Special Small Is Beautiful
Scaled To Perfection: The Mighty Miniatures Of Artist Joshua Smith
Slide Nr 1Former stencil artist and now miniaturist, Joshua Smith is an artist with an eye for detail. His meticulous recreations of urban settings fascinate not just for the bravura of those scale details, but for the painstaking recreation of every detail – even grit, grime and garbage. It is this artistic mission that reveals the essential beauty of his subject, in all its detail. [Photo: Andrew Beveridge, asbcreative.com Copyright: Joshua Smith, Instagram: @Joshua_Smith_Street_Artist]
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Special Small Is Beautiful
Scaled To Perfection: The Mighty Miniatures Of Artist Joshua Smith.
Slide Nr 2Were you one of those creative kids always into art and making things? Joshua Smith: I have always been interested in art since I was quite small. I remember my mother giving me cereal boxes to create small buildings for my action figures using the cardboard, PVA glue, scissors and sticky tape. [Photo: Andrew Beveridge, asbcreative.com Copyright: Joshua Smith, Instagram: @Joshua_Smith_Street_Artist]
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Special Small Is Beautiful
Scaled To Perfection: The Mighty Miniatures Of Artist Joshua Smith.
Slide Nr 3So would you look at a matchbox or a cardboard box and immediately see a greater potential? Definitely! Looking back now it’s funny, as I was always creating things using cardboard ever since I was quite little. To think that I am doing this now as my full-time job is funny. [Photo: Andrew Beveridge, asbcreative.com Copyright: Joshua Smith, Instagram: @Joshua_Smith_Street_Artist]
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Special Small Is Beautiful
Scaled To Perfection: The Mighty Miniatures Of Artist Joshua Smith.
Slide Nr 4Miniature worlds figure highly in children’s imaginations, whether through miniature models or railways or books like Alice in Wonderland or Gulliver’s Travels. Were you curious about playing with scale? I was always fascinated by models, miniatures and model railroads. If we went anywhere which had a model railroad, I would be fascinated for hours. [Photo: Andrew Beveridge, asbcreative.com Copyright: Joshua Smith, Instagram: @Joshua_Smith_Street_Artist]
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Special Small Is Beautiful
Scaled To Perfection: The Mighty Miniatures Of Artist Joshua Smith.
Slide Nr 5How has your artistic life evolved over the years? I have been a stencil artist for the last 17 years and exhibiting my artwork for the last 15, ever since I was a teenager. I very quickly realised I could adapt this into my lifestyle. [Photo: Andrew Beveridge, asbcreative.com Copyright: Joshua Smith, Instagram: @Joshua_Smith_Street_Artist]
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Special Small Is Beautiful
Scaled To Perfection: The Mighty Miniatures Of Artist Joshua Smith.
Slide Nr 6Is art a choice or something you simply have to do? I think a bit of both. I think I would go crazy if I wasn’t involved in a creative industry one way or another. It’s just something I have to do. [Photo: Andrew Beveridge, asbcreative.com Copyright: Joshua Smith, Instagram: @Joshua_Smith_Street_Artist]
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Special Small Is Beautiful
Scaled To Perfection: The Mighty Miniatures Of Artist Joshua Smith.
Slide Nr 7Do you follow a set routine and discipline, or are your work rhythms more changeable? I’m very strict with my routine. I’m very much a morning person these days. I generally wake up at 5 or 6AM and have started work by 7, unless there’s a deadline in which case I can be up working as early as 3AM. I generally knock off work anywhere from 5-8PM each day, sit and watch a movie, and usually in bed by 9 or 10. If I can, I try and get at least 7 hours sleep each night. [Photo: Andrew Beveridge, asbcreative.com Copyright: Joshua Smith, Instagram: @Joshua_Smith_Street_Artist]
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Special Small Is Beautiful
Scaled To Perfection: The Mighty Miniatures Of Artist Joshua Smith.
Slide Nr 8What inspired you to create your first miniature? I got sick of doing stencil art and wanted to move in a completely new direction. After working in a 2D medium for so long, I wanted to try my hand at something in 3D. [Photo: Andrew Beveridge, asbcreative.com Copyright: Joshua Smith, Instagram: @Joshua_Smith_Street_Artist]
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Special Small Is Beautiful
Scaled To Perfection: The Mighty Miniatures Of Artist Joshua Smith.
Slide Nr 9What sets your miniatures apart for us is the authenticity – the kind of details that would normally be overlooked: the trash, the mould, the stains. Is that a deliberate choice or do you think you see things differently from most people? I try and capture the often overlooked aspects of the urban environment. Things like grime and decay are things of beauty to me and tell a story more so than a clean building, which to me looks sterile. I try and capture this decay right down to the smallest detail. [Photo: Andrew Beveridge, asbcreative.com Copyright: Joshua Smith, Instagram: @Joshua_Smith_Street_Artist]
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Special Small Is Beautiful
Scaled To Perfection: The Mighty Miniatures Of Artist Joshua Smith.
Slide Nr 10Which other miniature artists do you most admire or take inspiration from, and why? Initially I thought I was the only person doing what I do, but since I started two years ago I have found many others who I admire [such as] Ryan Thomas Monahan, Hank Cheng, Edon Tuazon Fabreo, Alan Wolfson, Randy Hage and Kévin D’Alenti, to name just a few. [Photo: Andrew Beveridge, asbcreative.com Copyright: Joshua Smith, Instagram: @Joshua_Smith_Street_Artist]
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Special Small Is Beautiful
Scaled To Perfection: The Mighty Miniatures Of Artist Joshua Smith.
Slide Nr 11Do you think the perception of miniatures is changing within the art world? Definitely! I think more and more artists are using miniatures as an art form now, which previously has only been seen as a hobby. [Photo: Andrew Beveridge, asbcreative.com Copyright: Joshua Smith, Instagram: @Joshua_Smith_Street_Artist]
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Special Small Is Beautiful
Scaled To Perfection: The Mighty Miniatures Of Artist Joshua Smith.
Slide Nr 12How does the digital world support your work? I use Google Maps a lot to find reference images of buildings I want to create in buildings overseas. Apps like Facebook and Instagram allow me to engage with my followers on a worldwide scale and show my creations to the world. Without technology, none of this would be possible. [Photo: Andrew Beveridge, asbcreative.com Copyright: Joshua Smith, Instagram: @Joshua_Smith_Street_Artist]
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Special Small Is Beautiful
Scaled To Perfection: The Mighty Miniatures Of Artist Joshua Smith.
Slide Nr 13As well as your miniatures, you’re also known as a stencil artist. What appeals to you most about stencil art, and the whole graffiti and street art scene in particular? Initially it was the intricacy of creating something using a knife, some paper and a spray can. There was also the problem-solving aspect as well, which after doing it for so long was no longer a challenge. I think that is one of the main reasons I like to do the miniatures now. I am self-taught and constantly finding new ways to do things by exploring. [Photo: Andrew Beveridge, asbcreative.com Copyright: Joshua Smith, Instagram: @Joshua_Smith_Street_Artist]
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Special Small Is Beautiful
Scaled To Perfection: The Mighty Miniatures Of Artist Joshua Smith.
Slide Nr 14Do you expect to stay focused on miniatures now? At this stage, for at least the next 5 years. I’ve had interest from film studios to create miniatures for movies, which would be interesting. I’ve transformed and evolved in my career over the last 17 years, everything from electronic musician, stencil artist, running and owning an art gallery to creating miniatures. If this is anything to go by, I will probably evolve into something else. [Photo: Andrew Beveridge, asbcreative.com Copyright: Joshua Smith, Instagram: @Joshua_Smith_Street_Artist]
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Special Small Is Beautiful
Scaled To Perfection: The Mighty Miniatures Of Artist Joshua Smith.
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