A Miniature Painting a Day by Lorraine Loots

Project Name

365 Painting for ants

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Artist

Detailed Information
Project Name	365 Painting for ants	Posted in	Drawing, Painting	Artist	Lorraine Loots

There’s a funny irony in the story of South African miniaturist Lorraine Loots, the creator of the widely popular art project ‘Postcards for Ants’, who ended up being a full-time painter only months after deciding that art would never become her main profession. Back in late 2012, while attending a course in art business and marketing, Loots decided that although she did not want to turn art into a career after all, she still loved painting so she decided to spend one hour every day creating something. The result was a series of daily miniatures called ‘Paintings for Ants’ which Loots posted on her Tumblr and Instagram. Soon enough, people began ‘booking dates’ on Loots’ calendar, purchasing the miniature paintings corresponding to specific dates that were important to them, and even suggesting what the paintings should depict. The project was also released as a limited-edition book after a successful crowdfunding campaing last year, which is available on the artist's Etsy shop.

While Loots’ 2013 series had no particular subject, the 2014 iteration of the project has been narrowed down thematically, and is based on the city of Cape Town and its imagery: landscapes, buildings, objects and animals connected to the city are all lovingly and vividly painted in Loot’s signature 3-cm-wide circles. Unsurprisingly, after the success of her 2013 series, all the paintings from 2014 were already sold out by July last year! Nevertheless, if you feel that you simply must own one of these charming watercolour miniatures, do not despair: Loots has also released five limited-edition ‘postcards’ of each painting (digital prints of the same dimensions as the original), which is also by the way where the title of the project comes from. You can check which dates are still available on Loots’ online calendar.

{YatzerTip} Lorraine Loots will be presenting all paintings from her 2014 series, together with retrospective posters from both her projects at an exhibition in Cape Town, at 6 Spin Street Restaurant from 17 January to 5 February 2015.