A micro artist’s tiny versions of six famous works of art have sold for more than £90,000.
David A Lindon has recreated Munch’s The Scream, Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, Monet’s Water Lily, Banksy’s Girl With Balloon, and van Gogh’s The Starry Night and Sunflowers.
His versions are small enough to fit into the eye of a needle.
The Bournemouth sculptor, who began his hobby in 2018, called it a “life-changing amount”.
They have all been sold to private collectors for £15,000 each, prior to his first exhibition.
Mr Lindon only recently turned professional having previously worked in engineering.
He was first inspired by watching a TV programme about micro artist Willard Wigan, whose work he found “astonishing”.
Shortly after he “woke up in the middle of the night” newly determined to join the profession himself.
In response, Mr Wigan has called Mr Lindon’s work “very good”.
He added: “The best micro artists in the world are from the UK. You have me, Graham Short, and David A Lindon.”
Mr Lindon worked hard to perfect his new skill, and his interpretations of famous musicians, including Freddie Mercury and Amy Winehouse, soon began attracting attention.
He told the BBC he recently diversified into recreating famous masterpieces to further challenge himself.
“It seemed a natural progression to explore paintings and to discover just how small I can go,” he said.
“Whilst creating a micro painting uses the same process as doing a full size art piece, there is a greater focus on transposing the aesthetic qualities of the original whilst representing them on a much smaller scale.”
Mr Lindon works in an “almost emotionless trance” during the night to avoid distractions and unwanted noise, and spends more than a month on each 0.5mm-wide [0.02in] plastic piece.
But he professes to not enjoy agonising over the intricate artworks, which he describes as a “physical challenge and a mental battle”.
“I have to slow my heartbeat down essentially,” he explained, adding: “I control my nerves, I steady myself. I get lost in my own world, I really do.”
He added: “The only thing I enjoy is when it’s done. That relief, and then to see the expressions of joy and surprise on people’s faces, is fantastic.”
The six masterpieces and a further six pieces of art can been seen at A New Beginning, an exhibition at the Lighthouse Media Centre in Wolverhampton, until 29 October.
