The Houston Chronicle Article

Written by Ann Minick Criswell
Sunday, August 8, 1965

LITTLE PAINTINGS MAKE BIG PROBLEMS FOR ARTIST

     Artist Cherrie McClintock paints midget masterpieces, but not without a few giant-size production problems.

     Headache number one comes from painting little oils that are literally the size of a 5-cent stamp-without a magnifying glass.

     "The first three or four miniatures I painted, when I'd look up things in the room would be going in every direction.  But after that, I think my eyes just crossed permanently because I got used to it," she said.

Double Trouble
     Headache number two is equipment and supplies. Of course, the tubes of oil paint that are a basic, but big expense to most artists last Cherrie practically a lifetime.  But the 2/0 and 3/0 brushes she uses (which look like they might have all of four hairs in them) are scarce - and expensive.  So are such small orders of canvas board, frames and small clear plastic stands (the best price she's found on the latter is $200 per thousand).

     Production costs can run $5 to $10 before you even consider the time or the artistic talent involved in the tiny originals.

     Cherrie hasn't set a commercial price on the paintings yet but she has solved the major problems by adding a frame shop to her art studio at 6201 Edloe.   She now cuts her own canvas board, does her own framing and buys brushes by the gross at wholesale price when they're available.

     The miniatures are worth the extra effort and eyestrain because they're such a creative challenge, she says.  She has  ordered some sheet ivory to paint on because it produces a richer look and provides a smooth surface for even a hair-thin brush stroke.

Size Dwindles
     The tiny paintings are quite a conversation piece at the studio.   They are meant to be displayed on table or desk tops or shelves.  The size keeps dwindling from the 4 x 5 inch miniatures Cherrie started painting about a year ago at the suggestion of a friend, Mrs. Bill Lawshae.

     Ships are Cherrie's favorite subjects and she's painted a sailing ship on one postage stamp-size canvas with such loving detail that some of the rigging is less than a hair's thickness.

     In a little still life scene that's only 1 by 2 inches over-all, she's incorporated a painting of a ship that's less than one-quarter inch across.

Old Standbys, Too
     Other subjects that adapt well to miniatures are flowers and fruit.

     It goes without saying that Cherrie is blessed with acute eyesight and a rock-steady hand.  She has discovered that the smaller you paint, the better you have to be.  There's no room on a 1 by 1-inch canvas to go back and correct the artwork.  Sometimes there's not even room for her signature.

     "Most people are struck first by size when they look at a painting.  Then they notice how good it is.

     The art in the miniatures has to be good, because you don't have the size to attract attention," she said.

Canine on Canvas
     She paints more conventional size paintings and teaches at the studio. Landscapes and roses are her favorite subjects for the larger paintings, but she's even done a portrait of a dog.  (The canine subject threw a jealous fit for ages before he realized that this new dog wasn't his master's new pet).  The McClintock's have a son and a daughter.  Judy, 14, seems to have inherited an artistic bent.

    An agent handles Cherrie's work and has just placed two of her paintings in museums in Tulsa and Memphis, but she doesn't know which paintings.

     When the agent came by the last time he was in a big hurry.   He grabbed up a batch . . .

Unfortunately, the rest of the article is lost.

 
Note to reader:  The original article contained pictures of Cherrie and her miniature paintings.  I am at this time trying to get it on the website so you can see it first hand!