Paintings by Goddess Gruia that fit the palm of your hand

Miniature paintings feel like a separate art category, as there is something magic about small-size formats that squeeze reality onto sub-nature-size artistic surfaces. My Etsy shop, Goddess Gruia, includes several such works, acrylic on cardboard paintings inspired by architectural elements from Transylvania and Slovakia. These paintings are shipped unframed, rendering transportation fast and affordable, but one can adapt them to various display areas. My favorite method is to combine a generous passepartout and a simple frame, but there are other options as well, such as combining several small works inside a single passepartout and frame and thus creating a larger final artwork or using lavish, ornate, wide frames, without passepartout for each individual work, fitting narrower walls or corner areas of your home.

Small painting inspired by the old town center of Brasov, a Saxon town in southern Transylvania, in Romania. 9.5 x 10 cm (3.7 x 3.9 inches)

 

Small painting depicting one of the preserved medieval street corners of Brasov/Kronstadt, one of the leading Saxon cities in southern Transylvania, Romania. 5 x 5 cm (1.9 x 1.9 inches)

Unique cityscape fragment renders the atmosphere of the medieval cities of Transylvania, with their red roof tiles and prominent chimneys. 5 x 5 cm (1.9 x 1.9 inches).

Tiny acrylic painting, depicting the architecture of Bratislava. 7 x 8 cm (2.7 x 3.1 inches)

 

Architectural inspiration for painting

I have always been impressed with old building, first as a historian and then as an artist. I have painted several cityscapes, streets, corners and architectural details, mostly from my home region of Transylvania, but also elements seen during trips abroad.

See my previous posts on works inspired by the cities of Transylvania HERE. 

I would like to share today a small series of paintings (acrylic on cardboard) I have created in 2006 after a trip to Italy, in the area around Ravenna. One of the houses, small and simple though very artistic, has caught my fancy. Here is the model and the results. none of these paintings is in my studio, as customers seem to have liked them as well.

Italian house, photo by Ana-Maria Gruia, 2006

Original painting, acrylic on cardboard, by Ana-Maria Gruia

Original painting, acrylic on cardboard, by Ana-Maria Gruia