David A Lindon
The World's Greatest Micro Artist,
Renown for Unique Paintings & Sculptures.
Biography
I was born in southern England in a town called Poole, in the historic county of Dorset. I left school at sixteen and embarked on a career in engineering – I was trained by the MoD to work on complex equipment. I later worked in the aircraft industry, from the legendary Spitfire to the large everyday passenger airliners you use when traveling abroad. Eventually I helped produce the Eurofighter before being forced to give up my engineering career to look after my mother, who had sadly developed dementia. After, having written a book and having had a spell at fostering young offenders with Action for Children, I found myself at a loose end! Then my life changed!
Today I live in Bournemouth with my wife, Jackie. We are both lucky enough to work from home, which has given me the opportunity to work on my microscopic masterpieces.
I now create microscopic paintings and sculptures that fit inside the eye of a needle! I use a variety of materials from strands of Kevlar, carpet fibres, pieces of ceramics, crushed micro pigments, precious metals such as gold and platinum and gem stones diamonds, emeralds and rubies. I use my own special tools and techniques that I’ve been crafting over the years. I am constantly remaking the tools as they break after a few hours of use which is very frustrating. I meticulously carve and shape my creations, slowly adding painstaking details and eventually painting each creation with carefully chosen colour. To begin with 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.
Since November 2019, I have been working hard on the technical and artistic challenges of micro art. 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 skill to select the correct tones and textures for each piece of art. It takes hundreds of hours and superhuman dedication to make a single piece of art but seeing the look on people’s faces and their reactions makes it all worthwhile. It is no exaggeration to say that everything connected with making the microscopic art 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 worlds smallest and most expensive jigsaw in front of me. Trying hard not to cry, my heart filled with despair! 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 high energy drinks and too much coffee.
What keeps me going through the long hours is seeing my work finished and the look of wonder and astonishment on people’s faces, when they see my art in person for the first time. I get a huge sense of achievement having created something special, despite the many challenges working under such high magnification.
Please enjoy my art.
David A Lindon
