15 Teeny-Tiny Masterpieces Painted On The Most Unexpected Medium

Plein Air art on Altoid tins painted by Remington Robinson

Remington Robinson is an artist who understands extremes.

His work ranges from vast murals that cover entire sides of buildings to delicate plein air paintings that could fit inside your pocket. The artist lives in Boulder, Colorado, but spends a lot of time traveling the country, capturing tiny, beautiful scenes wherever he goes.

1. The artist likes connecting with fans on social media, where he gives mini-tutorials explaining how his art comes together.

@remingtonrobinsonart

An insanely small plein air oil painting in downtown Telluride, Colorado, USA. ⛰ Oil on wood panel in Altoids smalls tin, 1” x 1.875” / 2.54 x 4.76 cm #painting #oilpainting #pleinair #pleinairpainting #miniature #mini #miniaturepainting #minipainting #miniatureart #telluride #colorado #mountains #usa #supersmall

♬ original sound – Remington Robinson

2. He’s been painting mini plein air landscapes inside Altoid tins for about 5 years. Here’s an oil painting he did of Boulder’s Flatirons from the summit of Flagstaff Mountain.

3. Most of his mini paintings take between one and six hours to complete. He seems to bring his paints everywhere he goes, even while watching swing dancers at a local cafe.

4. He usually shares a snapshot of where he was and why he was there in his captions. This piece was painted at sunrise on a mountain summit while celebrating a friend’s birthday.

5. Here he is tackling the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City.

@remingtonrobinsonart

Miniature plein air oil painting of the Brooklyn Bridge. Fun fact: the Brooklyn Bridge opened on my birthday in 1883, 103 years before I was born. #pleinair #pleinairpainting #oilpainting #paintingtutorial #painting #brooklynbridge #nyc #newyorkcity #newyork #miniature #miniaturepainting

♬ original sound – Remington Robinson

6. Or while flying! (You could say this one is… en plane air. We’ll see ourselves out.)

@remingtonrobinsonart Painting the view out the window of my flight from Denver to Seattle on September 27, 2022. Luckily, I had the whole row to myself at the back of the plane. #airplanepleinair #pleinair #pleinairpainting #oilpainting #art #miniatureart #miniature #miniaturepainting #tiny #tinypainting #small #smallpainting #littlethings #cute #airplane #âœˆï¸ #🛩 #💺 #🎨 #alaskaairlines ♬ original sound – Remington Robinson

7. “I have probably painted over 700 tins at this point, although I haven’t counted in a long time,” Remington said.

@remingtonrobinsonart A few months of work all in one place, like one big happy family. 🥰 (I do not eat all the mints, I buy empty containers off eBay.) And — some of these paintings are still available on my website! #oilpainting #miniaturepainting #painting #art #pleinair #pleinairpainting ♬ Come to Me – Bjork

8. “I don’t always paint consistently, so it’s hard to say how many I go through in a month. Probably anywhere from 5-30 per month.”

9. People often ask him where he gets all those Altoid tins. The answer is: eBay!

@remingtonrobinsonart Before/after — a one hour ultra mini painting of poppies at the Flatirons in Boulder, CO. #oilpainting #pleinair #pleinairpainting #poppies #bouldercolorado #miniature #miniaturepainting ♬ original sound – Remington Robinson

10. “I purchase tins secondhand from eBay, and so when they arrive in the mail, they are all empty. There is absolutely no way I would dare eat a whole box of mints every time I wanted to do a painting!”

11. He says the painting process is very meditative for him, just like this scene of a friend meditating at sunrise on the beach.

12. Here is his take on the iconic house from “A Christmas Story.”

13. Somewhere in Missouri…. When he hit traffic while traveling, he pulled over to capture this lovely little scene.

@remingtonrobinsonart

Quick roadside stop in Missouri to paint a green pasture, December 13, 2021. 🐦 #oilpainting #miniaturepainting #pleinair #pleinairpainting

♬ original sound – Remington Robinson

14. He challenged himself to create this painting in just 30 minutes. Challenge complete!

15. Most of his pocket-sized artwork is available to purchase on his website.

Remington’s creativity knows no bounds! Isn’t it incredible how much depth and detail he can squeeze into such a small space?

Share this story to tell others about this unique young artist.

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