David A Lindon
The World's Greatest Micro Artist,
2025 Guinness World Record Holder!
Renown for Unique Paintings & Sculptures.
Biography
My name is David A Lindon, creator of the smallest handmade sculptures in history!
Measured by Jordan Murray of Evident Scientific using a calibrated light microscope and witnessed and verified at Spectrographics Ltd, in Leeds. My Red Lego Brick has been confirmed as a new world record by Guinness World Records, February 2025. This incredible sculpture is four times smaller than the previous record held since 2017 by my friend and fellow micro artist Dr Willard Wigan MBE.
Measuring an astounding 21.8 x 25.1 microns (0.0218 x 0.0251 mm) my handmade Lego sculpture is the same size as a white blood cell! In fact, you have 55 billion white blood cells working their way around your body right now! There are 1000 microns in a single millimetre and some of my art is now so small you can’t even see it with the human eye!
I made three sizes of Lego brick, the 8 spot 2x4, when this was measured it was the structure ever made. Then the smaller second sized Lego brick, 4 spot 2x2 was measured and it completely broke the world record! Then the smallest size Lego brick, the 1 spot 1x1, when this was measured twenty minutes later by the scientists at Spectrographics, we found I had broken my own world record again!
With all three sculptures, one smaller than the other, they are so microscopic that even though you know where they are, on the head of a pin, when you look with your own eyes you still cannot see them! They are so tiny it's beyond the powers of the human eye to detect and almost beyond the powers of the human brain to comprehend!
I am sure you will have many questions about the micro art, the microscopic tools and techniques I use.
How is it possible to create the world’s smallest sculptures and paintings?
Where did it start?
I was born in southern England in a town called Poole, in the historic county of Dorset, the youngest of four children. My father was a skilled aircraft fitter and together my parents ran their own second hand shop The Square Deal in Parkstone.
I left school at sixteen and I started a specialised career in engineering with the MoD. I was trained to work on complex miniature devices as an instrument mechanic at 18 Base Workshops, Bovington. Many of the things I learned and trained on I’m still not allowed to talk about!
Then I worked in the aircraft industry as an avionics technician, working on anything from Spitfires to passenger airliners. Eventually I helped co-ordinate work on the Eurofighter at Flight Refuelling in Wimborne.
Unfortunately I lost my Dad at this time and I decided to stop my career at Flight Refuelling to look after my mum, who had sadly developed vascular dementia. Time moved on.
After writing and self-publishing a book, I wanted to be the next J K Rowling, well that didn’t happen! We then had five years at fostering young offenders with Action for Children. I was the main carer for two young people at a time, living with them in our own home was difficult but also full of reward. At that point we were the only family in the UK to work with two young offenders at the same time!
I then discovered the challenges of creating microscopic paintings and sculptures. With my friend Edward Hammond’s help and support, I became a professional artist in February 2021.
Today I live in Bournemouth with my wife, Jackie and my son. We have been married for over 27 years.
I now create microscopic artworks that fit comfortably inside the eye of a needle!
I use a variety of materials from micro sized pigments, dust, minerals, Kevlar strands, carbon, carpet fibres, pieces of ceramic, precious metals such as gold, platinum, gem stones such as diamonds, emeralds.
I also use things from nature, hairs from a dragonfly’s leg, the antenna from a stag beetle and pollen grains as thickeners and the white pappus on dandelion seeds for paint brushes.
I use my own special micro precision tools and techniques that I’ve been crafting over the years. I mount microblading needles onto the ends of instrument screwdrivers. Then with around sixty of the hand tools I mount microscopic attachments to the tip of the microblading needles. The tools are made from silicon carbide also known as carborundum which is only second in hardness to diamond.
These tools I use for cutting, carving, gouging and shaping. Other tools have ultra fine hairs for painting, holding and manipulating the art. With a huge variety of attachments from drills, saws, forks, tweezers to paint brushes and lifting and holding tools I have a micro toolbox at my disposal. Unfortunately because of the nature of these delicate tools they are constantly breaking and I’m forced to stop what I’m doing and remake them.
I meticulously carve and shape my creations, slowly adding painstaking layers of detail and complexity.
I paint each creation with carefully chosen pigments using microscopic sized paint brushes. To begin I sketch out my designs and I usually have to make several prototypes before I begin the final version. Each piece I create can take months of painstaking work before I am happy with the result.
My most important piece of kit is my microscope. I use a Nikon SMZ25. This is a high resolution, high magnification flagship stereo microscope. It has a top of the range optical system with a foot pedal controlled zoom and focusing control. This particular feature enables me to hold my micro precision tools by hand under the microscope without the need to remove my hands to refocus or zoom in or out.
Since November 2019, I have been developing my technical and artistic skills to become a master micro artist. Mixing the colour palette is a craft all on its own. Some colours appear to change under the gaze of a powerful microscope, it takes dedication and experience to select the right tones and textures for each piece of art.
It takes hundreds of hours using unique skills, patience and dedication to make a single piece of art, but seeing the look on people’s faces and their reactions makes it all worthwhile.
Everything connected with making microscopic artworks is hard and complex. It is a real challenge to control my hands and my breathing, let alone create something almost literally out of nothing. Only when you look into the microscope for yourself can you really appreciate the magic, the intricate details and the depth of colour that photos simply fail to capture.
I modify all of my equipment to help me refine my creations, from my tools to the microscope itself, everything is customised to help me create my art.
I must slow my breathing down to steady my hands. I keep my heart rate as low as possible as a single twitch from my fingers can wreck months of work.
Unfortunately, in 2023 I ripped Picasso’s ‘Weeping Woman’ into pieces when I was painting her for the micro masterpiece series of classic paintings! Suddenly I had the world’s smallest and most expensive jigsaw in front of me. My heart filled with despair but very slowly and carefully I stitched her back together like a surgeon working on an operating table. Eventually she was repaired and turned out to be one of my best paintings I had ever created! My hands still jump a little as my heart beats, so I work in a rhythm between each pulse. If I don’t concentrate all the time my fingers can accidentally flick weeks of work off from under the microscope and when it disappears from my sight, it will probably never to be seen again!
My first Amy Winehouse is still somewhere in our bedroom carpet or stuck on the sole of my shoe, we never found her!! Luckily my concentration has improved which enables me to sit still for long periods of time. Each piece may take several months to get right. There are certain “hazards” I try to avoid. Too often, I’ve lost a piece by accidentally squishing it while moving it around, they are very delicate.
There is a danger that static electricity can unexpectedly snap the art away as if by magic. I can accidentally blow it away, with a sneeze or a cough. Even a breath of wind from an open window can make it fly away and disappear for ever. Once a piece is lost, you can spend hours hunting around for it with a magnifying glass in your hand and still never find it!
I was first inspired by watching a TV program about miniature artists and the challenges they face, that changed my life! Having been trained to work on small complex devices I had developed steady hands and a good deal of patience. I knew then that I had to test my skills and challenge myself to create smaller and smaller things and eventually more complex creations than anyone else. I spent years discovering just how difficult micro art is to do! After what feels like a lifetime of experimenting, I have managed to fit my work proudly into the eye of needle and then I never looked back!
I still think I’m mad to sit still for hours staring into a microscope day after day. I like to say ‘The work is microscopic, but the challenges are monumental!’ I often have to force myself to work at the microscope, as the work is extremely tough and tiring. It is physically and mentally draining with frustrations and unexpected challenges around every corner. One mistake and I can destroy the art with a moment’s distraction.
I have to enter an almost emotionless trance which enables me to remain calm even if I’m facing a disaster or painting the smile on Mona Lisa’s face.
To remove distractions and the vibrations from passing traffic I have to work at night. I avoid alcohol as it affects my concentration along with coffee and high energy drinks!
A gold wedding ring is smooth and shiny but under a microscope it looks like chopped wood! Something that appears hard, under a microscope has the consistency of porridge. The laws of nature often appear to work differently in the microscopic world!
World firsts, I have a large number of unique achievements.
My first creation for my daughter was a Dalmatian dog that was set inside the eye of a needle. He astonished me as he went viral on social media back in 2019.
July 2021 all six of my micro masterpiece paintings sold prior to my first public exhibition. I was featured in over 15 countries in 24 hours including on BBC News, BBC South Today, The Times, Daily Mail, CGTN China, Brazil, Cape town, Local radio, The Telegraph.
I even got a mention on BBC One’s television programme ‘Have I Got News for You!’ From Exhibitions in London to New York, I now have a solo exhibition touring the globe.
Arguably one of the world’s most famous paintings - Rembrandt’s 1642 The Night Watch, has been recreated in every detail with the full 34 characters, in a painting smaller than the head of a match! No one has done anything like this before! The microscopic painting has then been carefully mounted onto the centre of Captain Frans Banning hat, in Chris Long’s unique pixelated version of the same painting!
‘The Smallest Zoo in the World’ A wondrous collection of 24 microscopic marvels. Next stop is my home town of Poole in Dorset. The first two weeks of the summer holidays this year. It's going to be at the Dolphin Shopping Centre from Monday 28th July to Monday 11th August.
Her Majesty the late Queen Elizabeth the Second once owned one of my early pieces of art. It was the bust of the Queen on a platinum pin to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee. Delivering it to Buckingham Palace was a thrill and a great honour. I wanted to park in the grounds of Buckingham Palace but access was closed because of the changing of the guard. I didn't want to be late so I left my van on double yellow lines and hot footed it to the palace. Thankfully I still arrived on time and I did not get a parking ticket!
Other firsts include, the first portable microscopic Snoopy, set inside an authentic Snoopy moneybox with its own built in magnifier and light.
I made three classic Vincent van Gogh microscopic size paintings and fitted them onto the revolving mechanism inside a watch, the first truly portable art gallery on your wrist! Appearing live on WGN TV American News and being interviewed by Neil Oliver on GB News.
The first microscopic tryptic. The Flower Thrower is painted in three needles and was commissioned by an avid Banksy collector in 2022. This now sits proudly in a private collection of Banksy original artworks.
The smallest rotating Stonehenge or the first rotating microscopic Vincent van Gogh bedroom sculpture. Oh and The Smallest Hand-made Sculpture in the world! The Guinness World Record!
Why do I do it?
What keeps me going through the long hours is seeing the look of wonder and astonishment on people’s faces, especially when they see my art in person for the first time.
I get a huge sense of achievement having created something so special despite the many challenges working under a microscope. I am always looking to improve and I'm always looking to see just how small I can go!
I hope you enjoy my creations and take a moment to appreciate how they are made.
Thank you for reading this short biography.
David A Lindon 13th Feb 2025
