Close-ups By Pamila Payne

I began making miniature paintings in watercolor for very practical reasons. I would prefer to work in oils and I desire large canvasses, but I live in a small apartment and don't have a studio space. The images here range in size from about 1 1/2 inches square to about 2 x 3 inches, not including their velvet frames.

As a painter I obsess on details and realism. I love looking at nude women; they are without a doubt my favorite subject matter. When I began drawing and painting seriously several years ago, I tried to draw myself, using mirrors. I found that setting up mirrors to reflect other mirrors gave me oddly framed sections of the body. It was interesting to draw like a voyeur with a limited view. It was also way too much trouble and I got bored with myself quickly. I started working from photographs, cropping them and concentrating on close perspective.

The smallness of the paintings and the watercolor medium may have begun as a concession to my circumstances, but I have grown to like the intimacy of these small pieces. They look like objects meant to be held in the palm of your hand. You have to hold them up close to see them. Watercolor is a challenging medium that provides me with a built in obsession limit: I can only work on a painting for so long before it's overworked and ruined. It teaches me to let go and move on.

Although the examples shown in this feature are all nudes, I have begun painting close perspective portraits of hands, feet and faces as well. I create my own frames and consider them an extension of the artwork.

For you Angelenos, Payne's miniatures can be found at the Melrose Flea Market, near the Fairfax entrance, every non-raining Sunday. And for you non-Angelenos, fear not, commissioned portraits can be painted from photographs. Payne can be reached via MASH at editors@mashmagazine.com.