Media Features

In addition to being interviewed numerous times on television and radio, Ingrid Hunt has been featured in dozens of newspapers and magazines. Below is a sampling of such articles.

Please note: For improved online legibility the articles have been retyped using larger print.

Miniature art finds its niche at fair exhibit

By CHARLES PASSY

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Some artists see the world in brush strokes. Ingrid Hunts sees it in pin pricks.

Well, technically Hunt does use a brush to create her works, but it's a size 000 as opposed to the more standard painter's size 6. Then again, why would you need anything bigger when your "canvasses" typically measure 2 by 2 - as in inches?

An acclaimed Canadian artist who specializes in miniatures, Ingrid Hunt is exhibiting her wares at the South Florida Fair - not far from vendors who sell everything from cellphone accessories to beef jerky. It's an odd place to expect to find an artist whose work has been seen everywhere from exhibitions throughout the Northeast to the halls of Canadian government buildings.

But Hunt is far from your typical artist.

"I was always a detail painter. I couldn't wait to do the blades of grass or the whiskers on a kitten," said Hunt of her talent, speaking from her booth in the fair's expo building 2.

But Hunt, a former airline cabin attendant, is referring to her days as a hobbyist painter who worked in standard sizes.

She made the switch to pint-sized painting in 1990 and found such success with the medium that it became a full-time profession.

And though she has an undeniable passion for this unique art form, which became popular in Europe centuries ago, it's still very much a job. Hunt doesn't rely on a magnifying glass. Instead, she just focuses intently on the canvass, dips her ultra-slim brush into watercolor or acrylic paints (oils are too gloppy) and holds her hand as steady as possible. If she's working on very fine details, she tries not to breathe, for even that slightest of motions can affect her grip.

The resulting works, which take anywhere from two days to two weeks to complete, cover a spectrum of subjects: Hunt paints everything from nature scenes to portraits of pets. She accepts commissions, but she usually just does whatever inspires her. Her works sell for as much as $3500 but she also offers buyers numbered lithographs for as little as $34.95.

Hunt is looking at this year's fair as an opportunity to introduce her paintings to Florida art lovers since it's a market she has not tapped much before. In addition to the Palm Beach County event she's slated to attend a Tarpon Springs exhibition of her work ina few weeks.

She's also using the time to push her newest line of paintings - namely, panoramas. Hunt says it's refreshing to think big for a change.

Of course, big is in the eye of the beholder. The largest of Hunt's new works measure 2 X 12 - as in inches yet again.

Small Paintings Earn Big Audience

Westfield gallery features miniatures by Canadian artist

BY MIKE KARSNAK

STAR-LEDGER STAFF

Canadian artist Ingrid Hunt has painted animals, landscapes, portraits and even scenes from Mindowaskin Park in Westfield with meticulous detail.

She's able to paint the tiniest details in her work, even though the paintings are only 4 square inches in size.

"I have a small paint brush and a very steady hand," Hunt said.

And a very small canvas as well.

Although small in size, Hunt's paintings don't carry a tiny price tag. Her paintings were on display at the Juxtapose Gallery in Westfield last month and were selling for up to $350.

The most Hunt has received for a miniature was $650 at a gallery in Ontario.

Hunt started painting her diminutive depictions back in 1990.

"Getting into miniatures was a natural progression for me," she said. "I have a very delicate brush-stroke."

Hunt said that although she has sold larger paintings, she has had more success with the miniatures. "They make a great gift," she said.

"The miniatures took off like hot cakes," she explained. "They're easier to buy for someone than a huge painting."

When asking for a painting from the artist, size does matter, at least to Hunt.

"When people ask me if I can paint something bigger, I turn them down," she said.

Although miniature art has a fairly large following in the art world, Hunt didn't know that when she made the decision to concentrate on small paintings.

"When I painted my first miniature, I didn't know miniatures existed," she said. "I just felt like doing something different."

Miniature art can be traced back to Elizabethan England .and is known for its attention to detail, according to Hunt. "Miniatures have been around for centuries," she said.

Miniatures were considered a fine art in England. In addition to being hung on walls, miniatures were used in lockets and carried in pockets, according to the Website of the Miniature Art Society of Florida.

"It's a very exclusive art form," Hunt said.

Before she began creating her petite paintings, Hunt began her artistic path by sketching Disney characters.

"I started drawing Donald Duck and little-kid stuff like that," she said.
Hunt was born in Holland, but moved near Toronto, Canada at age 14 with her parents. She still lives there.

It was her early childhood memories of the Canadian landscape that inspired Hunt.

"I love the rolling hills and the country side," she said.

Hunt has been making money from her art since high school. She started out doing standard sized animal portraits.

I was drawing horse portraits for people," she said. "Those were my first sales."

Hunt was a fight attendant before selling her work full-time.
It was her experience with the airline industry that led her to pursue selling her pint-sized pictures.

"I was selling them to the pilots and flight attendants," she said.

Extensive planning is required for Hunt's meticulously detailed pieces. First, she needs to get a sense of the picture to be able to fit her large subjects in such a small space.

Hunt has been commissioned to paint places as large as the Rogers Centre (formerly the SkyDome) in Toronto - a stadium that seats more than 50,000 people. Hunt's SkyDome paintings were given as gifts to fifth year Rogers Centre employees.

"The scanning and sketching take longer," she said. "I look at the photograph for awhile to get a sense of it."

Gerri Gildea, owner of the Juxtapose Gallery, has worked with Hunt since 1994.

"We first commissioned Ingrid to do a miniature of the Westfield circle," Gildea said.

Since then, Hunt has done several miniatures of Westfield, one of which she raffled off last month at the gallery.

Hunt has won "Best in Show' at art exhibitions featuring miniatures throughout the world. She was named Canadian Artist Of The Year in 1993 by Insight On Collectibles magazine.

And Gildea agrees that these accomplishments are no small feat.

"We have done spectacularly well with her work,” Gildea said. "We've developed quite a following for her."

Miniature artist holds annual Christmas show on Mill Street

By Brad Holden

World-renowned miniature artist Ingrid Hunt has been in residence on Mill Street for the past few months; this weekend. she will hold her annual Christmas Sale in the space before leaving the snow behind to tour the United States in January and February.

"Creemore will always be special to me because this is where I started," said Hunt, who reminisced about her successful miniature career this week, in the days leading up to her sale.

An artist all her life, Hunt was working full-time as an Air Canada flight attendant 16 years ago when she had a creative revelation. Up until then, she had been painting large-scale oils as a hobby, selling them to family and friends but never considering herself a professional artist.

"I'd always been a detail freak." said Hunt, referring to her longstanding passion for the little things that make up a painting - the individual strands of hair and blades of grass. In 1990. she switched from oil to watercolour and acrylic, and as she starting painting a picture of a leopard in the new medium, she felt even more drawn to detail than usual.

The leopard hangs in her studio today, still unfinished. Halfway through the painting, Hunt started thinking about how much more fun it would be to concentrate solely on the little things.

She experimented with frame sizes, and settled on two inches by two inches. She then started painting local scenes in miniature, and found she could do them both skilfully and quickly.

She sold her first miniature to a friend that very day, for $10. And a few weeks later, she came out of the TD Bank on Mill Street and saw a poster for the upcoming Fall Craft Show at the Legion.

She made her debut at the show. with 150 miniature paintings. selling each of them for $39.

The rest, as they say, is history. Hunt has painted thousands of miniatures in the past 16 years - mostly of local scenes but also of places like Toronto City Hall (prints of which are given to the city's VIP visitors) and the Parliament Buildings (an original now hangs in the Prime Minister's office).

Ingrid Hunt originals now sell for anywhere from $350 to $1700; prints are available for an average price of $69. And the artist has won awards all over the United States and Europe where miniature art shows draw thousands of fans and collectors.

"I'm just lucky that I can do what I love." said Hunt. "I think that's reflected in what I do. People are drawn to these paintings because they can see that I'm sharing something of my soul."

Ingrid Hunt's Miniature Christmas will take place at 176 Mill Street from Friday, December 1 to Sunday, December 3. Invitations were mailed to all Creemore residents this week.

Miniature artist Ingrid Hunt special guest at craft show

BY NATASHA THOMPSON

FOR NORTHERN LIFE

Ingrid Hunt, a well-known miniature painter, will be in Sudbury this weekend for the Keepsakes Spring Craft Show at the Exhibition Centre.

Hunt has painted more than 1,000 original art miniatures. Her work has been displayed and sold in Australia, Asia, Europe, and North America. In fact, a piece of her artwork is displayed in Buckingham Palace.

“I do have a piece hanging in Queen Elizabeth’s Buckingham Palace, and it gives me a great feeling of joy and honour,” Hunt said.

During Canada’s 125th birthday, 13 of her miniature paintings, representing the provinces and territories were presented to the prime minister’s office.

She has painted a collage in remembrance of 9/11, and there are plans to present it to the White House in Washington, D.C.

“The presentation to the White House is still in planning,” she said. “Needless to say, this is a very exciting feeling for me.”

In June 2003, Hunt’s most recent work, Country Road, was awarded first place at the International D’art Miniature in Quebec. Approximately 1,000 artists from around the world entered this art exhibition.

Hunt, who was voted Canadian Artist of The Year by Insight on Collectibles magazine in 1992, was born in Holland. She and her family immigrated to Canada in 1966.

Hunt discovered her artistic talent at a young age.

“As soon as I was old enough to hold a crayon, I was drawing.”

She started drawing Disney characters and then progressed to oil paintings. Hunt started selling her work while in high school.

Hunt has some advice for artists starting out.

“First, I believe you need to paint from your heart. Paint what you love and believe in your passion.”

She also recommends experimenting in different areas is a good idea.

“You might hit on something you that you never thought you would enjoy so much,” she said.

The Keepsakes show opens today at noon. Show hours are from noon to 9:00pm tonight, from 9am to 5pm Saturday, and from 10am to 4pm Sunday.

More than 70 juried artists and artisans will be displaying their work at the centre on Falconbridge Road.

Admission is $4 for the entire weekend. Visitors will have a chance to win a spa package for two.

Natasha Thompson is a Cambrian College journalism student on placement at Northern Life.

It's a small world for renowned artist

BY ARNIE HAKALA

The Nugget

Now that former flight attendant Ingrid Hunt has her feet firmly planted on the ground, she paints full-time and searches for the meaning of life.

"I almost get a tear in my eye when my work touches someone," she says during a break at the 12th Annual North Bay Spring Arts and Crafts show on the weekend at the North Bay Granite Club.

what makes this 51-year-old different than just about all other artists, is that her work is postcard size. She has become one of North America's leading miniature artists.

She also has won numerous awards and her works have been sold around the world. Queen Elizabeth has a collection of Hunt's works at Buckingham Palace.

Hunt was born and raised in Holland and came to Canada when she was 14. Shoe now lives in Creemore, a small Georgian Bay community near Collingwood.

"My parents and teachers recognized that I had some artistic abilities so they encouraged me," she said in an interview.

She worked as a flight attendant for 20 years and when her two children grew older, she decided to return to her first love on a full-time basis, She did that in 1990.

"For me, painting is a passion that comes from the soul," she said. "I love working in the small size and I find myself living in a different worldwhen I'm creating."

"The miniature is clear, crisp, and defined. I feel motivated by it. I'm working in another dimension."

Much of her work is inspired by nature.

"I think I should start carrying a notepad when I go for wilderness walks because I see things I want to do and although I think I have them remembered, I lose them."

She works with one of the smallest paint brushes there is, a triple zero, and uses tiny strokes.

"I have a steady hand ... you have to, to create miniatures. It's all about concentration."

The North Bay show is one of 55 in 18 provinces and states this year. In 2005, she will tour England, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Holland.

Bev Carney, organizer of the arts and crafts show, said the number of exhibitors increased to 55 this year, eight more than last year.

"There is diversity and great pricing for this show amd that's what has made it so successful," said Carney

A Hunt painting of the North Bay waterfront was presented to winner Sharon Desjardins of New Liskard by North Bay Mayor Vic Fedeli.

When Desjardins learned by telephone Saturday, she decided to make another trip to North Bay to pick up the painting.

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Last Revised: June 18, 2008