• Miniatures are affordable to the average person. I joke that I can't afford my own art.  A sofa-sized pastel goes for $4500. But a 4" x 6" sells for the bargain price of only $230. That's a professionally framed original, under museum glass even. That's great!! Oh, wow! Even I can afford my minis!! My friends don't have any excuse for not buying several. They make terrific stocking stuffers. (Check out the current inventory on my website OLDSPANISHTRAILSTUDIO.com then contact Keri at Kiowa Gallery, 105 E. Holland, Alpine, TX  432-837-3067 and let her know which ones to send you.)
• Miniatures fit just about anywhere.  Wall space in most homes is at a premium. I am not insulted if you hang one of my paintings in your bathroom. Actually, it may get more attention in there.
• Miniatures are an artform. a microcosom of life. Texas artist Frank Reaugh painted thousands of plein air miniatures in pastels and oils. Reaugh left us a visual history of life uncomplicated by cities and highways. (Study the book, Frank Reaugh: Painter to the Longhorns (Texas A &M Press) to see what I mean.)

 
"Soft Summer Night in Fort Davis"  4" x 6" pastel by Lindy C Severns   $230 (framed!) Kiowa Gallery, Alpine, TX

• Miniatures are fresh, immediate, quickly created.  Hours seldom show in a finished work. Visual statements show. In a miniature, you must know what you want to say, then say it. Concisely.  (If this takes you a month, you didn't really know what you wanted to say, did you?)
• Miniatures and plein air painting go together like peanut butter and jelly. Find a shady place, park yourself on a rock and pull out a small box of broken pastels. Or stick six or seven tubes of oil in your dirtiest pocket, grab a brush and go forth and paint for two or three hours. The light might stay more or less predictable that long. If you can't last three hours without food and drink, take a backpack of provisions.  Since you don't need many art supplies, you have room for amenities such as dark chocolate M&M's.
• Miniatures don't have to "turn out" to be fun learning experiences. Take the pressure off yourself, Michaelangelo. Every canvas isn't a Sistine Chapel. Thank goodness for that. 
• Miniatures may lead to bigger things. I never do a detailed sketch in preparation for a painting. I do sometimes "test" a subject by painting it in miniature. If the subject feels important enough, if the composition works on a small scale, I know I can pull off a larger painting. If not, I haven't lost a big chunk of time on a mediocre or flawed painting that won't fit into anyone's bathroom.
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• "Monsoon Season"   6"x10" pastel study by Lindy C Severns      collection of Trans Pecos Banks, Alpine, TX

"Monsoon Season" the 30"x50" oil  by Lindy C Severns                collection of Trans Pecos Banks, Alpine, TX

For more miniatures by Lindy Severns go to OldSpanishTrailStudio.com !