtually by no means eats mints. He buys the empty bins in bulk on eBay, and a few folks have kindly donated bins to him.
In regards to the Writer
Amy Leibrock is a Cincinnati-based author and editor, and an everyday contributor to the Artists Community group of magazines.
In regards to the Artist
Remington Robinson grew up in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, in a household of creatives. He now lives in Colorado, the place he studied artwork on the College of Colorado Boulder, and on the Rocky Mountain School of Artwork and Design. He has made artwork on each a big scale, engaged on a variety of murals and public artwork tasks, and on a small scale. Robinson’s tiny mint-box oil work, painted en plein air, have captivated collectors and art-loving audiences on Instagram and on TikTok. The artist finds inspiration in lots of topics and lots of places, drawing on the mountainous panorama of Colorado in addition to neighborhood spots and scenic views throughout the globe.