Dina Brodsky and the Magic of Miniature Paintings
Keeping a Sketchbook and Her New Show at Paradigm
By Ekaterina Popova
Artist, curator, and founder of Create! Magazine
I met Dina Brodsky years ago, back when the magazine was called Fresh Paint. I was immediately drawn to her moody miniature interior paintings of run-down cottages. They reminded me of my childhood in Russia—the kind of charming but neglected homes found in the countryside.
This August, it is a joy to see Dina's latest miniature oil paintings alongside the work of South African watercolorist Lorraine Loots in a new exhibition at Paradigm Gallery + Studio. Little Italy is a luminous celebration of travel, memory, and the power of miniature painting. It features new work by Boston-based contemporary realist Dina Brodsky and Cape Town–based artist Lorraine Loots.
The exhibition is a story of friendship, shared passion, and the power of slowing down to observe the world in exquisite detail. Both artists are internationally known for their miniature works, which invite viewers to step close and experience entire worlds contained within just inches. Brodsky works in oil, drawing on centuries-old techniques, while Loots uses watercolor to translate her travels into hyperreal, jewel-like images that fit in the palm of a hand.
Artwork by Dina Brodsky, 2025, oil on copper / Artwork by Lorraine Loots, 2025, watercolor
A Pilgrimage in Miniature
Brodsky and Loots met virtually during the pandemic and quickly bonded over their shared dedication to miniature painting, their experiences as mothers, and their longing for travel. During the lockdown, they made a promise to each other: if international travel became possible again, they would meet in Rome.
Two years later, they did just that. Their trip to Italy became both a personal pilgrimage and the inspiration for this joint exhibition. Each artist responded to the country’s light, color, and architecture in her own way.
Brodsky’s approach was slow and observant. She would spend hours sketching in one spot, filling her sketchbooks with studies of the Trevi Fountain, Florentine rooftops, and quiet stretches of countryside. These drawings became the foundation for her luminous oil miniatures, built up through delicate glazes and underpainting that capture the intensity of Italian light.
Loots, by contrast, moved constantly, walking miles each day with her father’s Pentax K1000 and her grandfather’s Yashica D. She documented alleyways, gardens, and waterways through photography, then returned to her studio in Cape Town to transform the images into tiny watercolors, each less than an inch wide. Her work is rich with nostalgia, warmth, and memory.
Together, the two artists reveal how a single place can inspire vastly different ways of seeing.
Interview with Dina Brodsky
What inspired you to return to Italy as the subject of this new series?
When I dream of travel, those dreams mostly feature Italy. I feel like no matter how many times I return, I will never see enough. During the COVID lockdown, I was a single parent working full time while also parenting full time, mostly stuck indoors. Travel started to seem impossible, and sometimes I would literally dream about it. The dreams would involve waiting around in an airport, boarding the plane, looking at the departure board. They mostly didn’t last long enough to actually land anywhere, but in those dreams, Italy was always the destination.
At some point during this time, I interviewed Lorraine for a podcast, and we bonded immediately over miniature painting, motherhood, and our nostalgia for travel. We stayed in touch after that, and during one of our conversations promised each other that if we could ever travel again, we would meet in person in Rome. Two years later, we did it.
Can you tell us more about the experience of working alongside Lorraine Loots and how your approaches complemented each other?
Working with Lorraine was amazing, partially because our approach was entirely different. We share so much, including a love for and lifelong dedication to miniature painting (shared by a very tiny niche), a fascination with Italy, and a love of travel. But the way we would travel was completely different. I would spend hours in a single place with a sketchbook. During that time, Lorraine would cover an enormous part of Rome by foot with her vintage camera, searching for the perfect moments. Both were ways of seeing and participating in a city, and I think we both had a chance to see it through the other’s eyes for a bit.
How did your memories of Italy as a child influence the palette and mood of these works?
When I was nine, my family immigrated to the United States. We had refugee status but couldn’t get into the United States immediately, so we lived in Italy while waiting for documents. We didn’t see much of it—we lived in a village named Passo Oscuro (it translates as something like “the obscure land”)—but I remember it vividly. A lot of my early memories of Italy are related to color, how much brighter everything seemed than the Soviet block country I was born in.
Honestly, I felt that way coming back there as an adult. The light was brighter, the evening shadows sharper, the sky a brighter shade of blue. (Experimenting with paint later, I realized it was cobalt.) Returning to Italy and being able to paint it was a celebration, and I tried to capture that sense of brightness, the vividness of everything, in the colors I used for this series.
You’ve described painting as a way to slow down and connect. What did your sketchbook practice look like during this trip?
Honestly, I drew every moment that I could. My sketchbook practice generally is a way to slow down, but during my time in Italy I was almost frantic to draw every street corner. It was so beautiful, and my time there felt so short.
What do you hope viewers feel when they encounter these miniature oil pieces in person?
I hope they can step into these miniature worlds, even for a minute or two, and experience even a small part of the wonder that I felt while there. I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to turn the dream of this exhibition into reality, and I hope that gratitude comes through in the paintings as well.
Exhibition Details
Dina Brodsky & Lorraine Loots: Little Italy
Dates: August 1–24, 2025
Location: Paradigm Gallery + Studio, First Floor, Paradigm Arts Building, 12 N 3rd Street, Philadelphia
Opening Reception: Friday, August 1, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
To request a digital collector preview, email info@paradigm-gallery.com.
More from Create! Magazine
Explore more at createmagazine.co
Submit your work: createmagazine.co/submit
Listen to the podcast: Art & Cocktails
Online courses for artists: createu.co